Swiss Francs > Euros > GBP

rubio4321

Hi there. Looking for some advice. I am a UK resident and own a property in Spain. I am just finalising a long let contract for 11 months. The rental rate has been set in Euros and I have a Spanish bank account with Caja Sur which the money can be paid into. However I would be transferring the majority of it into my UK GBP account so have been looking at online currency services such as TransferWise, Smart Currency Exchange etc to get a better exchange rate and less fees. The client will apparently be transferring the money from Switzerland so it will go from Swiss Francs to Euros to Sterling. It has been suggested to me that a cheaper option for both of us would be for us both to use the same online currency service, both having accounts, so that he could pay into it, at a better rate, and those funds could be withdrawn into my account with the same company, and then transferred into my UK account, at a better rate. Rather than it going to Caja Sur first. Thoughts anyone?!

eDicky

If both yourself and your tenant sign up for Revolut, it can all be done on the smartphone app. Your tenant tops up with CHF, sends the correct amount of EUR to your account instantly after converting at the interbank rate (weekdays), you can then convert to GBP and send it to your UK bank account. No fees whatever, except for conversion in excess of £5k/month (0.5%).

rubio4321

Thanks eDicky. All sounds good. I've downloaded the app but am a bit concerned as there's lots of negative reviews on Facebook about transferred money not appearing in the recipients account. Have you used the app a lot? I've checked and the company are authorised with FCA but on their website on Revolut entry it says "It cannot be determined if FSCS cover would apply to this firm." I can't find any info on their website, there's no customer service telephone number and in the in app support has a waiting time of 2 hours!

eDicky

Revolut is not a bank so there's no FSCS protection, but all funds are held in ringfenced accounts with main banks. I've been using them in various ways since they began over two years ago.

I don't use Facebook but there's a long Revolut thread on the Overseas board, most problems turn out to be because of misuse or abuse, the CS chat have to use a lot of time with people who don't bother to read the FAQs first.

For your purpose it's not too complicated, if your tenant is amenable you can both try it with 10€ first, and may also find it useful for travel etc.

rubio4321

I checked on the FCA website and they are authorised. Also asked the question and the response was:

"Revolut is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 for the issuing of electronic money and payment instruments with the reference number 900562. Client funds are stored under a segregated account at Lloyd’s or Barclays, depending on the type of account you hold. As an FCA authorised institution, your funds are safeguarded as per FCA requirements, the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and the Payment Services Regulations 2009. In the event of an insolvency, you will be able to claim your funds from this segregated account and your claim will be paid above all other creditors."

So that made me feel a lot happier! I've done a test transaction with the app and all worked well so I'm going to give it a go. Thank you for the introduction.

rubio4321

eDicky.. one last thing. You mention about only getting the interbank rate on weekdays. Sorry if it's a stupid question but what happens on the weekend?

rubio4321

It's ok. I've found the answer..

At the weekend (Friday 23:59 - Sunday 23:59) we apply a small mark up on the spot rate as the Forex markets are closed. We take the rate from Friday 23:59 and apply a 0.5% mark up on major currencies and 1.0% on other currencies to protect the company from potential losses due to a large fluctuation in the rate. For illiquid currencies like Russian Ruble and Thai Baht, there is 1.5% mark up on weekend.

Marchitiello

Have you considered an account with Fineco bank? They could pay you via SEPA in euro and you would directly change the money back in GBP within the account at what looks like the best rates out there with no additional charges

rubio4321

No, i've never heard of them. I've signed up with Revolut now, they operate the same way, and I'm going to see how I go with them. I will have a look at Fineco though and see how they compare and keep it in mind in case Revolut don't work out. Many thanks for the suggestion.

eDicky

Marchitiello wrote: »

Have you considered an account with Fineco bank?

I'm not certain but I don't think Fineco Bank UK give a CHF account that the OP's tenant could pay into directly, without exchanging his Swiss francs to euros at an uncertain rate. Revolut would give them the facility of loading and holding CHF without fee, and exchange to euros at the interbank rate. But this of course depends on their own willingness to sign up for Revolut.

Marchitiello

eDicky wrote: »

I'm not certain but I don't think Fineco Bank UK give a CHF account that the OP's tenant could pay into directly, without exchanging his Swiss francs to euros at an uncertain rate. Revolut would give them the facility of loading and holding CHF without fee, and exchange to euros at the interbank rate. But this of course depends on their own willingness to sign up for Revolut.

With Fineco bank UK you get a multi currency account GBP, EURO, CHF and USD with each currency stored separately and payments made into the account for each of these currency will be stored in the right subsection. You can then exchange within the account, across any of the 4 currencies at rates that have been reported (by me and others) the best in the market.