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Best bank for receiving Euros
Thread poster: Nick Brisland, BA (Hons)
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
yes, but Jun 13, 2014

Nick Brisland wrote:

Tom in London wrote:

Nick Brisland wrote:

Richard Foulkes wrote:

I've used my account with HSBC for years. No transfer fees. Haven't shopped around to compare recently but I've just looked at a recent transfer advice note from 1 April and the exchange rate applied was 1.2364. Hope that helps.


Natwest's rate today is 1.1821, which is a little more favourable, but I guess it may have changed quite a bit since April 1.


1.2576 recently via FirstDirect, receiving an inward payment from Italy. No added fees. I left Natwest because they charge for every transaction. FirstDirect don't. Plus I had other issues with Natwest (dishonesty). I'm happy enough with FirstDirect.

[Edited at 2014-06-13 12:12 GMT]


... is 1.1877. Which makes Natwest a little more favourable; assuming you're receiving €1000, Natwest would give you £841.96 (-£7 = 834.96), and First Direct would give you £795.17. I might just stick with Natwest.


I don't understand your calculation. 1.2576 is 1.1877?


 
Nick Brisland, BA (Hons)
Nick Brisland, BA (Hons)
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2013)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
.... Jun 13, 2014

Tom in London wrote:

Nick Brisland wrote:

Tom in London wrote:

Nick Brisland wrote:

Richard Foulkes wrote:

I've used my account with HSBC for years. No transfer fees. Haven't shopped around to compare recently but I've just looked at a recent transfer advice note from 1 April and the exchange rate applied was 1.2364. Hope that helps.


Natwest's rate today is 1.1821, which is a little more favourable, but I guess it may have changed quite a bit since April 1.


1.2576 recently via FirstDirect, receiving an inward payment from Italy. No added fees. I left Natwest because they charge for every transaction. FirstDirect don't. Plus I had other issues with Natwest (dishonesty). I'm happy enough with FirstDirect.

[Edited at 2014-06-13 12:12 GMT]


... is 1.1877. Which makes Natwest a little more favourable; assuming you're receiving €1000, Natwest would give you £841.96 (-£7 = 834.96), and First Direct would give you £795.17. I might just stick with Natwest.


I don't understand your calculation. 1.2576 is 1.1877?


Sorry, my post wasn't very clear. Natwest's rate today is 1.1877. My calculation may well be wrong - it's Friday afternoon and a warm one at that!


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
? Jun 13, 2014

I never was any good at maths, but what I don’t understand is why we are quoting rates as

‘1.2576’, ‘1.1877’, and ‘1.2364’ (which I assume means: 1.00 GBP = 1.2576 EUR, etc.)

when talking about conversions from euros into pounds.

I would normally quote it the other way around, namely: 1.00 EUR = 0.798604 GBP (today's rate on xe.com).

Michael


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Yes... Jun 13, 2014

Michael Beijer wrote:

I never was any good at maths, but what I don’t understand is why we are quoting rates as

‘1.2576’, ‘1.1877’, and ‘1.2364’ (which I assume means: 1.00 GBP = 1.2576 EUR, etc.)

when talking about conversions from euros into pounds.

I would normally quote it the other way around, namely: 1.00 EUR = 0.798604 GBP (today's rate on xe.com).

Michael


Yes Michael - that's part of the problem when comparing the exchange rates of different banks. When I was banking with Natwest they would always apply the "Euro -> GBP" rate whereas HSBC seem to apply the "GBP->-Euro" rate.

I confess can't make head or tail of it (which is probably intentional on their part).

All I know is that for every payment I received from NatWest they used to apply their exchange rate and then add a whack for themselves, no matter how little or how large the amount. For the smallish amounts I was receiving (never more than 1k-2K Euro) this was punitive (£7 every time!) so I fired Natwest.

[Edited at 2014-06-13 15:41 GMT]


 
Oliver Walter
Oliver Walter  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
German to English
+ ...
Illogical / unfair Jun 13, 2014

Nick Brisland wrote:
A lot of my work is paid in Euros and at the moment, I bank with Natwest. Their fees can be as much as £7 per payment, which doesn't sound like much, but can add up over the course of a year, and it just seems stupid to throw money away.

I also receive payments into a NatWest account and I consider the fee is really stupid: £1 for amounts up to £100, and £7 for greater amounts. Results for one payment:
  • £99 before the fee is taken: I receive £98;
  • £101 before the fee is taken: I receive £94.


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Banks are banks. They will always get their money in the end. Jun 13, 2014

Oliver Walter wrote:

Nick Brisland wrote:
A lot of my work is paid in Euros and at the moment, I bank with Natwest. Their fees can be as much as £7 per payment, which doesn't sound like much, but can add up over the course of a year, and it just seems stupid to throw money away.

I also receive payments into a NatWest account and I consider the fee is really stupid: £1 for amounts up to £100, and £7 for greater amounts. Results for one payment:
  • £99 before the fee is taken: I receive £98;
  • £101 before the fee is taken: I receive £94.



I think everyone ought to keep in mind that the fee a bank charges you for a transfer is not only what they label as a ‘fee’. Their fee also consists of the exchange rate they choose to use for the conversion.

Banks are banks. They will always get their money in the end. If they tell you that they have lowered their fees, you can safely assume they are just going to get it in another way. I therefore strongly suggest looking into specialised services for transfers of these types.

Michael


 
Hilary Bruce
Hilary Bruce  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Italian to English
+ ...
A handy tip Jun 13, 2014

It is well worth haggling with your preferred money exchange service and asking them to match or better a quote from a competitor. They can often offer a better deal than their first quote.

I've never tied to haggle with my bank, which is HSBC....somehow I don't think the call center operator would play ball on that one.


 
cranium
cranium
French to English
+ ...
Locking in exchange rate Jun 14, 2014

That's neat that Smart Currency Exchange offers forwards - could be especially useful for someone who debits their foreign account quarterly.

"A ‘Forward’ allows you to reserve a currency exchange rate today, yet not have to pay for it or send the money until an agreed date in the future."
http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/money_transfer.aspx


 
Richard Pitwood
Richard Pitwood  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2014)
French to English
+ ...
Open a foreign bank account Jul 21, 2014

Moneysavingexpert.com recommends DKB-Cash http://www.dkb.de/privatkunden/dkb_cash/ based in Berlin

Seems to be totally free to use, you get a visa debit/cash card and 0.2% credit interest even. I haven't seen yet what the exchange rate is if you take out cash in GBP, but I'm not intending to anyway.

I want an account based in the eurozone, so I have applied to open one a
... See more
Moneysavingexpert.com recommends DKB-Cash http://www.dkb.de/privatkunden/dkb_cash/ based in Berlin

Seems to be totally free to use, you get a visa debit/cash card and 0.2% credit interest even. I haven't seen yet what the exchange rate is if you take out cash in GBP, but I'm not intending to anyway.

I want an account based in the eurozone, so I have applied to open one and HSBC (my bank) kindly filled out the ID verification form for me although their policy is not to.

That was only last week so I don't actually have an account yet, but I'll let you know.
Collapse


 
Richard Pitwood
Richard Pitwood  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member (2014)
French to English
+ ...
Transferring money Jul 21, 2014

Oh and I should have added to avoid bank charges transferring from one country/currency to another try Transferwise. It is peer-to-peer, in other words you are matched up with someone else who wants to change their money the other way. Costs a lot less than a bank. It's a bit weird as you have to watch a timer on the screen while it matches transactions up.



[Edited at 2014-07-21 15:56 GMT]


 
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Best bank for receiving Euros






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