Transfer €100k from a German bank account to a UK bank account

What_time_is_it

mona92 said:

Hello there,

Glad I found this thread as I have a similar situation. @What_time_is_it do you mind me asking whether this has worked for you? Or does anyone else have any further tips?

Thanks so much!

We haven't acted yet, so the money is still sat in a German bank account. It's likely that we will use a money transfer company to move it directly into UK bank accounts into Sterling, but not yet decided!

What_time_is_it

Hi. We are still trying to find the best way to resolve this.
The money is in my mother-in-law's bank account in Germany. We want it to be (initially at least) in my partner's account in the UK. My mother-in-law is elderly and hard of hearing so it is difficult for her to set up new accounts.
Help!! How do we do this?!

Daliah

What_time_is_it said:

Hi. We are still trying to find the best way to resolve this.
The money is in my mother-in-law's bank account in Germany. We want it to be (initially at least) in my partner's account in the UK. My mother-in-law is elderly and hard of hearing so it is difficult for her to set up new accounts.
Help!! How do we do this?!

EDIT: I have deleted my recommendation for the transfer as it doesn't appear to be relevant to the OP, even though it would be very easy as it doesn't require the MIL to open any account with anyone.

Exodi

If you plan to use the funds in GBP, then I would use wise to faciliate the Transfer (instead of holding the Euro balance in wise).

My parents transferred €160k a couple of months ago like this - they found Wise to be the most competitive.

Exodi

What_time_is_it said:

Hi. We are still trying to find the best way to resolve this.
The money is in my mother-in-law's bank account in Germany. We want it to be (initially at least) in my partner's account in the UK. My mother-in-law is elderly and hard of hearing so it is difficult for her to set up new accounts.
Help!! How do we do this?!

Set up a transfer with your MIL, put your partner as receipient. Fairly straightforward, depending on MIL's bank, they may require some form of verification before allowing the transfer.

aoleks

wise is indeed great for such things, though you will need to make multiple transfers due to the daily limit, as mentioned. that would most likely trigger your account to be blocked, as it will look suspicious.

since it's a one off and a considerable amount, I'd bite the bullet and pay the bank to sort out the transfer. you might lose £50 in the process, but it's really insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Exodi

aoleks said:

wise is indeed great for such things, though you will need to make multiple transfers due to the daily limit, as mentioned. that would most likely trigger your account to be blocked, as it will look suspicious.

since it's a one off and a considerable amount, I'd bite the bullet and pay the bank to sort out the transfer. you might lose £50 in the process, but it's really insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Sorry, I haven't read the rest of this thread - but I'm not aware of the daily limit you refer to? Unless you mean the senders bank?? Daily limit on Wise for € is over 1M.

Respectfully, the second part of your comment is complete nonsense, irresponsible and should be removed. You are talking potentially thousands of pounds difference, not 'might lose £50'.

If the OP was unsure, then they could send a 'test' €10 on Wise to ensure the details, and their understanding of the process, are correct.

What_time_is_it

Thanks for the responses.
The difference between using normal bank transfer and a separate money transfer company is about 3% on exchange rates, so it would effectively cost us around £3,000 to pay the bank to sort out the transfer. Not something we want to do.

@Exodi - Can you explain what the process you your family went through to transfer €160k?
Sorry to sound so naive! 

Exodi

What_time_is_it said:

Thanks for the responses.
The difference between using normal bank transfer and a separate money transfer company is about 3% on exchange rates, so it would effectively cost us around £3,000 to pay the bank to sort out the transfer. Not something we want to do.

@Exodi - Can you explain what the process you your family went through to transfer €160k?
Sorry to sound so naive! 

Have your MIL register an account on Wise, then have her add her German account.

Then go to 'send money', input the figures and currencies. Select her account as where the money is being sent from, then on receipient enter the details for your partners bank account.

Wise will then provide you with bank details and a reference number to send to. Essentially you send € to Wise, and then they send £ (or whatever currency you ask) to your partner. To their credit, their transfers are incredibly fast.

The biggest obstacle will be sending the € to Wise, as often banks aren't fans of sending big sums to new details - so they may make you jump through hoops. My parents, for example, had to wait 24 hours after adding Wise as a receipient on their online banking before they could send any money.

To make sure she's 100% confident in the process, I would get started by doing a test transfer of €10 or €100 or something.

Wise is very transparent in what it will cost and what it will receive - I'd say the process is fairly self explanatory and straight-forward, but then I've used Wise for years.

What_time_is_it

Thanks @exodi.

Is it all done online? i.e. "Have your MIL register an account on Wise, then have her add her German account. Then go to 'send money', input the figures and currencies. Select her account as where the money is being sent from, then on receipient enter the details for your partners bank account." 

My MiL deals with her German bank either in writing by post, or in person by visiting a branch in Germany. Will she have to get in contact with her bank in Germany to do what you've described?