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Transferring funds from UK to France


Washy
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Trying to set up internet  transfers between HSBC and CCF to move money from UK To France but the UK bank not helping much (They dont know what they are doing )

I have seen on here members doing it can any one tell me how they did it please 

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Following the posts from Hagar I 'phoned HSBC to see if they could help me open an account with CCF.  They suggested I went to a local branch and I had to tell them that the local branch couldn't do it.  Eventually, they put me through to a woman at the International Branch in the Channel Isles, who was very nice, but of no help.  She gave me the Paris 'phone number and suggested I speak to someone there.

I'm going over to my holiday home on 5th April so I'll see about doing something then.  In the meantime, I've opened a Flexaccount with Nationwide and transferred a large sum there - they don't charge for transactions in Europe - and a credit card with Liverpool Victoria who also don't charge for foreign transactions.

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We are looking for quicker ways of exchanging money and therefore asked a direct question to Britline:

Got this reply from Britline

 

Thank you for your email.

To pay an English sterling cheque into your Britline account, the fees are
the following:
   0.1% with minimum of 13? for Foreign exchange comission
   16.74?  for the negociation fee for a foreign cheque

Kind Regards,

Caroline

Britline

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After reading all the e-mails ref. transfer of funds from English bank acc.(ours is HSBC--mentioned several times) & being a keen advocate in UK of internet banking I decided to try to instigate this to transfer approx Ā£500/700 euros to our French account with Societe General-(-incidently fee-free so far -as we don't need a cash card, as only ever pay money for electricity, water, taxes etc)  Met with absolute stone wall!! I tried phoning Internet helpline( think it was in India!!) they eventually gave me a different no. to call--he must have been from Barcelona as he "knew nothing!!" in end I went to local branch, who were very dismissive, told me NOT possible, so I used the archaic snail method of World Pay & paid Ā£9.  In this day, SURELY there must be a way of e-transfer?? Anyone a recommended way round this--I have tried the foreign exchange guys, but they only seem keen on bigger, or monthly transfers & still charge a fair bit to do so.:
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I, in common with many on this forum, use Moneybookers.

The went through a bad patch a while ago (slow) but I've just transferred ā‚¬1500 very cheaply (c. ā‚¬2.00) and quickly.

All on the internet without leaving my chair!

I'm with Britline and there isn't any fee from them for these transactions.

In the UK I bank with Smile (internet bank) and pay a monthly amount into my CA Britline account by direct debit but this costs Ā£8.00 at the Smile end and zero from Britline.

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I see you folks are having much the same conversation as my question 'Finance-bank accounts'.

Hagar - you've certainly set a hare running with your information re your HSBC/CCF transactions. I too have investigated this, and was told by someone at HSBC, in 'telephone banking'

a  - an electronic transfer would take several days and cost Ā£20

b - the quaintly titled 'worldpay' system (mentioned by someone else here as well) would cost Ā£9.00 and take AT LEAST a week.

c - foreign transfers can't be done on the internet. You have to go into your branch and sign a form to authorize them!

How bizarre is that? If it  wasn't so exasperating we'd be vastly entertained at the comedy value of it all.  I'm actually with First Direct, which is a subsidiary of HSBC, and in fact they would only charge me Ā£10 to transfer funds to a CCF account, via net  or phone instructions, - less than the ' mother' company. !

Perhaps H. can tell us where his magical S.Wales branch is, or track down a name in the depths of the HSBC organisation that will authorize the fee-free net account?

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I Guess that HSBC is a bit like the French Bureacracy - depends on who you speak to, what day of the week it is, whether the moon is waxing or waning........

If anybody wants to pursue it further have a look a HSBC's own web site -http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/hsbc/main/how-can-we-help-you/about-to-move-overseas-/andrew-case-study

click on "international money transfers" - from which I quote.

Alternatively, you can do it all yourself through our Internet Banking service in a matter of minutes. Either way, you have total control and know with certainty the currency value of the money being transferred.

Our foreign exchange transactions have no transaction charge and you will benefit from a very competitive fee for making overseas payments. Whatā€™s more, if you undertake the payment through our internet banking service, you will benefit from a even lower fee*. Full details are available on internet banking

 

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I think you'll find that this relates to an Offshore Account, which is based in the Channel Isles, rather than a French bank account with an HSBC subsidiary.  I had a long 'phone conversation with someone from the Channel Isles that I think I mentioned.

I'd just love to be able to open a French account and use my internet banking to move funds between accounts.  Can you let us have a name, and 'phone number of your Welsh branch?

