ChezTinns Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Can anyone help?We are looking at the most cost-effective way of transferring money from the UK to our french bank account. Ideally we would like to do this on a monthly basis - so that it is easy to budget for. So far our hunt for informationm has come up with some horrendous bank charges which we would obviously like to AVOID! We will be living (and working) in the UK, but want to top up our french account regularly to cover expenses of running our holiday home, whilst trying to accumulate a bit of a slush fund for whilst we are there!ThanksJT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Co-op bank-Tipanet.£8 a transfer and no other charges but you have to do each one seperately-ie. visit your local bank each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Currencies4Less do a overseas monthly payment plan whereby the rate is fixed for 12 months and I thinks the fees are fairly reasonable, but you do have to commit yourself for a year at a time; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surgeonofsteel Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 try xetrade.com you have to trade yourself each time you transfer but they have given me the best rates and around 8 pounds per transaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opalienne Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 It's absolutely not true that you have to visit your bank for each Tipanet transfer at the Co-op. You can have a standing order, and also change or make additional payments over the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQF Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 hifx.co.uk - fix the rate 12 months in advance, no charges at all (even at the receiving bank) - it's all built into the rate. Ideal for <£500 monthly transfers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alnmike Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 For smaller amounts, www.moneybookers.com we've found them very reliable and very reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Someone told me they have two Paypal accounts, one UK and one in France, they use it to transfer funds. No idea if its cheap or not, but thats what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Never thought of that! I'll have to check out the exchange rates. There is no charge to receive money on Paypal if you have the basic account - but if I remember correctly (I only use it to pay for things on ebay so it hasn't been relevant to me so far) they charge you to withdraw the money from your Paypal account into your bank account.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilec Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 I think it depends on the amount you want to transfer each month. HIFX and some others have a minimum threshold. Paypal is more expensive than moneybookers who only charge 1.80€ per transaction, up to 350€, and 3.50€ for larger amounts.If you set it up saying that you live in France, and thus have your french bank as your primary account, then the charge is a maximum of 1.80€Guess who didn't know this until too late?[:@] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val douest Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 We have PayPal accounts in both the UK and France. PayPal charges 2.5%of the amount transferred, effectively built into the exchange rate atthe moment of transfer eg: today's rate is £1 = 1.46 euro, so payPaluse £1 = 1.42 euro. There is no transfer fee, ie no fee for receivingmoney into personal accounts; business accounts are charged 3.4% + 20pence for receiving money.If, in any one year, you have transactions worth more than £4500,PayPal in the UK insists on verifying your UK account, which meansallowing them Direct Debit access. They then send two small paymentsinto your account; you verify the account by telling them, on a form onthe net which they provide, the amounts received. Why they require DDaccess to send you money is not at all clear to me; perhaps, as anAmerican outfit, they don't understand that they can send money to youraccount without requiring DD access. Anyway, I personally have had noproblems with that, but I can understand that some people might objectto it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryansmith Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 We came to France in September 2005 and arranged our money transfers through HIFX. They are easy to deal with very helpful and no charges whatsoever. You do have to sign a contract for 12 months and the rate is then fixed (we got a rate which has compared very favourably with quoted rates from other sources). No idea what the minimum amount is for regular monthly transfers but having been quoted horrific charges by our own Bank we are delighted with the service from HIFX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradford Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Hi,We're moving over in July. I will be using HIFX to transfer my medical pension. They have told me that I can have a contract from six to twenty-four months. We have used them for the purchase of the house and topping up of our account in France and have had no charges whatsoever and a good exchange rate. (I have no affiliation to HIFX).RegardsPaul Bradford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Currencies Direct do a monthly direct debit from your UK account and transfer to your French account. Money is in limbo for about 4/6 days- I guess thats how they make their cut. No fees and we have used them since moving over here in 2000 without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham & Brenda Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 One way of reducing your need to transfer is to use a UK credit card in France - a low cost one like Nationwide if possible, then pay from your UK sterling account monthly by direct debit. Also if using a Nationwide current account it is cheap to make cash withdrawals in France, again reducing the need for transfers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwenn Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 We use hifx for our UK to France transfers and are very happy with them. I'm not sure when you are tied to taking a regular contract with HIFX but we have been using them for irregular transfers for the last couple of years and we haven't got a contract with them. I don't know what the minimum amount is though. I found their website confusing but spoke to them on the phone and they are very helpful. Definitely recommended :) We had a nightmare with moneybookers, they couldn't recognise our bank account details and their customer service was terrible. We ended up having to draw the money in 2 cheques (euros) but because the cheques (although ordered from Moneybookers Paris) came from outside France we were charged by our bank to deposit them.I'd be careful about having two Paypal accounts as I believe it's against paypal regulations to have an account in a country other than your primary residence, and I've heard of them freezing the money under fraud regulations so probably not worth the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Endorse all the complimentary comments re HIFX.Have used them for everything from house purchase (scary at the time, because it was the 1st transaction), to occasional tsfrs, to our regular mthly 'salary'. Reliable, efficient, helpful.There may well be other methods that will save you a quid or two, but what price peace of mind? By the way, there are probably several other good brokers who offer as good a service. Whatever, they're all bound to be better (provided financially secure) than the clearing banks, who I wouldn't give house room to.(I modified that last comment for reasons of potential libel and good taste!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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