We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Money Exchange for Foreign House Purchase

vegasvicar
vegasvicar Posts: 33 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
in House buying, renting & selling
I am buying a small house in Ireland.
It needs a lot of work!
I am transferring 30k and it's been suggested I use Smart Currency who will charge me £1.88, no fees - what do you all think?
Thank you.

Comments

  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Never heard of SmartCurrency.
    TransferWise is the one that normally gets recommended, but there are any number of similar services.

    It's more or less irrelevant what the charge is, or whether there are fees, if the rate is a bit off. The only figure that matters is how much you need to send for the right amount to get there.
  • Conrad
    Conrad Posts: 33,137 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 23 October 2015 at 1:33PM
    NEVER ever risk any transfer service aside from very large UK based reputable services.


    Personally I never see the point penny pinching when it comes to peace of mind so I would just use HSBC.


    Imagine if the firm you cite goes bust holding your money - this is not unknown. I recall reading about one where the Directors all disappeared into the mist and no one got a penny back. It had been trading a while - all part of the scam.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Conrad wrote: »
    ...so I would just use HSBC.

    That might just about be an acceptable recommendation if we knew that the OP currently banks with HSBC and that's where the £30K already is, but us we don't know that it's rather a bizarre thing to say.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.6K Life & Family
  • 259.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.
Update Your Picture