# Money Transfer Fees - duh!



## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Hi All, 

Just been to the bank (well, this morning!), as I wanted to make a transfer from UK bank to Spain bank (money to buy house), and they told me they will have to charge me 4% of the amount transferred, which, in this case, it could mean thousands of euros. 

Ein?? 

I am giving THEM money and THEY charge me??? How does it work? Anyone knows if I can avoid this transfer charge, i.e. another bank, etc? 

Pah!

I hate banks!!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Lolito said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Just been to the bank (well, this morning!), as I wanted to make a transfer from UK bank to Spain bank (money to buy house), and they told me they will have to charge me 4% of the amount transferred, which, in this case, it could mean thousands of euros.
> 
> ...



The usual (best) way, is to use a money broker as there is usually currency exchange involved. When we make transfers, there are generally NO charges anywhere.

Everyone has their own view on who is best, I've tried a few but now recommend "currencyfair" - very quick, good rates and I think the charge is just 3€


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

0,4% is the standard transaction charge if they can get away with it . Even that is a **** take ! 
If you transfer it in using a UK bank & pay/tick 'sender pays all charges' they can't charge you anything.
If you are in no rush & can use the SEPA facility through your bank which has a limit of 10k/day you can do it in multiple transfers same as above . sender pays. (£4 per transaction with hsbc)
If you have access to multiple accounts then you can move amounts between them in UK & send more each day. I used to use both daughters & also the wife's account which enabled me to transfer 40k/day.
Even when I used to use a money transfer broker the Spanish receiving bank would still want 4/10ths of 1% to receive it !!!

Additionally they'll also want to charge you for a bank cheque when you actually want to pay for the house. That's why everuyone pays/paid in cash as you can withdraw it at no charge but they want 0,4% of the cheque value.
If you have money going into the account regularly, go in & see the manager. Stop the nonsense at the outset .


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## Relyat (Sep 29, 2013)

This any good?

https://www.bancsabadell.com/cs/Satellite/SabAtl/Key-Account/1191359536844/en/


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm hooked on CurrencyFair too, €3 flat rate fee and no bank charges either end. I got an exchange rate of 1.21 last week when HIFX were offering 1.18 and goodness knows what the high street banks were offering. The money was in my Spanish account the next day.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> I'm hooked on CurrencyFair too, €3 flat rate fee and no bank charges either end. I got an exchange rate of 1.21 last week when HIFX were offering 1.18 and goodness knows what the high street banks were offering. The money was in my Spanish account the next day.


I use them too, and am really happy with the service and the rates I get - but I think if I were to transfer a large sum for something like a house purchase, I would split it into a number of smaller transactions for the sake of peace of mind (I don't think your money is covered by any kind of guarantee with any of the currency brokers). At €3 per transaction, as you say, it wouldn't cost very much more to do it that way.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Lynn R said:


> I use them too, and am really happy with the service and the rates I get - but I think *if I were to transfer a large sum for something like a house purchase, I would split it into a number of smaller transactions for the sake of peace of mind *(I don't think your money is covered by any kind of guarantee with any of the currency brokers). At €3 per transaction, as you say, it wouldn't cost very much more to do it that way.


Another advantage in doing that is you hedge against any rapid exchange rate fluctuations.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Uhm.. thanks you all!
Might do that, move it slowly in small quantities (£10k) (if you can call that small!!)

I've never done that before, so am a bit worried. They might charge you only £3, but at what rate? Can anyone exchange at the same rate as the exchange rate today? or do they all 'inflate' the rates for this kind of transactions?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

You have slightly confusing figures being kicked around here. Initially the OP mentioned 4%, then the figure was mentioned of 0,4% which is a big difference. When I transferred money from my Barclays account to Spain (to my abogado) for a similar purpose, the charge was £4.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, yesterday at Santander Bank, I asked, in the case of transferring £100,000 they will charge me 4,000 euros. Which is ridiculous. 0.4% is another story, but 4% is far too much. I am not prepared to give them 4,000 euros just like that. So I will try and do it some other way that won't cost me that much! 

IF I transfer £10k daily for 10 days, the fees (according to some of you) would be £3 daily, so that's 30 euros for the whole 100,000. Which is not bad. 

Rather pay 30 euros than 4,000 !!! lol!

