Pound slide predicted - how to move money to euro account.

Sailtheworld

I think you're trying to solve two problems which have different solutions..

(1) You're predicting chaos in January and think there's money to be made in forex. The answer is to bet on your predictions. Just open a spread betting account and make money.

(2) You're wondering how best to fund a large, fairly near term purchase in a foreign currency. I'd take the view that if I could afford the purchase today then why take the risk of currency throwing a spanner in the works? I'd already have a Euro account and would be moving £ over a chunk at a time - not to get a better exchange rate but to smooth it.

Why not do nothing for now and see how much money you make forex trading in January? If you find you have a knack for it that'll inform how best to fund the house purchase.

Albermarle

1. I would like to be wrong but I'm expecting Brexit to bring chaos in January.  If I can make a few bob by putting my money into euros and then buying back pounds it will help

You are most likely correct that there will be import/export delays at the border and other issues , regardless of deal or no deal , as all the procedures have to change even if there is a deal .

Whether that translates itself into a negative currency movement is much less certain as traders will be looking beyond the short term problems to the wider economic picture. For sure Covid will have more impact than Brexit on this .

Albermarle

Practically everyone now assumes there will be no deal,

Current bookmakers odds are odds on 4/9 that there will be a deal.

And before the OP changes his £50K into Euros , they might like to see this from Reuters today>>

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling soared on Wednesday to a six-week high and 1.7% on the day against the U.S. dollar after a Bloomberg report that Brexit negotiations were due to start again after halting abruptly last week.

Mrs_Z

Just a practical point... it might be somewhat difficult to open a bank account in a foreign country unless you can demonstrate an ownership of property/residence due to money laundering rules.  Might be worth starting by looking at a bank which has branches in Spain (Santander?) / Greece and then investigate the cheapest way of exchanging the currency.

colsten

WanderingBloke said:

1. I would like to be wrong but I'm expecting Brexit to bring chaos in January.  If I can make a few bob by putting my money into euros and then buying back pounds it will help. I've never played the stock market and I'm looking for an easy option..

That's a grand idea if you are a currency speculator and prepared for not just wins but also losses

WanderingBloke said:.

2. I have GB and EU citizenship and plan to move in  12-24 months to Spain or Greece so I will need a Euro account to access money abroad, but where? Sounds like Starling Bank is probably worth a look. If I were to deposit £100k instead would advice still be the same? 

As has already been pointed out, Starling 'offers' a negative interest rate on Euro deposits above 50,000. You aren't likely to find any Spanish or Greek or other Euro country bank that would pay you any positive interest, either. In fact, unless you have an address in the EU, you will almost certainly not be able to open any account in the EU now. The fact that you have EU nationality is neither here nor there, it's a question of residency.

Also, you must have a UK address to hold a Starling account. This may changed as and when they have an Irish banking licence but the application process gets continually hampered by lockdown actions.

Thrugelmir

colsten said:

WanderingBloke said:

1. I would like to be wrong but I'm expecting Brexit to bring chaos in January.  If I can make a few bob by putting my money into euros and then buying back pounds it will help. I've never played the stock market and I'm looking for an easy option..

That's a grand idea if you are a currency speculator and prepared for not just wins but also losses

WanderingBloke said:.

2. I have GB and EU citizenship and plan to move in  12-24 months to Spain or Greece so I will need a Euro account to access money abroad, but where? Sounds like Starling Bank is probably worth a look. If I were to deposit £100k instead would advice still be the same? 

As has already been pointed out, Starling 'offers' a negative interest rate on Euro deposits above 50,000. You aren't likely to find any Spanish or Greek or other Euro country bank that would pay you any positive interest, either. In fact, unless you have an address in the EU, you will almost certainly not be able to open any account in the EU now. The fact that you have EU nationality is neither here nor there, it's a question of residency.

Also, you must have a UK address to hold a Starling account. This may changed as and when they have an Irish banking licence but the application process gets continually hampered by lockdown actions.

Banks are merely passing on the cost that they incur of depositing cash with the ECB overnight. The Eurozone has plenty of it's own problems to contend with. 

MaxiRobriguez

Albermarle said:

Practically everyone now assumes there will be no deal,

Current bookmakers odds are odds on 4/9 that there will be a deal.

And before the OP changes his £50K into Euros , they might like to see this from Reuters today>>

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling soared on Wednesday to a six-week high and 1.7% on the day against the U.S. dollar after a Bloomberg report that Brexit negotiations were due to start again after halting abruptly last week.

You chopped my words in half. I said everyone assumes there will be no deal or a very light touch deal. 

We are a long way from where Theresa May started. Whatever is concluded in the next few weeks is not really a "deal", it will simply be a minimum-acceptable-state to avoid real on the ground problems. A broader trade deal will still need to be thrashed out over the next few years. The transition period for us will not cease on 1st January - we will be adapting and changing for a long, long time to come. 

penners324

Starling Euro account...

Albermarle

The transition period for us will not cease on 1st January - we will be adapting and changing for a long, long time to come. 

That is one thing that is for certain .

The negotiations between the EU and Switzerland are permanently ongoing and it will be the same with us .

Voyager2002

Why has no-one mentioned Fineco? A bank account (protected by the Italian equivalent of FSCS) that offers near-perfect exchange rates and free payments within the SEPA area.