Receiving money from abroad

kiki36

Hi everybody, I would be really grateful for some advice.
I left my Husband 10 years ago and he kept the property we owned together in Germany. He has now just remarried and wants to pay me some of the properties value to have my name taken of the deeds.
He can only afford to give me a smaller amount that is owed , but I simply want this over with now. So as I only stand to get 12000 euros I would like to ask, what would be the best way to transfer this money from Germany to UK without losing to much on charges and as I don't want this money to go into my normal bank acc. as this is going to be separate from bill money would a prepaid credit card be suitable or would it be best to open a separate acc. I would like to spend the money on a holiday for me and my daughters and moving house so would need easy access to it. Oh and would I have to declare it/pay tax on it? I am self employed and not on any benefits?
Sorry its a bit long winded, just really unsure on what is the best to do.
Thanks in advance for any help x

grumbler

IMO, €12K is a far too big amount for a prepaid card. And how are you going to easily access it from a prepaid card anyway?

Re a new bank account, it's up to you. You can receive the money to the existiong one or open a new account. Regardless, be prepared to explain the source of the money if the bank ask you under the AML regulations.

Re the best way of transferring see
https://www.fxcompared.com/Content/money-transfer-from-Germany-UK-above-3000-amount-12000
http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-UK/12000-EUR

CLAPTON

why can't it go into your normal a/c and then transfer it to a saving or any other a/c

bryanb

I did this recently, the sender put cash on a Forex card, gave me the card and pin. I drew the money at a local ATM. £500 per day. The sender paid all the costs associated with loading the card. The only downside for me was that it took about a month of daily trips to the ATM, luckily it is 200yds from my house!

kiki36

I was hoping to maybe not pay the high charges of a normal bank account

kiki36

Explaining where the money has come from will not be a problem as I will have the legal paperwork to show that this is from the marital home

agrinnall

kiki36 wrote: »

I was hoping to maybe not pay the high charges of a normal bank account

What high charges are you referring to? While some banks do charge a fee to receive an incoming payment in a foreign currency on a 12,000 Euro payment that should be a negligible amount.

grumbler

Conversion charges if the transfer is in €?

agrinnall

grumbler wrote: »

Conversion charges if the transfer is in €?

But you've already addressed that in your first post, I wondered if the OP might think that there are big charges to be paid for actually receiving the money.

sandsy

I've received large (6 figure payments) from overseas before and never incurred any acceptance charges.


Bank transfer is by far the safest way to transfer the funds.

grumbler

sandsy wrote: »

I've received large (6 figure payments) from overseas before and never incurred any acceptance charges.

Yes, not all banks charge a small flat fee for receiving international transfers. However, don't be deluded that you weren't charged anything for the conversion. You think that you were not charged only because the charge wasn't shown separately and was hidden in the amount.

Bank transfer is by far the safest way to transfer the funds.

Yes, but safety comes at a cost that could be as much as £2K-£3K for receiving £100K in foreign currency.