Paying in Euro Cheques in the UK

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GlassPanda
GlassPanda Posts: 21 Forumite
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in Flights, currency & car hire
Hi All

Not quite sure if this is the right place to post but couldn't find anywhere better.

I have recently sold some shares I have in the Irish parent company of who I work for. The money has arrived but all the proceeds are in Euros. I therefore have a fairly large amount of Euros in a cheque that I need to cash in the UK.

Does anyone have any experience and or guidance on the best way I can cash this cheque without losing an extortionate amount through exchange rates or admin fees?

Thanks in advance

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  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,575 Forumite
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    edited 10 August 2019 at 4:50PM
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    As you've guessed, UK banks will sting you on fees and exchange rate, if they can process the cheque.

    You can open an Irish bank account with your UK address and tax code, such as KBC Ireland, deposit the cheque, then convert/transfer at your convenience using TransferWise or Revolut.

    A search on the Budgeting and Bank Accounts board should show you relevant threads and details.
    Evolution, not revolution
  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,105 Forumite
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    edited 10 August 2019 at 6:15PM
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    Might be worth having a look at Starling Bank. They now have the option to set up a Euro account alongside their £ account. I’ve no idea if you can pay in Euro cheques but I can’t see why not. You could then hold it there in Euros or convert it to £ at the proper exchange rate with 0.4% fee (although this is free until the first September if you act quickly!)

    The entire bank is app based but the support is excellent and only takes 5 minutes to set up the account and your debit cards arrive within a day or two. It’s a great account have as a secondary account as they don’t charge for foreign debit card withdrawals either.

    https://www.starlingbank.com/current-account/euro-bank-account/
  • GlassPanda
    GlassPanda Posts: 21 Forumite
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    Thanks both. Certainly a good place to start. I'll do some further digging into those suggestions and see what I can come up with
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,575 Forumite
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    bagand96 wrote: »
    Might be worth having a look at Starling Bank. They now have the option to set up a Euro account alongside their £ account. I’ve no idea if you can pay in Euro cheques but I can’t see why not.
    Unfortunately it looks like you cannot, from a quick check of my Starling app info:
    Can I deposit a cheque?
    You can deposit cheques as long as the cheque is made out in your name and is in Pounds Sterling.
    Evolution, not revolution
  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,105 Forumite
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    Oh well. There goes that bright idea!
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852 Forumite
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    GlassPanda wrote: »
    Not quite sure if this is the right place to post but couldn't find anywhere better.

    Not even the Flights Currency and Car Hire or Banking forums..?
  • Sylfest_Muldal
    Sylfest_Muldal Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Caution re opening a KBC account: I did this, but only then discovered that they won't accept a euro cheque unless it originated in the Republic of Ireland. So I can't use it to pay in a euro cheque from a French bank, which was all I wanted to do.
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