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Robbie34

You are right about that being the offshore section - I just did a site search on "internet banking international payments" and ended up there. However it describes the service that I use and my account is not an offshore account.

Have sent you a PM re branch contact.

rgds

Hagar

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[quote]This is mainly for landlords and property agents and for paying rent and builders etc - I have at last found a currency provider who will transfer smaller amounts of money on a regular basis to euro a...[/quote]

DaveC - I assume you are referring to my last post - if not then pls ignore.

I am (have been called) many things but I am neither a landlord nor a property agent. I don't pay rent and the only way I have ever paid a builder in france is by personal cheque.

Perhaps I should also add that I am not, and never have been an employee or agent of HSBC. I am just a customer - and not a particularly satisfied one at that.

The process I have described  on this thread works for me personally in exactly the way I have described.

The reason I have posted is to (hopefully) inform forum members that there are now available on-line services for transferring funds from UK to France that are extremely efficient, almost immediate and that offer a large degree of control and "comfort factor".

rgds

Hagar

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I need to transfer money from England to France for the building of a house.

I have found Halo financial on the internet who say they have no commission charge and offer good exchange rates.

Has anyone dealt with this company or can recommend a similar company please?

Rob.

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I am very happy to recommend HIFX for transferring larger sums - http://www.hifx.co.uk

I telephoned them on Tuesday morning to arrange a transfer.  They quoted me 1.43 Euros to GBP - which is pretty good considering the interbank rate was just over 1.44 at the time.

I sent the funds to HIFX by CHAPS transfer from my Halifax account at 1pm.  There was an additional charge by Halifax of Ā£18 for this but the money arrived at HIFX before close of business the same day.  HIFX could then arranged for the Euros to be deposited into my Britline account and they were credited to online bank account by Thursday afternoon.  Britline charged me 14 euros to receive the transfer but as I needed to make sure the funds were there in time to pay my builders, I am not complaining about that.

Also, I have had a few scares in the past with Moneybookers, when they have taken 3-4 weeks to deposit the money into the Britline account so, as far as I'm concerned, paying these small charges is definitely worth the peace of mind.

By the way, the renovations are starting to look pretty good so far - I just had to tell someone!!!

Regards

Stuart

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I also ended up paying significant charges through my bank when I used Lloyds TSB online and the exchange rate wasn't that competitive either.

After doing some research into this I found a great company in London called Halo Financial. They are able to transfer money for me over the telephone and I get a very good exchange rate. They transferred money for me and it was in my French account that afternoon.! Very impressed. 

Very easy. I'd recommend them. Website is www.halofinancial.com or speak to Dave on 0207 350 5474.

S

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  • 2 weeks later...
Just thought I'd add my two pennies worth.....

Over the last few years we have had occasion to make quite a few sterling into euro exchanges and then transfers to our French CA a/c.

We have always used our clearing bank to do the transfer - First Direct. The reason why is not just because it's easier, but also because we have got the best rate from them.

I used to work in the City and used to trade currencies a lot, so have a good idea about how the market works.

The way to do it is to look at pages like this http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/overview/default.stm or http://www.bloomberg.co.uk/markets/currencies/fxc.html to see the "spot rate" - the actual mid-market rate the "professionals" are trading at (or to be more accurate, just around). These rates are updated live and are the real market rates.

Then when you are quoted a rate you know how far away from the market rate you are being quoted - i.e. how much you are being ripped off! 1% is a lot in foreign exchange - you can usually always do better than that, especially in larger amounts.

Today, we had to transfer Ā£100k - initially First Direct quoted us 0.5% away from spot, but after I complained that that was too far away, they tightened it to 0.3% away. I then checked with Currencies Direct who wanted 1.1% away from spot. Thus, we saved 0.8% - which was quite considerable.

You have less leeway to negotiate on lower amounts. But, one shouldn't write off clearing banks as providing bad rates. Even if you get charged to transfer the money (FD charge Ā£20 whatever the amount), this is minimal compared to the amount you can lose on a bad exchange rate. The thing to do is check the rate from the spot - then you can compare like with like.

It's a very competitive market and you should make them compete for your money!

Dean (Christiane's husband)
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[quote]Just thought I'd add my two pennies worth.....Over the last few years we have had occasion to make quite a few sterling into euro exchanges and then transfers to our French CA a/c.We have always used ...[/quote]

Yes, when we bought our house we used First Direct to transfer, the rate was comparable to that of currency transfer companies at the time.  But we felt it was much safer and it was quicker.  I have been having eggs waiting around for the money to come in when using other transfer companies, the money seems to disappear into a black hole and you just don't seem to know when it is going to get there, which is not really worth the stress for several thousand.

