Transferring a large sum of money from abroad

maia3

Hi everyone,

Early next year, I’m planning to transfer £130,000 from abroad (within the EU). The funds are a gift from my family to help me purchase a property in the UK.

I’ll have all the required AML documentation ready - including a gift declaration, bank statements, and identification documents. However, I’m a bit anxious because I’ve heard of cases where large international transfers have triggered account reviews or even closures.

My bank is Barclays, where I hold three accounts (two current accounts and one savings account). I intend to transfer the money via Moneycorp.

I've got two questions:

1. What steps can I take to further reduce the risk of my Barclays accounts being flagged or affected?

2. Would it be safer to open an account with another bank that’s more “transfer-friendly” for large incoming payments? If so, would a new account be at greater risk of being flagged since there wouldn’t be any prior transaction history?

Brie

I find that warning a bank about an incoming payment with an explanation - in advance - can be very helpful.  Can't comment on individual banks as it's been a few years since I've done any very large transactions.

wmb194

maia3 said:

Hi everyone,

Early next year, I’m planning to transfer £130,000 from abroad (within the EU). The funds are a gift from my family to help me purchase a property in the UK.

I’ll have all the required AML documentation ready - including a gift declaration, bank statements, and identification documents. However, I’m a bit anxious because I’ve heard of cases where large international transfers have triggered account reviews or even closures.

My bank is Barclays, where I hold three accounts (two current accounts and one savings account). I intend to transfer the money via Moneycorp.

I've got two questions:

1. What steps can I take to further reduce the risk of my Barclays accounts being flagged or affected?

2. Would it be safer to open an account with another bank that’s more “transfer-friendly” for large incoming payments? If so, would a new account be at greater risk of being flagged since there wouldn’t be any prior transaction history?

There's nothing you can do. Just be prepared to answer questions about it. Banks aren't usually interested in being forewarned.

subjecttocontract

Anyone selling a holiday home overseas will probably be in a similar situation so, it's not something new. There are plenty of ways to exchange the currency & transfer the money. I sold in Spain earlier in the year and had no problems having the money changed from Euro to Sterling and paid into my Santander account. I didn't bother telling the bank, but I think it's a good idea to tell them to expect £x around a certain date.

friolento

Brie said:

I find that warning a bank about an incoming payment with an explanation - in advance - can be very helpful.  Can't comment on individual banks as it's been a few years since I've done any very large transactions.

It makes zero difference to the automated fraud detection systems. If it did, guess what money launderers would do.

friolento

It’s generally a good idea to have more than one current account, with unconnected organisations, as there could always be issues with any bank. If I were you, I would perhaps open a Zopa account and deposit a month’s or two worth of living expenses into the Zopa boosted saver (4.75%), or leave it in their current account (2%). I would not use this new account to receive the EU money, but have it sent to the Barclays account. If Barclays ask questions, you have plenty of time to respond, and you have access to spare cash in Zopa.

I would also use Wise for the transfer, instead of Moneycorp. With Wise, you now get your money from any EU bank to any UK bank in seconds (subject to usual checks), and you know exactly what the exchange rate and charges are, before the money is sent. With Moneycorp, the rates and charges are not transparent (no published information),  it might take longer, and you might end up with less GBP than if you used Wise