Maybe if I open an account with another bank, they won't charge me anything? Might ask around. 

Thanks all!


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## StewartL (Sep 5, 2013)

There are two things two things you need to compare collectively.

1) The rate of exchange being offered.
2) The charge for the wire transfer.

One institution may offer you a low charge for the wire transfer but also a lower exchange rate whilst another may charge you a larger amount for the wire transfer but with a better exchange rate.

Typically a professional well established currency exchange company does provide a better return for the individual. 

There are several out there Currecyfair, Currecydirect, FXexchange to name but a few.

My advise would be to take a look at their websites and maybe give them a call to see what they offer.

The next thing to think about is how you wish to transact. 

Most people use one off payments where they obtain the current interbank exchange rate less a percentage of the rate which is where the company makes its money. 

Can can for a fee fix your exchange rate with a forward contract which is useful if you are going to have a large amount being transferred over a period of time and wish to have peace of mind that the exchange rate will not change. 

I have typically used FCexchange and have no issues with them. The exchange rate has been 0.5 cents lower than the interbank shown on their website and for exchanges over 10K GBP there are no transfer charges. 

Again my best advise is to take a look at some of the various currency exchange companies and do some comparisons to get a feel of the market.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I use one called Smart in London, no charges over 3000 GBP and a fantastic exchange rate, there are umpteen of these firms, they all put the banks to shame.


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## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

Post deleted...!


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

Transferwise are very good. We used them several times last year for big sums and now use them regularlyfor topping up the bank account. They have a very good exchange rate and an idea of any charges appear on the website. It is easy!


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Heard of Transferwise, I am just a bit scared to use anything, what if the money get lost?? Can it happens?


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Correct. No guarantees. A friend of mine lost 2k a couple of months ago when the company went bust.




Lynn R said:


> I use them too, and am really happy with the service and the rates I get - but I think if I were to transfer a large sum for something like a house purchase, I would split it into a number of smaller transactions for the sake of peace of mind (I don't think your money is covered by any kind of guarantee with any of the currency brokers). At €3 per transaction, as you say, it wouldn't cost very much more to do it that way.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Yes it can and does happen.

Call your bank and check what the best rate you can get is. It's not 4% is it? Nobody would use it.



Lolito said:


> Heard of Transferwise, I am just a bit scared to use anything, what if the money get lost?? Can it happens?


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, I have just made a transfer for £6k ... with Transferwise. I am really panicking now!! I have to wait until Tuesday to find out! They asked me to make a transfer to some Barclays Account and then I suppose they will transfer it to me? Is that right?? 

The Spanish Santander Bank says, that If I make sure I transfer at least 6,000 euros, then the rest would be free of charge as all they want is to make sure I have an annual average of 500 euros monthly on my account. Once I have done that, they will not charge me for the rest of the money. One of their conditions for me to use their FREE transfers is to have an average of 500 monthly. 

Now I can only wait till Tuesday to see if all went ok and how much they finally charged me.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Me againnnn!

Just got an email saying:

Your new payment #blahblahblah123 is waiting for your deposit.

Please transfer your GBP to the TransferWise deposit account

When we receive your deposit we will start the transfer. We estimate to deliver the money Tuesday, 9 AM (GMT) if you transfer the deposit straight away. 


WHAT DEPOSIT THEY WANT NOW????? Anyone knows???


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Lolito said:


> Me againnnn!
> 
> Just got an email saying:
> 
> ...


Couldn't you have used currencies direct, and paid nothing to transfer it?


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

I tried a few, but I got more money with Transferwise or so they said. The currency convertor was less money with Transferwise including the charges.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Lolito said:


> Well, I have just made a transfer for £6k ... with Transferwise. I am really panicking now!! I have to wait until Tuesday to find out! They asked me to make a transfer to some Barclays Account and then I suppose they will transfer it to me? Is that right??
> 
> The Spanish Santander Bank says, that If I make sure I transfer at least 6,000 euros, then the rest would be free of charge as all they want is to make sure I have an annual average of 500 euros monthly on my account. Once I have done that, they will not charge me for the rest of the money. One of their conditions for me to use their FREE transfers is to have an average of 500 monthly.
> 
> Now I can only wait till Tuesday to see if all went ok and how much they finally charged me.


