Free/cheap SEPA euro transfers

edmillerband

Which banks offer free or cheap SEPA euro transfers?

I don't need foreign exchange. For that, I have TransferWise. I just want to receive euros from eurozone customers and pay euros to my eurozone suppliers.

Preferably for business accounts, though I'd be glad to also discuss this for personal accounts.

It can even be with non-UK banks, just as long as they are willing to open accounts for UK companies.

I had a brief look at Wirecard Bank, the company behind "innovative" German bank Number26. They charge €0.75 per SEPA transfer, but €30 maintenance fee per month, €250 account activation. Not too bad, but not worthwhile for me as I don't send that many SEPA transfers.

Following on from this 2014 thread "SEPA payments free?" (sorry I can't post a link as I'm a new user, but you can search for it), HSBC seems to be the cheapest at £4 per transfer. Most banks charge £15-£19 per transfer.

eDicky

edmillerband wrote: »

Which banks offer free or cheap SEPA euro transfers?
.

UK banks are not allowed to charge more for a SEPA payment than they do for a domestic transfer in euros, but that is usually £15+. If HSBC still charge only £4 they may be the best choice. They probably also charge for every incoming foreign transfer, so it's worth checking that also.

Another drawback may be your customers having to pay a bank charge to send euros to the UK, when they are now used to totally free SEPA payments.

Most Irish banks offer euro accounts to people with a UK address - that would give you free inward and outward SEPA payments. It would be worth checking whether they offer business accounts. There have been many threads here about euro accounts.

evangelos

I have HSBC Euro account.

No charge on incoming SEPA transfers.
No extra charge on the sender following the above.
6 Euros charge for outgoing SEPA transfer.

eDicky

evangelos wrote: »

No extra charge on the sender following the above.

Do you mean that Eurozone banks do not charge for a SEPA transfer to UK? (This would be more likely, now that I think about it.)

How about the HSBC exchange rates when you want to convert EUR/GBP between your accounts? Have you checked the percentage difference from the interbank rate?

flavione74

eDicky wrote: »

Do you mean that Eurozone banks do not charge for a SEPA transfer to UK? (This would be more likely, now that I think about it.)

There's no extra charge.
So e.g. if your French bank fee for a national SEPA CT is 2 euros, you're going to pay the same fee when transferring 1000 euros to any bank account in the UK.

edmillerband

Number26 is great for personal accounts. No maintenance fees, no SEPA fee.

They haven't launched in the UK, so you'll need an address in one of the countries they're in, like Spain and Germany, to receive their debit card, but I was able to get a friend to receive it for me.

edmillerband

HSBC charges £1 for inward SEPA and £4 for outgoing SEPA.

They also add a monthly fee of £6 per month. "BIB International Payment limit, A monthly charge for the provision of an International Payment limit within Business Internet Banking which allows you to make international payments from your sterling and currency accounts. £6 per month"

Not too bad, probably the best option for UK banks. I'll try to find some other options outside the UK, perhaps Ireland.

ryukent

Citibank let you send free sepa payments online in EUR