Help me change my Euros

SteveB1954 · 21 December 2020 at 4:02PM

Hi, Can anybody help? I've recently sold my villa abroad in Turkey. The complete deal is done in cash. I paid most of it in to my Euro account in Turkey to transfer it to the Uk, but kept 10,000 Euros and brought it back with me thinking I could save the cost of transfers. I have a euros currency account with HSBC, however, they won't let me pay cash in to the account. So how do I manage to convert it to £'s and pay it in?

tacpot12 · 21 December 2020 at 6:35PM

Have you got proof of the cash withdrawal in Turkey? If so, you can probably use a Western Union agent to send the money to your HSBC Euro account. If not, you are going to struggle to pay it in anywhere in the UK due to money laundering/proceeds of crime concerns. You'll need to take holidays in Euro and spend it there until it is all gone.

eDicky · 21 December 2020 at 8:52PM

Assuming that you hold proof of the source of your funds you can convert the cash euros to GBP at an exchange bureau. The pound is currently quite cheap which is in your favour, otherwise you can just hang on to some or all of the euros for the time being. For current best rates for cash see:

https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/ (switch to 'Buyback')

SteveB1954 · 31 December 2020 at 11:59AM

Hi, thanks for the advice, I have proof, however, Western Union will not accept any form of cash except GBP when paying over the counter in the UK. (Just the same as the banks). So the only way to use this service would be to travel to Europe and pay in over the counter there. That would be fraught with language barriers and getting them to understand the documents proving where the money came from, apart from being an expensive option. So, it looks like I will have to wait until I go on holiday to Turkey, where I can pay it into my Euro account in the Turkish bank and then send it to my UK account. All a bit expensive and could be months before we are able to travel!