Wait until Tuesday? That's ridiculous. Every time I've transferred money via Currencyfair the funds have been in my Spanish account the next day.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, they said if I recommend 3 friends, the money would be in my account tomorrow morning, but I chose not to....so I have to wait!


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

I remember those first time nerves. The way it works is that if you want to make a specific euro amount they have to take a deposit to cover market fluctuations. If you can say, just buy eg 1000 pounds worth of euros then no additional deposit is made. You have to pay the amount they request, the deposit is made to your Spanish bank on the said day and any refund is then made to your English bank. Now when we make deposits (and we transferred more than 100000k last year) we simply get an amount in sterling transferred. It is quick simple and cost effective. I have no connection with them but felt by explaining further I might allay your nerves. The rates are usually very high compared with others.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

But the deposit you have to pay apart? or is it included? I am not sure if I should just pay a deposit, but at no moment they have asked me for a figure or a deposit.?


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

Might be worth taking another look look at the website. 
Go the 'Lets get started' button. On the next page enter (just for example) EUR 1000 it will then calculate below your total deposit which is the sum you pay to them.
This includes your 'conversion amount' the 'rate buffer' and the fee. 
The rate buffer is then returned to your originating bank the converted sum to you Spanish and they obviously have their fee. Hope this helps


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, the 'deposit' went through this morning. By 'deposit' they mean the transfer. It did confuse me at first. Now I know!. Fingers crossed. Then next week I will use the other site and see and then the other ... and the other.... lol!


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## Dunpleecin (Dec 20, 2012)

I use currencies direct. No fees

Currency Exchange - Best Foreign Exchange Rates & Currency Converter | Currencies Direct


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, money arrived this morning, they finally charged me £29.85. The rate was 1.2254 which was even better than what it is now (at this minute!). So I am pretty chuffed. 

Maybe tomorrow I will use Currencies Direct, although I am not sure the don't charge anything.... how do they make their money then??? By inflating the exchange rate?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Lolito said:


> Well, money arrived this morning, they finally charged me £29.85. The rate was 1.2254 which was even better than what it is now (at this minute!). So I am pretty chuffed.
> 
> Maybe tomorrow I will use Currencies Direct, although I am not sure the don't charge anything.... how do they make their money then??? By inflating the exchange rate?


I was stung by Currencies Direct once when an intermediary bank charged quite a lot. I complained but was told that it was out of CD's hands.


You'd still be much better off with currenyfair!


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Lolito said:


> Well, money arrived this morning, they finally charged me £29.85. The rate was 1.2254 which was even better than what it is now (at this minute!). So I am pretty chuffed.
> 
> Maybe tomorrow I will use Currencies Direct, although I am not sure the don't charge anything.... how do they make their money then??? By inflating the exchange rate?


you choose when to transfer funds to your bank, to get the best rate, and no, there are no charges.you could have saved yourself some money!


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

In the end I did transfer all the money from UK Santander to Spain Santander for a charge of £25. 
I transferred the money in POUNDS then I got a very good rate from Santander at 0.81 and I can breath now, and Santander Spain didn't charge me anything for the transfer as I am a 'good' customer. Lol!


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

*CurrencyFair - ABC*

Currency Fair is based in Southern Ireland and is regulated by the Irish equivalent of FSA.

They keep their clients money in separate accounts akin to solicitors.

They are a peer to peer company which means, in my case they have people who want to by GBP and want to sell Euros

They charge a flat fee of 3€ or £3 depending whether changing £-€ or €-£

The excahange rate is 1/2 of 1% lower than the spot rate at the time of tranfer.

You can see the rate before you transfer.

You pay into your sterling account with them the amount of GBP you want to exchange

When you receive an email saying that they have received your deposit you make the exchange from GBP-€

You then transfer the € to your Spanish bank account less the 3€ flat fee no matter what the amount of transfer is.

We initialise our transfers befor 9.00 am UK time and the money is our Sabadell account by 3.30PM Spanish time THE SAME DAY.

We make the deposit, exchange, and transfer all on the same day within an hour and a half but they do have the facility to make exchanges at your preferred rate when it becomes available. 

We have found them very reliable for 18 months now making at least one transfer per month.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Yep, Currency Fair are brilliant. You also get that high echange rate on small amounts, whereas other FX companies only offer their best rate on large sums e.g. over £10k.


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