Cheapest transfer of GBP to foreign bank

A1ia5

Hi

Could any one recommend the cheapest way to transfer GBP to a foreign bank ?

I have looked around and it seems that for SWIFT transfers most banks charge £15- £20. I just wondered if anyone knows of a cheaper way. It is not for a large sum-say around £200.

The transfer is to a bank in Switzerland and they do not have a presence in the UK.

Thanks in advance..

grumbler

'Sending Money Overseas: Moving money large or small' article and links to two discussions inside.

Use green toolbar above for access to other articles etc.

A1ia5

grumbler wrote:

'Sending Money Overseas: Moving money large or small' article and links to two discussions inside.

Use green toolbar above for access to other articles etc.

Thanks grumber for pointing out the article - it does state that paypal is the cheapest, but i think that is ok if you want to transfer money into the currency of the country - eg from UK to switzerland would be GBP to CHF.

What I would like to do is transfer GBP into Switzerland where I have an account that can hold GBP. I dont want to do a currency conversion. I have already spoken to paypal, money bookers and one of the currency exchange brokers and they will not do this.

So I just wonder who will let me do the transfer for the best price ?

The quotes I've had so far from UK banks has been around £20.

Cheers

grumbler

I am not expert in this ...
Can't you send a cheque? For example, Citibank (UK) don't charge you for depositing $ cheque if you have a $ account with them. I don't know about Swiss banks though ...

A1ia5

grumbler wrote:

I am not expert in this ...
Can't you send a cheque? For example, Citibank (UK) don't charge you for depositing $ cheque if you have a $ account with them. I don't know about Swiss banks though ...

Thanks for your reply - the price i have been quoted for sending a cheque is £20 and this is basically the same as a SWIFT transfer, only i takes about 6 weeks to clear !

I just wondered if anyone knew of banks that have a special deal - eg HSBC only charge £10 for transfers to any other branch worldwide, but I have heard of the receiving branch charging to accept - one to watch out for - also the icici do free transfers to one of their accounts in india.

I guess the question i am asking is who does the cheapest SWIFT (or similar) same currency transfer from UK in GBP to Switzerland in GBP. Also does anyone know of any other ways of GBP trasnfers that work out less than £20 ?

I think that to do a transfer involving a currency conversion, using paypal or moneybookers would work out the cheapest for small amounts. I spoke to a few currency exchange brokers yesterday and they will not do same currency transfers as they say they are not a bank and they make their money from the spread on the conversion.

jonesMUFCforever

Does it have to be a bank transfer?
Could you not buy £200 sterling travellers cheque sign it top and bottom and make it out to yourself?
Eric

A1ia5

ejones999 wrote:

Does it have to be a bank transfer?
Could you not buy £200 sterling travellers cheque sign it top and bottom and make it out to yourself?
Eric

Thanks for your reply - I think that it has to be something along these lines - I'm not sure how the travellers cheques would work though ? Do you have experience pof this ?

Another aveinue I have pursued if doing a cash advance of my nationwide Visa debit card - which on this side should not incur any fees, but the guy in the swiss bank i spoke to siad this wasnt possible although i am sure somewhere on their website they stated something along these lines is possible. Need to find it again and puruse this one as well.

It seems that banks do have different charges for same currentcy money transfers, but getting hold of this info and finding the best may be a bit daunting ! Also, as is usually the case there is a way or a company that does it for a very resonable price.

Thanks and look forward to the replies....

grumbler

A1ia5 wrote:

...I just wondered if anyone knew of banks that have a special deal - eg HSBC only charge £10 for transfers to any other branch worldwide, but I have heard of the receiving branch charging to accept - one to watch out for - also the icici do free transfers to one of their accounts in india...

Citibank (UK) offers USD and euro accounts and makes 'Transfer US Dollars or euro, instantly across the world to other Citibank accounts, with no fee charged'. However, I don't think this can help because:
1. I don't know whether they have £ accounts abroad
2. I don't think it is worth opening account(s) for one-off transfer.

A1ia5

Thanks - i think your right there are a few banks that have an international presence and they do cheaper transfers between these. I just wonder which bank offers the cheapest SWIFT transfer or if anyone knows of another way to do a GBP transfer, where the receiving account holds GBP.

I have cosidered flying there on a cheap flight, and taking the cash with me - would be a nice holiday too, but I really just want to spend as little as i have to especially if i do a few transfers.

I may get in touch with some of the Swiss banks in London to see if they have a special deal.

I spoke to my bank in switzerland and they have a relationship with commercebank (I think) in germany and the US, where you can visit the bank and pay in - but in the UK nothing like this...

Funny thing is the Swiss bank charge only £10 for SWIFT transfers out, but to transfer in from the UK I'm looking at around £20 each time. I've no idea what the actual cost is. but I'm guessing as this is not routine banking then there is a massive margin on this and this is what the banks like and us moneysavers look for ways to avoid !