Transferring funds from Germany to UK

Emily_Joy

I lived and worked in Germany for about 5 years between 2009 and 2014 and accumulated a considerable amount of savings from work income which I would like to use as a part of the deposit to fund a property purchase now. What would be the easiest and most efficient way of doing this? The amount involved is around 50K EUR.

eskbanker

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange/ highlights currency brokers suited to a one-off transfer, and https://www.monito.com/ allows rate comparisons.

Some of the fintechs offer accounts that may be cost-effective too - which UK accounts do you use?

Emily_Joy

eskbanker said:

Some of the fintechs offer accounts that may be cost-effective too - which UK accounts do you use?

Sorry, I don't understand. Perhaps you wanted to ask which banks I have current accounts with?

Band7

Your best option for large transfers is a multi currency account with Fineco Bank. Best bottom line exchange rate, after all charges. The only drawbacks are that they are slow and their user interface is not the best.

A much easier and faster option, with a slightly worse exchange rate is a Euro account with Starling Bank. 

In either of these two, you get an IBAN to transfer your Euros to. Then you exchange those yourself into GBP and spend them either directly from Fineco/Starling, or you send the money to your usual UK current account. You have full FSCS protection with both - something you won‘t get with any other transfer method.

Whichever company you choose, make sure you have proof for the source of funds, as you can get selected for AML checks at any time by any of the companies.

Band7

To pre-empt suggestions for using Wise: technically a perfectly valid option. But you‘ll get fewer GBP for your Euros, and no FSCS protection.

eDicky

Another pre-emptive caution on use of Wise for transferring large amounts - I had such a negative experience of communication with Wise following request for source of funds documentation that I abandoned my attempt to comply, cleared my account and no longer use them.

Emily_Joy

I do not have an account with Fineco at the moment. Wouldn't it look suspicious if such an amount is transferred to an account soon after opening?

Band7

Emily_Joy said:

I do not have an account with Fineco at the moment. Wouldn't it look suspicious if such an amount is transferred to an account soon after opening?

It could look suspicious with any company. You can probably reduce the likelihood of getting picked up by making several smaller transfers, On the other hand, making several small ones might increase it..............who knows. It's probably all controlled by software, which picks you randomly. Or doesn't pick you.

Bottom line is that if you have evidence that you acquired the money legally, you have nothing to fear. But you should always plan for some delays due to extra checks.

I have been using Fineco, Starling, Wise for transfers, sometimes for larger amounts than yours. All 3 have at times required explanations. Fineco, funnily enough, asked me about 4 weeks after a large transfer, and after all the money had long left my Fineco account, to provide details about my transfer. I replied with an explanation., and invited them to check further with the originating bank. They were quite happy with that. And as I said, if your funds are legit, you have nothing to fear.

Band7

Have done a quick check for you on how much you would get for €50,000 right now (they change the rate by the second):

• Fineco : £43,970
• Starling: £43,894
• Wise: £43,896
• Currencies Direct: £43,954

You might also be able to squeeze out some cashback whilst you are at it. Though work out whether the cashback is worth it, as the exchange rates might not be good. I have made some extra cash in the past for sending the minimum amounts to get the cashback.

https://www.topcashback.co.uk/category/foreign-exchange/

Emily_Joy

Band7 said:

Bottom line is that if you have evidence that you acquired the money legally, you have nothing to fear. But you should always plan for some delays due to extra checks.

"give an evidence" means that I need to find salary slips from Germany from that period? To be honest, I am not sure they survived several house moves

Band7

Emily_Joy said:

Band7 said:

Bottom line is that if you have evidence that you acquired the money legally, you have nothing to fear. But you should always plan for some delays due to extra checks.

"give an evidence" means that I need to find salary slips from Germany from that period? To be honest, I am not sure they survived several house moves

That could be a problem if you are pulled up - but it would be a problem independent of which company you choose to do the transfer with. They all have to comply with the same AML rules. 

If your money has been sitting in your German account for the last 7-8 years, I would think it would suffice to just mention that fact. Money launderers would not let money sit in banks for several years before they attempt to launder it.