# Moving Money from UK banks to Egyptian Bank



## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

Hi
I am from England and have an Egyptian bank account and would like to now if anyone can help. I would like to be able to move money from my UK account and add it to my Egyptian account. I have Internet banking on both of them and have looked into all sorts of ways ( online transfers - which cost a lot, paypal - can not be done in Egypt at this time.) I am shocked that you can not do a simple online transfer as the UK uses sort codes and the rest of the world does not. I am amazed that in this world of the Internet, online banking and technology this simple task can not be done!!! 
Any ideas from anyone out there would be great.

Thanks


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

leemartinwhite said:


> Hi
> I am from England and have an Egyptian bank account and would like to now if anyone can help. I would like to be able to move money from my UK account and add it to my Egyptian account. I have Internet banking on both of them and have looked into all sorts of ways ( online transfers - which cost a lot, paypal - can not be done in Egypt at this time.) I am shocked that you can not do a simple online transfer as the UK uses sort codes and the rest of the world does not. I am amazed that in this world of the Internet, online banking and technology this simple task can not be done!!!
> Any ideas from anyone out there would be great.
> 
> Thanks




Of course you can transfer money from the Uk to the rest of the world. Go to the bank and ask them for the international code. My daughter transfers money all the time from the UK..


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Whoops sorry... I must have deleted your welcome by mistake so here it is

Hello and welcome to the forum


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## hhaddad (Apr 14, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Of course you can transfer money from the Uk to the rest of the world. Go to the bank and ask them for the international code. My daughter transfers money all the time from the UK..


If my memory serves me well it's called an IBAN code.


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## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


> Of course you can transfer money from the Uk to the rest of the world. Go to the bank and ask them for the international code. My daughter transfers money all the time from the UK..


Hi MainenScotland
Thanks for your welcome and posting, however I have been in to my bank, Natwest and they have said they can do it but it will cost around £20 to £35 each time. I am looking for some way of doing it free.
Take care.


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## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

hhaddad said:


> If my memory serves me well it's called an IBAN code.


Thanks hhaddad
Thanks for your posting, however I have been in to my bank, Natwest and they have said they can do it but it will cost around £20 to £35 each time. I am looking for some way of doing it free. When I get back to England I will ask about a IBAN code.
Take care


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

leemartinwhite said:


> Thanks hhaddad
> Thanks for your posting, however I have been in to my bank, Natwest and they have said they can do it but it will cost around £20 to £35 each time. I am looking for some way of doing it free. When I get back to England I will ask about a IBAN code.
> Take care


The bank will charge you if they physically do it, doing it on line is free but you still need a special code.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

hhaddad said:


> If my memory serves me well it's called an IBAN code.


IBAN= International Bank Account Number

As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another. The reason behind this is anti-money laundering legislation. 

The only way to do cross border transfers is by requesting the bank to process the transfer for you, which will cost c£25 per transaction. 

Note Natwest are not great for international banking.


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## kevinthegulf (Aug 16, 2009)

I will not say it is imposssible, but I will be very suprised if there is a cheap way to transfer internationally even via the internet.

However actually transferring it is easy


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> IBAN= International Bank Account Number
> 
> As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another. The reason behind this is anti-money laundering legislation.
> 
> ...




No this is not true. My daughter has access to an account of mine in Scotland RBS and she transfers money from there to an account in Spain All done on line. Strange thing is they call it 24/7 banking but if you do a transfer on a Saturday it doesn't reach your account until Monday or Tuesday, bank holidays take longer,


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## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

aykalam said:


> IBAN= International Bank Account Number
> 
> As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another. The reason behind this is anti-money laundering legislation.
> 
> ...


Thanks aykalam
This is my understanding of the banks and thanks for clarifying things for me. I was hoping that as we move forward, with more people working and travelling in different countries things may have changed.
Take care


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> No this is not true. My daughter has access to an account of mine in Scotland RBS and she transfers money from there to an account in Spain All done on line. Strange thing is they call it 24/7 banking but if you do a transfer on a Saturday it doesn't reach your account until Monday or Tuesday, bank holidays take longer,


Have you tried the same type of transfer to an account outside of the EU?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> IBAN= International Bank Account Number
> 
> As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another. The reason behind this is anti-money laundering legislation.
> 
> ...




My daughter is with the Natwest, her tenants pay their rent into the account every and she then transfers that to Spain when she wants it.. again done on line,


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> My daughter is with the Natwest, her tenants pay their rent into the account every and she then transfers that to Spain when she wants it.. again done on line,


What bank in Spain?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> What bank in Spain?


She has 3 accounts in spain but I think the one she transfers to is CAM.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> Have you tried the same type of transfer to an account outside of the EU?




