receiving GBP from abroad

fiat_lux · 6 September 2019 at 10:53AM

Hi, my father sent me money (GBP) from his Belgian bank account and Barclays charged me £6 for receiving the money. This appears to be a new charge, because my father sent me GBP from the same account, in the same way, in September and December 2018, and I was never charged anything for receiving it.

I've checked the current fees information document for the Barclays bank account I have, and the £6 is indeed mentioned for international payments received, but I was always under the impression that the fee only applied to for non-EEA payments. Does anyone know if this is a recent change, is it Brexit-related in any way? Sorry if it's a silly question. Is there any way to check the fee schedule from 2018, before I call the bank and ask them? (I hate calling banks). Thanks.

Chino · 6 September 2019 at 11:28AM

I think you're going to have to contact Barclays if you want your £6 refunded.

This fee schedule suggests that, as you say, for some reason Barclays did not process the transaction as a SEPA transfer, just as a "currency or international payment".

fiat_lux · 6 September 2019 at 11:57AM

Thanks.

Does anyone know if SEPA cover Euros only? Or Euros and all EEA currencies? I'm finding conflicting information on the Internet. I called Barclays and they managed to give me wrong information (one rep said the fee is charged only for amounts higher than £100), then they passed me from one team to another, and I had to open a complaint as the rep from the international banking team refused to send me the documentation that specifies the fees for receiving payments. He said he's not authorised to do that? (!!!!!!?).

I know it's only £6 but they manage to irate me.

ps. that document doesn't apply to me, as I have a premier account. However, the fees are the same.

Thrugelmir · 6 September 2019 at 12:09PM

fiat_lux wrote: »

Hi, my father sent me money (GBP) from his Belgian bank account and Barclays charged me £6 for receiving the money.

You received GBP. Did he send Euros?

fiat_lux · 6 September 2019 at 12:18PM

He sent me £500, I have a copy of the transaction from his bank (a screenshot).

I received the full £500 and the £6 charge appears as a separate charge on my account. I've never had to pay this fee in the past.

Chino · 6 September 2019 at 2:38PM

fiat_lux wrote: »

He sent me £500, I have a copy of the transaction from his bank (a screenshot).

That might be why you've been charged; the transfer wasn't sent as Euros and so didn't qualify as a SEPA credit transfer. Even though the amount was sent as GBP, it was still an international payment and so perhaps Barclays charges as such. Maybe you were just lucky in not being charged before.

To send payments by SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT) the payment must:
- be in Euros
- be sent to a bank in a SEPA country which is a member of the SCT scheme
- include a valid IBAN for the beneficiary's account
- include a SWIFTBIC if the payment is to a non-EEA country
If you request a SCT and we are unable to route it via SEPA we will send it as an international payment.

https://ask.barclayswealth.com/help/international/wealth-online/payments/sepa-credit-transfer
(although granted this is more about sending payments from a Barclays account but it makes the point about payments having to be sent in Euros)

fiat_lux · 6 September 2019 at 2:50PM

Thanks, I found this little piece of text on the Barclays website, but not sure which accounts it applies to, it says it refers to international banking services.

Inward International Payment Charge
• Receiving money from outside the UK, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands
(depending on where your account is held): £6 or currency equivalent

*Not Applicable if: -
• the remitter has paid all the charges (this option is only available on
payments remitted outside of the EEA)
• the payment is in euros/other European Economic Area (EEA) state
currency and conforms to SEPA

Also their tariff document for personal accounts says this:
Receiving money from outside the UK
Receiving currency or international payments (outside SEPA) £6

.. but to me it's not clear what "outside SEPA" means, it could mean "outside of SEPA countries".

In any case, it's odd that I've never been charged before and all of the sudden they charged me, so they must have changed their fees OR they made a mistake.

I've opened an investigation into the transaction and a complaint, so we shall see. I expect to get this kind of incoming transfers in the future so if it's charged £6 every time regardless of the amount I might need to find another solution for money transfers..

Highland76 · 6 September 2019 at 4:13PM

It looks like the sending bank sent the payment by SWIFT. Nearly all UK banks will charge to receive SWIFT payments for > £100, irrespective of currency (even if in GBP). If Barclays didn't charge previously then either the amount sent was less than £100 and/or SWIFT wasn't used to send the funds. The only banks/BS that I know of which don't charge to receive SWIFT GBP payments (even if > £100) are Nationwide & Starling, i think there might others but it won't be a huge number.

fiat_lux · 6 September 2019 at 4:16PM

Thanks @Highland76 previous amounts were always more than £100 and my dad says he didn't change anything about the way he sent the funds...

I have an account with Nationwide (FlexPlus) so that might be a solution for the future.. thx for the tip.

System · 6 September 2019 at 6:08PM

Electronic Euro to Euro transactions under €50,000 are covered.

Non-Eurozone EU/EEA countries have the option to include their currencies (as did Sweden for SEK) but the UK Treasury declined to include GBP in the EU/EEA payment rules.

receiving GBP from abroad

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