Transferring large amount EUR to GBP - Revolut?

fc320

Hi there, 

I need to transfer a large amount from EUR to GBP (>50k) 

My boss recommended Revolut premium given no fees and live exchange rate. I've had a few warnings off trusting them with large amounts but none of this really seems founded on anything other than it being an app...  I have a few months to make the transfer but keen to do it asap given the fx rates look like they will only get worse!

I hear only watch out with Revolut is once I transfer the lump sum into my Revolut account, I'll need to provide proof which is easy enough to do with bank statements. Any experience of doing this?

Transferwise looks more expensive/worse rates. Any experience with currencies direct or similar?

Advice on cheapest way to transfer appreciated and whether I'm right to be trying to sell Euros asap. 

Thanks! 

Daliah

Revolut has a reputation for pretty abysmal CS, so they would be the last company I would trust with £50k. 

In any case, it might be advisable to split the money into smaller chunks - say £10k at a time. Don't transfer any money with an account that is not fully verified, as the transfer could get stopped whilst they investigate you.

Personally, I would use Starling Bank for large sums of money as they are the only of the transfer firms with a banking licence and therefore FSCS protection. My second choice would, without a shadow of doubt, be Wise, and third is Currencyfair. Yet another alternative for large sums might be a Currency Broker - though I don't have any personal experience with any of them.

You might also be able to get a bit of cashback with various firms (make multiple small transfers) though check whether it's worth it as they might have terrible exchange rates https://www.topcashback.co.uk/category/foreign-exchange/

PRAISETHESUN

I've used Wise in the past without any issues - never for sums as large as you are talking about, but big enough. Plenty of horror stories with any provider if you look hard enough, but Revolut seems to have more than their fair share of them so personally I'd avoid them. Starling is another good option - and they have FSCS protection which Revolut lacks. In any case, as long as you fully verify yourself with whatever service you end up using beforehand, and have documents on hand to verify the source of the funds if asked then you should be okay.

J_B

Daliah said:

..................My second choice would, without a shadow of doubt, be Wise, and third is Currencyfair. 

We have a C/F account and am led to believe that Wise charge a % whereas C/F charge a flat €/£3 fee which may be cheaper with 50K

eDicky

J_B said:

Daliah said:

..................My second choice would, without a shadow of doubt, be Wise, and third is Currencyfair. 

We have a C/F account and am led to believe that Wise charge a % whereas C/F charge a flat €/£3 fee which may be cheaper with 50K

The other difference is that Wise converts at the ideal interbank rate whereas CurrencyFair take a percentage margin, so this needs to be taken into account when calculating the best option.

penners324

If it is Starling Bank, open an account with them as normal. Then open a Euro account.

Transfer the Euros into the Euro account at Starling. You then have complete control of it and the money is in a UK bank in your name with FSCS protection 

J_B

Is there a charge for a Starling Euro account?

Daliah

J_B said:

Is there a charge for a Starling Euro account?

Depends on your balance and on your transactions. Deposits up to €50K are free, 0.5% negative interest for anything above. Some costs for certain transactions https://www.starlingbank.com/send-money-abroad/country-fees/

J_B

Daliah said:

J_B said:

Is there a charge for a Starling Euro account?

Depends on your balance and on your transactions. Deposits up to €50K are free, 0.5% negative interest for anything above. Some costs for certain transactions https://www.starlingbank.com/send-money-abroad/country-fees/

Sorry, I didn't ask properly - is there a charge for actually having a Starling Euro account?

robatwork

I think Fineco bank can do this and are protected (under an Italian scheme)

penners324

As we're no longer in the EU, Italian protection is irrelevant