Getting paid in Euros

OceanSound

I checked the revolut app today. Clicked 'activate' button on Euro local account screen and suddenly I could see the IBAN and BIC. I haven't heard from support, so it looks like it takes a day or so for IBAN and BIC to be issued.

bfg_hightower

Hi All,
I am new to the forum - but been reading your comments on being paid in EUR with some interest. Herewith my contribution:

I have a EUR currency account with a well-known high-street branch. I receive regular payments into this account with no option to receive these payments as GBP sterling for a whole host of reasons which I wont go into here.

I have my primary GB pound sterling spending current account with the same bank which my wife and I use for all of our bills, standing orders etc.

I was drawn into the account by the fact that I do my regular banking with the same company and their statement that: "There's no monthly fee for the account and no payment fee when sending money to another [same bank] account anywhere in the world" Also when you read the Fee Information document it gives the impression it won't cost you a penny to run the account.... however....

The EUR:GBP is currently at 0.90 at the time of writing according to certain FEX sites.

The BEST rate that my bank has EVER given me to transfer my EUR from my currency account to my spending account IN THE SAME BANK is 0.87 just this morning (according to the indicative pre-transaction rate displayed on my online banking screen).

So say I receive 10,000 EUR per year into my currency account @ 0.90 I should be receiving 9000 pounds on that.

(I know that no bank will give me open market FEX rates - but bear with me here).

@0.87 I receive 8700 pounds on that €10,000. or to put it in other words, my bank could make £300 on my EUR.

Now let's add the fact that i) you don't see the actual FEX rate they use until after the transaction is posted, and ii) 0.87 is the best rate they've ever given me, so the mean rate is a few percent lower. iii) Then let's add the fact that they invert the FEX (e.g. 1.14905000) after the transaction happens on all paperwork records. iv) Now let's add the fact that I pay the same bank for a premium current account a not insubstantial sum of money anyways.

= I can't help but feel like I am being screwed.

So dear readers, my questions to you:
1. Is there a more efficient way to receive and convert regular EUR amounts into GBP?
2. Is my bank charging me a fair rate?

mgdavid

bfg_hightower wrote: »

Hi All,
I am new to the forum - but been reading your comments on being paid in EUR with some interest. Herewith my contribution:

I have a EUR currency account with a well-known high-street branch. I receive regular payments into this account with no option to receive these payments as GBP sterling for a whole host of reasons which I wont go into here.

I have my primary GB pound sterling spending current account with the same bank which my wife and I use for all of our bills, standing orders etc.

I was drawn into the account by the fact that I do my regular banking with the same company and their statement that: "There's no monthly fee for the account and no payment fee when sending money to another [same bank] account anywhere in the world" Also when you read the Fee Information document it gives the impression it won't cost you a penny to run the account.... however....

The EUR:GBP is currently at 0.90 at the time of writing according to certain FEX sites.

The BEST rate that my bank has EVER given me to transfer my EUR from my currency account to my spending account IN THE SAME BANK is 0.87 just this morning (according to the indicative pre-transaction rate displayed on my online banking screen).

So say I receive 10,000 EUR per year into my currency account @ 0.90 I should be receiving 9000 pounds on that.

(I know that no bank will give me open market FEX rates - but bear with me here).

@0.87 I receive 8700 pounds on that €10,000. or to put it in other words, my bank could make £300 on my EUR.

Now let's add the fact that i) you don't see the actual FEX rate they use until after the transaction is posted, and ii) 0.87 is the best rate they've ever given me, so the mean rate is a few percent lower. iii) Then let's add the fact that they invert the FEX (e.g. 1.14905000) after the transaction happens on all paperwork records. iv) Now let's add the fact that I pay the same bank for a premium current account a not insubstantial sum of money anyways.

= I can't help but feel like I am being screwed.

So dear readers, my questions to you:
1. Is there a more efficient way to receive and convert regular EUR amounts into GBP?
2. Is my bank charging me a fair rate?

1. yes, per the earlier posts in this thread
2. no, as there are far cheaper alternatives

dj1471

bfg_hightower wrote: »

= I can't help but feel like I am being screwed.

HSBC by any chance?

Yes you're correct, they don't charge fees but they do give you a rubbish exchange rate.

Ditch your EUR account and open one with one of the banks mentioned above - Fineco, Transferwise, Revolut.

bfg_hightower

Thank you dj1471 and mgdavid. Yes HSBC.

bfg_hightower

Hi All,

just an update from my side re: receiving regular sums in EURO whilst in UK. I have now opened a MoneyCorp account (moneycorp (dot) com) and at the moment I still have my HSBC Currency account (EURO).

I receive the funds in EUR into HSBC currency account, I transfer to my moneycorp account, I keep an eye on exchange rates and convert into (buy) £ sterling when it suits, then I transfer it to my primary HSBC account.

HSBC charge me £6 flat fee to transfer my Euro out of my HSBC currency account to a non HSBC account, however when I was transferring Euro from my HSBC currency account into my HSBC £sterling account I was regularly losing between 2.5 and 3.7% of total sum in a combo of poor exchange rates and HSBC fees etc. which was always more than £6. So at the moment, though it's an absolute b@ll-ache, I am getting quite a bit more £ sterling out of my Euro than if I just used HSBC to receive and convert and transfer in-bank.

I have kept a record of the exchange rates HSBC offers for me to transfer between my HSBC currency and £sterling account each time, and compared to the exchange rate moneycorp offers (minus £6). Every. Single. Time. HSBC is worse - i.e. I get less £ per EUR.

Or to put it another way 'the world's local bank' charges me more to transfer money and currency between my accounts than if I transfer it out of the bank completely, exchange it, and then transfer it back in...

Got no issues with Moneycorp so far, and am considering having the EURO sums paid direct to them.

colsten

What puts me off Moneycorp are two main issues:

1. they are very secretive about the exchange rate they use.
2. they have no FSCS protection

As there are superb alternatives, not involving the pricey HSBC either, I will always opt for those. Transferwise Borderless used to be my preferred choice for quick transfers but since they don't offer FSCS protection - which Starling does - I am now in the process of replacing Transferwise with Starling.

sal_III

HSBC Currency account is a "scam" - exuberant fees and poor exchange rates. Only used it as I was in a hurry and needed a trace of the money for AML checks and the solicitor wasn't happy with Transferwise.

colsten

sal_III wrote: »

.... the solicitor wasn't happy with Transferwise.

I would have changed solicitor rather than used HSBC

sal_III

colsten wrote: »

I would have changed solicitor rather than used HSBC

In hindsight I should have changed the solicitor for a number of other factors. But at that time it wasn't worth the hassle, expense and risk of losing the property we wanted to buy over about £100 lost by going through HSBC instead of better options.

Plus I could see the potential issue with Transferwise, as they have one account in the foreign bank currency and the funds are then re-routed to your Transferwise account based on transaction reference. So there isn't a clear link in the banks statements from my overseas bank account going to my UK account.