# transfering sterling to euro (britain to ireland)



## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

Hello,
I am writing to ask if anyone knows what are the expenses for transfering sterling currency from England to Ireland. My aunt and her husband have sold their house and plan to buy in Ireland for their retirement

I know there are several ways to do this including:

1. Opening an account with a national bank in N.ireland that offers no charges for transfers sterling to euro

2. Opening a 'foreign currency' account (in sterling) in Ireland at one of the national banks.

3. That FX or whatever it is called thing where you risk your life savings to a broker whom you don't know (As you might tell - I am a bit_ more _cynical of this one than the others.

4. Open a savings account in ireland in euros and directly transfering the money from a non related UK national ' high street ' bank.

5. Use a bank such as H5BC that offers accounts in all currenies. I'm not sure if I got this one right but anyway they have had problems with this bank so this ones a no go.

They have chosen the 4th method, as they have already a savings account in euros in the republic of ireland. I have done some research for them and I can see that 11oyds for example charge 35 pounds for a transfer and you can ask them to 'convert the money into euros' before the transfer is done. This service costs I think 35 pounds (which is not bad if you are transfering a large sum).
What I don't like about this method is that in the small print it says that there 'may' be an agent's fee (this is absolute exploitation in my view) but that the bank cannot say before hand how much this agent's fee will be. Now I can well imagine that a bank must make it worth its while to do things for customers when the time they can hold on to our money is being reduced all the time, but I would love to know if anyone here from experience can tell me how much in real terms it cost them to transfer pounds to euros (britain to ireland) using this method (or anyother method for that matter)

Thanks


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I leave my money in the UK and when I need to top up my bank account in Spain I buy Euros through Currencydirect.. there is no charge for this service and you get a much better rate than the banks give you. It is easy to set up an account and once you have done this you can actually buy with a telephone call using your debit card.. easy peasy

Maiden


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

Currenciesdirect.com ? or currencydirect? Thanks for the info


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

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


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


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


looks dodgy to me


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Kato_Au_Placard said:


> looks dodgy to me




Not dodgy at all... you will find most people transfer money this way.. lots of companies do it.


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


> Not dodgy at all... you will find most people transfer money this way.. lots of companies do it.


i find that hard to believe (that most people transfer money this way)
You are telling me that a retired couple or any couple for that matter or individual with their life savings would choose not to pay 35 euros to their local bank and would prefer to give it to an FX company? lol


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Kato_Au_Placard said:


> i find that hard to believe (that most people transfer money this way)
> You are telling me that a retired couple or any couple for that matter or individual with their life savings would choose not to pay 35 euros to their local bank and would prefer to give it to an FX company? lol




Yes.. banks do not give you a good exchange rate but hey it's up to you, you asked a question and I answered to the best of my ability.


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


> Yes.. banks do not give you a good exchange rate but hey it's up to you, you asked a question and I answered to the best of my ability.


You sure did


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Try Foreign Money & Currency Exchange Services, Euro Exchange, UK Currency Converter :: SmartCurrencyExchange.com

I have used them, over 3000, no commission and you can set the exchange rate that you wish to transfer your currency at.

If you can find a better way, please let us know


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kato_Au_Placard said:


> i find that hard to believe (that most people transfer money this way)
> You are telling me that a retired couple or any couple for that matter or individual with their life savings would choose not to pay 35 euros to their local bank and would prefer to give it to an FX company? lol



Most people I know do - doesnt everyone???

Jo xxx


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

No.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...in/67430-small-cash-transfers-withdrawls.html I know its not Ireland and it was written a year ago, but it may give you an idea

Jo xxx


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## Kato_Au_Placard (Oct 5, 2011)

It would seem the best way is via the post office - as I said its for transferring large sums of money than ks for the info in any case maiden


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

> It would seem the best way is via the post office


Like banks, you are not going to get the best rate.


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