Euros into Stirling

chrishusky

Cheapest way to move large amounts of Euros from Spanish bank account to Uk bank account.

My Spanish bank charge a hefty fee to transfer money to a UK account, plus not the best exchange rate. I have been advised, off the record, to physically remove my Euros, bring them into the Uk and shop around for the best cash exchange rate. Is this my best option?. Although I visit Spain fairly regularly but this would be rather inconvenient and risky.

Secondly should I wait incase we opt out of Europe with the referendum, hoping for a better deal against Stirling?

Advice greatly appreciated, thank you.

bowlhead99

Send it from Spain in euros to a currency broker (transfer won't cost more than a few EUR and may even be free if the amount isn't massive). Have the currency broker buy GBP and send to your GBP amount.

Physically transporting banknotes thousands of kilometres is a recipe for disaster and though you'd find decent FX counter cash services in London (likely better rates than your Spanish current account), the rates are better if you move it electronically at the touch of a button rather than messing about with paper and raising questions about where the huge pile of notes and coins came from.

As for when to do it, sure, wait until we leave the Euro and pound devalues to EUR 1.05 if that's what you think. Unless we stay in (or leave) and it goes to EUR 1.50 instead.

You could always split it into a few lumps and transfer one now, one on the day after referendum result, one at year end, and one in five years. There are infinite possibilities and only you can decide what you're most comfortable with.

warwicktiger

Have a look at this:

https://transferwise.com/fr/

Sam_J12

You have been badly advised in my opinion - you are unlikely to get a good exchange rate on the high street in the UK with euros in cash. By far your best bet is to use a currency exchange intermediate company where you will get close to the true exchange rate. There is a list of various companies you can use here - http://moneytransfercomparison.com/personal-transfer-companies/ - but I strongly recommend you extensively Google any company you are planning to use to assess the service. Make sure the company is FSA regulated. Also, if you are transferring large amounts of money, I would do it in several smaller chunks one after the after, to minimise some kind of catastrophic loss.

justme111

I used xe.com for currency transfer but the money was in foreign currency account in uk bank. I find it hard to believe spanish bank would charge a lot , have you actually got the numbers ?

davide691

I thoroughly recommend currencyfair.com

Voyager2002

Sam_J12 wrote: »

You have been badly advised in my opinion - you are unlikely to get a good exchange rate on the high street in the UK with euros in cash. By far your best bet is to use a currency exchange intermediate company where you will get close to the true exchange rate. There is a list of various companies you can use here - http://moneytransfercomparison.com/personal-transfer-companies/ - but I strongly recommend you extensively Google any company you are planning to use to assess the service. Make sure the company is FSA regulated. Also, if you are transferring large amounts of money, I would do it in several smaller chunks one after the after, to minimise some kind of catastrophic loss.

Good advice, except that FSA regulation would not protect you and may not apply to some of the most reputable.

FWIW I have used https://www.xe.com over the last six years and find them reliable. The rates they offer are not the very best, but pretty good.

Your bank in Spain is not allowed to charge you to transfer money to another Euro account within the EU, so it might be worth opening another account to hold the funds on the way to the UK.

Generali

When I worked in UK banks, we used to use xe.com for personal transactions. Quick, cheap, simple, reliable.

Do not carry some vast amount of cash across Europe. It's a security nightmare for a start.

jamesd

chrishusky wrote: »

Cheapest way to move large amounts of Euros from Spanish bank account to Uk bank account.

For large amounts you'd ask for an individual rate from a competitive provider. some will negotiate, some won't.

Large meaning at least £50k or so and up, though you might get something with less. The more you're doing, the better.

yorkie3

HiFX have always provided the best rates for me.

george4064

Sorry to be pedantic, but Stirling is a city in Scotland and Sterling is the currency.