Euro To Sterling

[bpjcf]

I am due some money from the Euro zone, & I wanted to know what was the best way to convert it to sterling, minimising or if possible eliminating the various charges which would reduce the ammount I end up with.

[Buenchico]

Your options will depend partly upon
(a) the amount involved ; and
(b) the willingness of the person paying you the money to transfer it via your chosen method.

For example, if it's a relatively small amount (and the person paying you the money is amenable to the idea) then using PayPal is probably the best way to get the money to you with minimal charges. (The only cheaper way would be for you to collect the money in cash, or have a friend bring it back for you, and exchange it at whichever exchange facility, such as Travelex or the Post Office, is offering the best rates).

However such methods aren't appropriate if, for example, you're transferring the proceeds of a house sale.

So some further information from you might help here.

Chris

[bpjcf]

Hi Chris
The ammount is about 3K Euro, & one option they have suggested is electronic transfer to a U.K. bank account, what would this entail, how would it compare to a cheque?

[johnny37]

converting to sterling or electronic transfer/cheque would all involve charges of one sort or another. It is a relatively small amount. As Chris suggests I would have someone bring it back in cash and use it to finance future trips to the eurozone by you or your family (or anyone else for that matter).

[Buenchico]

If you were sending the money the other way (by electronic transfer), Barclays (for example) would charge you £25, with the recipient's bank also levying a charge upon them. It's likely to be much the same when transferring funds to the UK from the Euro zone. So you'd need to agree with the sender who was going to pay the fee at their end.

However some UK banks waive transaction charges on payments received in Euros as long as the bank's SWIFTBIC and IBAN are correctly quoted when the transfer is made. (They're just numbers identifying the bank under the international system; your bank branch can provide them or they may appear at the top of your statements).

Electronic transfer would be cheaper than banking a cheque in Euros. If you did that you'd have to pay a hefty 'negotiation' fee if you wanted the funds to be available in 2 working days or a smaller (but still significant) 'collection' fee if you were prepared to wait up to 7 weeks for the money to be credited to your account as cleared funds.

Chris