Euro account

thecrazy1_2

Hi All,

I am traveling to France at the end of the month and I am confused as to the best way to get currency. I have a French bank account Britline Credit Agricole. If I send money via bank transfer from the UK it will cost me £25 from the UK and 18€ in France and the current exchange rate is 0.85€. So my question, should I exchange cash sterling in the UK and take the euros to France to spend; Transfer sterling to my euro account and get the cash out through an ATM or use in stores in France, get a fee free preloaded card?
Or any other advice you can give.

Many thanks

antenna

How do you get money into your french account normally?
Use travelmoneymax to buy euros then pay these into your french account (free of charge) then use your french plastic to withdraw your euros when needed

Obviously_the_best

CurrencyFair is your answer.

thecrazy1_2

Hi thanks,

When I opened my French account I sent a cheque and then when I went to northern France I withdrew money in the uk, changed it at my local bureau de change in the uk, flew to France and whilst there I payed it into my French account. However this time I am going to the south of France and my bank is regional only in the north, although I believe I can pay it in at a bank in the south but it will take over a week to reach my account. So A: I am looking at the best way to get money into my account without the huge fees and B: what is the best way to get euros i.e Pay into my French account then use the ATM, or get a uk prepaid or credit cardcard?

What is currencyfair and travelmoneymax?

Thanks

Voyager2002

For getting money into your account, consider a currency broker such as we.com They don't charge any fees (but make money on their margin on the exchange rate) and transfer money in Euro to your bank electronically. I would be surprised if your French bank is allowed to charge for receiving an electronic transfer in Euro.

thecrazy1_2

I spoke to my bank in France and they said if I transfer money electronically they charge 18€ and I know santander charge £25. So all in all the best way to get money into the account is to use a broker and if I just want euros to take with me on holiday for example in Spain etc should I use a currency exchange rather than my local money shop?

Cheers

brodev

I have a similar situation but my bank is in Portugal. I use transferwise to transfer my money. They exchange at the true mid rate price and charge only 0.5%. I have been very satisfied with them as I end up with more € per £ than with anyone else. I believe that if you use the following link you get your first transfer free, but feel free to ignore the link.

http://transferwise.com/u/db8c