No I haven't but I was commenting on 


As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> No I haven't but I was commenting on
> 
> 
> As far as I know (and unless things have changed since I moved to Egypt) OP is correct: unless you hold certain type of accounts with the same bank in both countries e.g. HSBC to HSBC, you will not be able to transfer funds via internet banking from one country to another


Sure. I just got this from RBS website re online banking:

Pay money to another person, bank account or pay a bill

Make a payment as and when it suits you
View, amend, delete or add a payee
View a list of recent payments
Make payments to UK bank accounts
Make payments to international bank accounts - (charges apply, exchange rates may vary)
Pay your RBS credit card
UK bank account payments within the Faster Payments limit will be received by the payee almost immediately after leaving your account, but could take up to two hours.

It seems then service varies widely from one UK bank to another. 

Going bank to OP: Natwest are not great for international banking, you may want to shop around


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> No this is not true. My daughter has access to an account of mine in Scotland RBS and she transfers money from there to an account in Spain All done on line. Strange thing is they call it 24/7 banking but if you do a transfer on a Saturday it doesn't reach your account until Monday or Tuesday, bank holidays take longer,


With Barclays you cannot transfer online to a foreign account......but you can open an offshore account with them which then gives you the option to transfer online to foreign account,but i think you have to have a minimum of £50,000 in the account.


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## hhaddad (Apr 14, 2010)

hurghadapat said:


> With Barclays you cannot transfer online to a foreign account......but you can open an offshore account with them which then gives you the option to transfer online to foreign account,but i think you have to have a minimum of £50,000 in the account.


Try going to your bank here in person if you have a Visa card which draws on your U.K. bank and ask them to draw the sum you want to put in your account and then they will do the rest.That's what I did albeit it was about 10 years ago and the cost was minimul.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

hhaddad said:


> Try going to your bank here in person if you have a Visa card which draws on your U.K. bank and ask them to draw the sum you want to put in your account and then they will do the rest.That's what I did albeit it was about 10 years ago and the cost was minimul.


Very strict now about transfering money because of money laundering and this is how you have to do it with Barclays :-




Ask us a question:
Relating to:
International payments and transfers. How do I send money abroad?

You cannot make payments to non-UK bank accounts in Online Banking. You can make international payments via telephone by calling 08457 165921** (+44 (0) 1202 648 921 from outside the UK) as long as the destination account is in your name and they are for no more than £5,000. You will need to be registered for telephone banking and have your telephone banking passcode in order to use this service.

You can also do this by using our International Payments Service - visit your local branch for full details.

The service provides a flexible means of sending funds overseas and has been designed to meet your needs in terms of cost and speed. Payments are sent using an electronic bank-to-bank transfer, which is suitable for both urgent and less time-critical payments and enables the secure transfer of funds from the UK to overseas beneficiaries.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Whoops....double post and no idea how i managed that !!


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## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

hurghadapat said:


> Whoops....double post and no idea how i managed that !!


Thanks for the information, will go into my bank next week when I am back in the UK


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## Cairo Cathy (Nov 19, 2011)

leemartinwhite said:


> Hi
> I am from England and have an Egyptian bank account and would like to now if anyone can help. I would like to be able to move money from my UK account and add it to my Egyptian account. I have Internet banking on both of them and have looked into all sorts of ways ( online transfers - which cost a lot, paypal - can not be done in Egypt at this time.) I am shocked that you can not do a simple online transfer as the UK uses sort codes and the rest of the world does not. I am amazed that in this world of the Internet, online banking and technology this simple task can not be done!!!
> Any ideas from anyone out there would be great.
> 
> Thanks


It's easy.

All you do is do a SWIFT transfer.
Get the SWIFT code from your Egyptian bank and tell your UK branch to SWIFT transfer the amount to that number.

If you are in Egypt and want to transfer UK to Egypt your UK bank needs a letter with an ink signature asking for transfer. Your letter just needs your sort code, and then the amount and the SWIFT code address and branch of the Egyptian bank and MUST be signed in ink as they do not allow photocopies or faxes so you have to send it by post.
Personal experience is never use register post Egypt to UK. Always use normal because the normal post arrives in 5 days and the registered rarely arrives. Unbelievable but true as I have done this many times.


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## leemartinwhite (Nov 17, 2011)

Hi all

I just wanted to say a big thanks for all your advice and guidance on the banks and moving money to and from the UK. When I go back to England next week I will go with all the information to visit my bank and see what can be sorted out.
This was the first time I have used any sort of forum and in was a great help.
I am well converted.
Once again and big thanks
Enjoy the Egypt weather although it is getting a bit chilly this time of year.
Take care.


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## Cairo Cathy (Nov 19, 2011)

leemartinwhite said:


> Hi all
> 
> I just wanted to say a big thanks for all your advice and guidance on the banks and moving money to and from the UK. When I go back to England next week I will go with all the information to visit my bank and see what can be sorted out.
> This was the first time I have used any sort of forum and in was a great help.
> ...


enjoy the snow
Just forgot to add.
SWIFT transfers are about 20 Sterling no matter how much money you transfer.


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