Gift sum of Euros

Baloos_EUR_account

If you living in London probably true you get all the facilities you can wish for. But if you live anywhere else, like in the North, go along the City Centre, and you get pretty much difficulty just opening an international account without mentioning the amount you want to deposit.


I know because I tried:
NatWest, Santander, TSB, Halifax simply don't do foreign currencies.
Barclays and Lloyds offer some on impossible fees and commissions.
HSBC want all my banking with them to even just speak about it.


What is it if not preventing the people to access international banking?

xylophone

Have you tried Citibank? http://www.citibank.co.uk/

Voyager2002

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

I have a very similar problem with a twist. I have 24.000 EUR cash in my hands as a gift from my father, and I'd like to use it for my deposit for a house in the UK.

I'm originally from a country where banks are less trusty and more expensive, and any money moves done by cash instead of electronically. Therefore less transparent, less convenient but way more reliable.

I get turned down from the High Street banks. This country prevents their people from getting involved in international banking that's incredible. Most of the High Street banks simply don't do other currencies, some of them want incredible high annual income figures AND more one-off deposit in the EUR account what I have all together AND want all my banking with them.


Can any of You help me go step by step what could be the best - and cheapest - course of action for me from EUR cash to GBP on my current account?

For a start, you cannot deposit cash Euro into a Euro account in the UK. If you opened a Euro account here, you would need to 1. convert your cash Euro into pounds sterling, 2. get the bank to convert your sterling bank holding into Euro to place it in your Euro account, and pay hefty fees for both steps.

You would need to open an account with a bank in a Euro-zone country, and then find a way to go there and physically pay the money in. However, you would face laws designed to combat money-laundering and so would need to provide detailed documentation about the source of the funds. Do not imagine that this will be easy...

colsten

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

If you living in London probably true you get all the facilities you can wish for. But if you live anywhere else, like in the North, go along the City Centre, and you get pretty much difficulty just opening an international account without mentioning the amount you want to deposit.

All branches throughout the UK will offer the same services. Some may not have the experts locally but they will have access to the relevant resources. Nothing wrong with the banks asking how much money you want to deposit with them (and where the money comes from).

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

NatWest, Santander, TSB, Halifax simply don't do foreign currencies.

I don't know what you mean "don't do foreign currencies" but all of these offer currency exchange services, and are able to electronically send and receive funds to/from other countries.

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

Barclays and Lloyds offer some on impossible fees and commissions.

again, I don't know what you mean but it is well known that banks charge a lot for currency conversion. Specialist currency transfer firms will charge less but none of them handles cash. Which is your real problem, isn't it?

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

HSBC want all my banking with them to even just speak about it.

That's true, HSBC can bit a bit possessive.

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

What is it if not preventing the people to access international banking?

With all due respect, you have a problem getting an account for your foreign denomination cash. That is not the same as "preventing people to access international banking".

bowlhead99

colsten wrote: »

With all due respect, you have a problem getting an account for your foreign denomination cash. That is not the same as "preventing people to access international banking".

True. You could easily open a Euro current account online with Citibank. From my Citi accounts I can receive and pay cash all over the world pretty easily online and when I'm traveling in Paris I link my debit card to the Euro account and when in New York I link it to the dollar account. They have 4 branches in London but I didn't need to visit them to open an account (though I've visited them since to deposit cheques or pull out some cash). "International banking" works fine for me and the fees are not impossible.

The problem you've run into is not that the UK system is rubbish, more that your father's system is rubbish. Unless you're in a territory subject to sanction, UK banks will happily receive transfers from all over the world. So if your father can't get the money into a bank system that can communicate with the rest of the world without worrying that it will be corrupt and/or swindle him, that sounds like a problem for him rather than UK banking as a whole?

You're complaining that a UK bank charges large fees for the conversion. But if fees were not large, why would your father not have converted it himself, knowing that sterling was what you wanted?

If you don't mind the monthly fees, I'd recommend opening an account with Citi which is pretty hassle free and doesn't require you to maintain an account "offshore" in Isle of Man like Nationwide or Lloyds Offshore might. It's a proper UK account with a Swift and IBAN, via which anyone who has funds electronically can send them to you in future, and you can convert them to GBP at your leisure. If you have the money in cash, Citi may happily take it -their T&Cs state that if you deposit currency in [a large list of currencies including USD and EUR] they will give it same day value. If you paid in a different currency from the currency of the account, they would convert it at their "Citi UK" reference rate. Which won't be great but it will do the job.

