33% charge for transfering money from Spain to UK

janice_short

As a resident in Spain, I have just transferred 130€ from my Spanish bank account to a third party UK bank. For this, my bank has charged me 42€.

Surely this can't be right!

bagand96

It can be right if that's what your Spanish bank charge as per the account T&C's. It could be that there's a fixed fee, which is why as a % it's so high for a relatively small transfer. International transfers do cost, there's usually cheaper ways to do it than a high street bank.

For example one of the biggest players is wise.com (formerly TransferWise).  I don't wish to rub salt into the wound but using them would have cost you just €1.56.

Bicycleman22

Wise.com are excellent I use them all the time without a problem.

brianposter

Spanish banks seem to have started to charge ridiculous amounts for very inadequate service. I recently closed my account which had been open for 40 years.

virgo17

Totally agree with @Bicycleman22 above. Wise (previously know as Travelwise) are an excellent low cost method of international money transfer. I had a property in Spain until recently and Spanish banks are known for high charges generally, more so it seems after Brexit.

Many of the fellow Brits living in Spain opened up (Trave)Wise accounts purely for transfer. Have a look at opening an account with them.

greyteam1959

Use Wise.com.

All done online / excellent rates / very fast / very easy to use.
Have a look at their website it explains everything very clearly.
I use them all the time.

susansue

I have recently transferred quite a large sum from a Lloyds account to my brother's Greek account without charge, My brother has sent money in the reverse direction also free. You will need all account details (IBAN etc.) These transfers were  between our personal accounts, not to a "third party" bank, Maybe that is what triggered the charge?

Robbo66

get yourself a revolut account, you can nominate what currency you want and their fees are tiny

NoodleDoodleMan

This is not directly connected to the above situation - but it might be of interest to ex pats with Spanish bank accounts.

In 2021 Santander (Spain ) concluded an agreement with Correos, the Spanish Post Office, to allow their personal account customers to transact basic financial transactions at Correos branches across the country.

This is especially relevant as many small towns and rural communities don't have a bank or convenient ATM.

Also posties can deliver pre-ordered cash to postal addresses as part of the deal.