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please advise best bank a/c for working in Republic of Ireland and living in Northern Ireland

Evening folks, i'm seeking advice on behalf of a friend of mine. She is a UK citizen working in the Republic of Ireland and is paid in EUROS.

She lives in Northern Ireland (UK).

She's currently with Starling who offer a sterling and euro account with one card, but she is getting stung big time with foreign transaction fees when she transfers money from the euro part of her account to the sterling part. case in point she transferred €200 euro recently to the sterling side of her Starling card and was charged €35

What would be her best option in terms of minimising charges? Any better bank accounts?
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Comments

  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 8 October 2019 at 4:40PM
    Danske Cash Reward account is for N/Ireland residents and pays £5 cash reward each month (minimum monthly pay-in required.) I haven't got a clue about foreign transaction charges.
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • System
    System Posts: 178,225 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Danske Cash Reward account is for N/Ireland residents and pays £5 cash reward each month (minimum monthly pay-in required.) I haven't got a clue about foreign transaction charges.

    A second rate Danish bank is going to help with cross-border/cross-currency Irish banking?!

    Did one of your clients must drop something in your cuppa ;)
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • System
    System Posts: 178,225 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    JMU-95 wrote: »
    Evening folks, i'm seeking advice on behalf of a friend of mine. She is a UK citizen working in the Republic of Ireland and is paid in EUROS.

    She lives in Northern Ireland (UK).

    She's currently with Starling who offer a sterling and euro account with one card, but she is getting stung big time with foreign transaction fees when she transfers money from the euro part of her account to the sterling part. case in point she transferred €200 euro recently to the sterling side of her Starling card and was charged €35

    What would be her best option in terms of minimising charges? Any better bank accounts?

    Revolut would be another option for up to 5k per month.

    Are you sure she got charged €35 for converting €200 by Starling?! It should have been less than a euro.
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 45,426 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/starling-bank-euro-account-now-available-to-all-starling-current-account-customers-hold-send-and-receive-euros-for-free-3244891

    All Starling current account customers can now set up a Euro bank account in the app, some of the main benefits below

    No fees - It’s free to hold, send and receive euros with Starling, and there are no monthly fees.
    Switch between your pound and euro accounts and convert currency between them all in one app. Currency conversion is free until 1st September 2019 where a 0.4% fee will be added.


    Maybe HSBC sterling and euro would be better?

    https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/how-to-open-hsbc-euro-bank-account
  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,708 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    JMU-95 wrote: »
    case in point she transferred €200 euro recently to the sterling side of her Starling card and was charged €35

    If that happened it's completely out of line with the advertised charge. I would suggest you go back and recheck what the charge actually was.
    With just a tap, convert between pounds and euros in your personal account, at the real exchange rate. All we’ll add to the conversion is a 0.4% fee
    https://www.starlingbank.com/current-account/euro-bank-account/

    0.4% of €200 is €0.80, not even €1...
    ====
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Newshound!
    edited 8 October 2019 at 8:29PM
    This must be difficult for her considering the current exchange rate between the pound and the euro and the fact that she probably has to meet all of her day to day living expenses in pounds.
  • qwert_yuiop
    qwert_yuiop Posts: 3,617 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 9 October 2019 at 6:47AM
    Ben8282 wrote: »
    This must be difficult for her considering the current exchange rate between the pound and the euro and the fact that she probably has to meet all of her day to day living expenses in pounds.

    Other way up. She’s like me, working in the Irish republic and living in NI, and is profiting from all this brexit nonsense.

    I’m a revolut fan, but rarely use it, as two bank accounts seems to be the better solution, one in each state. Large transfers a couple of times a year are quite cheap.
    “What means that trump?” Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,397 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    Ben8282 wrote: »
    This must be difficult for her considering the current exchange rate between the pound and the euro and the fact that she probably has to meet all of her day to day living expenses in pounds.

    Salaries are usually much higher in the RoI compared with NI, so she probably wiil not be worst off. Also prices in NI are cheaper than in RoI for most things.
  • PRAISETHESUN
    PRAISETHESUN Posts: 4,487 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    It'd probably be easier to have separate EUR and GBP accounts with RoI and NI banks respectively, and then transfer money between them as and when required - maybe use Transferwise or Revolut for this. I'd also recommend investigating the Starling fees, as they definitely shouldn't be that high!
  • qwert_yuiop
    qwert_yuiop Posts: 3,617 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Mistral001 wrote: »
    Salaries are usually much higher in the RoI compared with NI, so she probably wiil not be worst off. Also prices in NI are cheaper than in RoI for most things.

    Almost all my income these days is in euro. About the only thing I buy in the Irish republic is diesel, which is about 10% cheaper than NI.

    I nearly always use my AIB account when I’m down south.

    You’re right about the salaries, but the income tax is wild. You don’t have to be doing all that well before they take half your salary. As a contractor effectively, I make all my payments to qwert yuiop ltd. (me). Huge difference.
    “What means that trump?” Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare
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