So, it is in the T&Cs that cash can be deposited, in a variety of currencies. I think it's unlikely that they would take it from a new customer in one lump without asking questions though. Because UK has a legitimate, safe and regulated financial system unlike whatever country your father is in where banks are expensive and not trusted.

Baloos_EUR_account

colsten wrote: »

All branches throughout the UK will offer the same services. Some may not have the experts locally but they will have access to the relevant resources.


I don't know what you mean "don't do foreign currencies" but all of these offer currency exchange services, and are able to electronically send and receive funds to/from other countries.

Not exactly all branches offer the same level of services throughout the UK, not even throughout town. I just experienced this.

You don't know because you didn't try. This week I've been in these (NatWest, Santander, TSB, Halifax) branches, and asked: "I'd like to open EUR denominated account. Can you help me? What are the T&Cs? What they said "We don't provide foreign currency accounts, just Sterling in our bank." - That was I meant "they don't do foreign currencies". And all those branches did not have foreign currency exchange boards on display, so I assume they really don't deal with other currencies. So don't be so sure the grass is evenly green everywhere.


Yes, I have a problem and I asked help what I already get from other more helpful members. I contacted Citibank and the problem getting sorted soon. Thank You again bowlhead99 and xylophone.

Baloos_EUR_account

bowlhead99 wrote: »

The problem you've run into is not that the UK system is rubbish, more that your father's system is rubbish. Unless you're in a territory subject to sanction, UK banks will happily receive transfers from all over the world. So if your father can't get the money into a bank system that can communicate with the rest of the world without worrying that it will be corrupt and/or swindle him, that sounds like a problem for him rather than UK banking as a whole?

I totally agree with you, my fathers level of trust based on long lasting previous experiences, which maybe now outdated, but he asked me particularly to go meet him, and he giving me the money I needed to put down the deposit for my house IN CASH. I knew I'm running into problems in the UK, as I living here nearly 7 years ago, I understand how things work.


My complaint about UK bank system based on my recent experience.
My original thought - I go to any bank and open an EUR denominated account in my town - turned out wrong.
I'm still feeling there is some patronising attitude of the UK bank branches in working class cities and towns, where they just don't offer the same level of service as other places.
I already arranged my Citibank account to be opened, and in the near future I travel to London to deposit the cash. While I'm in London, I will visit the mentioned banks branches, and just by curiosity ask the very same questions.
I will post my experiences.

colsten

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

You don't know because you didn't try.

That is interesting, how do you know what I have tried / what I do?

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

This week I've been in these (NatWest, Santander, TSB, Halifax) branches, and asked: "I'd like to open EUR denominated account. Can you help me? What are the T&Cs? What they said "We don't provide foreign currency accounts, just Sterling in our bank."

yep, you are in the UK, the currency is the Pound, so it is not surprising banks don't generally offer accounts in different currencies. In which country do think this is different?

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

And all those branches did not have foreign currency exchange boards on display, so I assume they really don't deal with other currencies.

you can get all sorts of foreign currency at any branch of any bank in the UK. You may have to order it ahead of time, even with the largest branches. They also offer a return service, but I don't believe any of them offers a service where you can turn up and have 24K of a foreign cash turned into Pounds.

Baloos_EUR_account wrote: »

Yes, I have a problem and I asked help what I already get from other more helpful members. I contacted Citibank and the problem getting sorted soon.

Every UK resident can, subject to passing the Citibank application checks, open an account with Citibank UK. Nobody can deposit 24K cash into Citibank without providing proof of the source of the money. Be aware that Citibank is a US Bank and as such operates the checks required under US law. This means you won't be allowed to spend your money with companies or in countries the US have on their embargo list. I know this as I have been a Citibank customer for over a decade.

Irish_Eyes_1977

I have a bank draft for 16000 euros. How can I change it through a currency conversion site? When are euros expected to improve vs the pound?

bowlhead99

Baloos, I'm going to speculate that if the country you are from is one where nobody uses banks and nobody trusts electronic transfers, it is a non-EU country (despite the cash happening to be in Euros), as EU countries have common banking regulations.

So if your father brought this big lump sum into the UK to gift to you from outside the EU, or you went and collected it from him and brought it back to the UK yourself, hopefully you remembered to declare it at customs on the way into the EU as is required for sums over EUR 10k. That may go some way to demonstrate the contention that it is not the proceeds of crime and is in fact entirely legitimate funds for which nobody is trying to hide the trail.

Once you eventually get the cash into your accounts you'll still face questions on source of funds from the solicitor (and lender) acting on the property purchase of course, as they will want to identify that this came from nice sources and they are not unwillingly participating in money laundering.