Euro Bank Accounts

saunderd

Hi, so since my original query with regards to finding a safe & usable Euro account (to which the recommendations were pretty much Transferwise Borderless, Revolut, Fineco (no protection) OR Barclays for FSCS protection) has anybody seen any movement with a better company or improvement with the original recommendations?

I heard about Starling Bank and they say they are FSCS protected? Thoughts? Would my Euros be better off there? I am hoping for a house sale also in addition to my current funds and would prefer my € went into a safe bank rather than my Spanish bank where they can embargo you willy nilly and it's up to you to find out what it's for! I am not taking that risk! Send me a bill and THEN we pay!

Have read the blurb about Starling, sounds good, worries me a little it's too good - how do they make money etc LOL and I read somewhere else somebody got their account frozen when they put in a heap of money in one go?!



Thanks!

colsten

Starling Euro account is fine BUT you should expect that any bank will put a block on your account if tens of thousands are flowing in in one go.

You shouldn't worry how they make their money - your funds with them are protected up to £85K (across all the accounts you hold with them). So, like with any other bank, as long as you stay below the £85K there is no need for alarm.

xnoxxnox

If you have a current account with Barclays you can open a Euro Current Account with them.

Covered by FSCS, normal IBAN number, Web-bank and app-bank, fee free to store EUR, fee free to withdraw EUR in cash in barclays branch or order to post it home by mail, fee free to deposit EUR cash, fee free to send/receive SEPA payments to any other EUR IBAN using web-banking only. There is no card.

For storing EUR on a card, I use revolut.

So it goes like this - top-up revolut GBP, convert GBP to EUR in revolut wallets, send money from revolut to Barclays. Walk into branch the next day and take out crispy EUR notes. Go on holiday spend, come back, deposit remaning EUR back into Barclays account.

Alternatively I send EUR from Barclays to revolut IBAN in small chunks to spend fee free using Revolut card.

saunderd

Thank you so far

Anybody know how long this block takes to be lifted? I will be selling a house so it's going to be tens of thousands yes - I never had a block put on any of my accounts when I have sold property before in the UK but this is my Spanish house and don't want the large amount going into my Spanish bank (biggest crooks!)

colsten

saunderd wrote: »

Anybody know how long this block takes to be lifted?

Any time between no time at all (if they / their systems don't see the need for a block) to forever (if they and the NCA find that the money is proceeds of crime). Have you spoken to any bank and asked them how they would recommend you handle the transfer?

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.

System

bfg_hightower wrote: »

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.

HSBC are charging you £6 for SEPA payments?

saunderd

colsten wrote: »

Any time between no time at all (if they / their systems don't see the need for a block) to forever (if they and the NCA find that the money is proceeds of crime). Have you spoken to any bank and asked them how they would recommend you handle the transfer?

Hi, not as yet - never even thought of there being a problem if I am honest as it's from the sale of a house - but now my overthinking is in overdrive - probably stupidly but I guess as the last house sale was 15 years ago or so, the digital age / crime has moved on since!

So far it looks like Starling could be a good option - I have banked with First Direct for years & never a problem apart from they don't have a EURO option so I guess this will just be a similar account. Barclays maybe as a 2nd option.

jonesMUFCforever

Heng_Leng wrote: »

HSBC are charging you £6 for SEPA payments?

Lloyds charge you £9.50 unless you hold a basic account when it is free.

redux

xnoxxnox wrote: »

For storing EUR on a card, I use revolut.

So it goes like this - top-up revolut GBP, convert GBP to EUR in revolut wallets, send money from revolut to Barclays. Walk into branch the next day and take out crispy EUR notes. Go on holiday spend, come back, deposit remaning EUR back into Barclays account.

I don't understand the two visits to Barclays. Why not draw Euros direct from Revolut at a cash machine abroad?