Georgina

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  • 1 month later...
 

Having got all excited by Hagar's experiences with HSBC/CCF and the lack of charges I rang HSBC today to find out how I too could open a CCF  account. 

The very nice chap (somewhere in London, not a call centre) explained that they could open a CCF a/c for me and transfer money from my HSBC a/c but there would be sending cost from HSBC of Ā£10 and the receiving cost from CCF would be 14 euros.

Apparently there are NO charges if you are an HSBC Premier account holder. To be one of these you have to have income over (I think he said, as I fell off my chair) Ā£70,000 single or Ā£100,000 joint or Ā£30,000 savings or an outstanding mortgage of Ā£150,000 with them! 

He advised I stick with the current CA a/c I have until I can become a Premier a/c holder! I have 2 hopes of that and one of them is Bob!

If anyone else wants to get clarification, the HSBC number I called is 020 7991 7278

I think I'll give Moneybookers a go..

Jac

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I withdrew some money from a HSBC cash card machine yesterday  - excluding the charge (Ā£1.5)  charge, the money was converted at a rate of 1.4101!

It's certainly better to transfer money to a French account and then use the French Card.

-Rob-

PS: Just checked the HSBC internet account and I could not find any option (transfer moeny, make a payment) to transfer money internationally.

PPS: Moneybooks has taken 7 days and still not there with my latest transfer...

 

 

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[quote]I withdrew some money from a HSBC cash card machine yesterday - excluding the charge (Ā£1.5) charge, the money was converted at a rate of 1.4101! It's certainly better to transfer money to a French ...[/quote]

Try foreign currencies direct, I now have my monthly pension transferred at an agreed rate (I've gone for 6 months), for up tp 2 years.  You have to pay 11% deposit which is then used against future payments. The rate is not as good as a spot rate but still OK, it's Ā£7.50 per month, better than I could find so far.  I still think it's wrong that I have to pay to get my pension, but that's another matter!  It is usually here in France the day after they receive my money.

Regards,

Bob

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The following is taken from the HSBC website. It refers to the Premiere brand services which require a certain level of involvement with the bank.

 

Banking overseas with HSBC Premier
HSBC Premier has been set up to provide customers with a higher level of individual attention - wherever you may be in the world. It puts at your disposal a comprehensive range of accounts and personal services that we tailor to your individual needs. International Services is a part of HSBC Premier that has been especially designed for customers moving overseas to live or work. This is a unique service which is available between the UK and a number of key countries and includes:

  • a relationship manager in the UK and your new country to help you every step of the way
  • access to credit facilities, such as loans and credit cards, in your new country at similar levels to those you enjoy in the UK*
  • new HSBC Premier current and savings accounts with cheque books, bank cards, credit card and PINs for your new country - normally available within ten working days of completing your application
  • fee-free transfer of funds between your accounts within the HSBC Group in the same name in different countries, via the internet
  • wide range of offshore services available from HSBC Bank International Limited.

 

Incidentally, HSBC Worldpay costs Ā£10 per transaction. In my experience you have to specifically request it or you may end up paying Ā£21 for their standard IBAN transfer service.

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Apparently there are NO charges if you are an HSBC Premier account holder. To be one of these you have to have income over (I think he said, as I fell off my chair) Ā£70,000 single or Ā£100,000 joint or Ā£30,000 savings or an outstanding mortgage of Ā£150,000 with them! 

Normandie Bou:

I posted the message above before I read yours.

Without giving too much away about myself, I have a pension which is a fraction smaller than a quarter of the single income amount and ISA savings which amount to nothing like Ā£30,000 but HSBC have made me a Premier account holder. I have told them several times that I do not qualify - as they can see from their dealings with me. This has all been brushed aside with "consider it a reward for being a loyal customer."

You never know ....

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Interestin thread. We've just bought a house and after setting up a currenciesdirect account I phoned through and got spot rates 3 times with them and compared them with my own bankers - Barclays - each time Barclays beat them by a substantial fraction of a percent. Barclays did charge me Ā£20 for the transfer but as another correspondent pointed out, 0.5% on the sort of money you buy a house with makes a Ā£20 charge seem insignificant. Also Barclays do internet or telephone transfers but beware, and I imagione all banks are the same, internet transfers have an upper limit on the amount of internet transactions per day. Even as a premier customer its not very much. Weekend spending money might be okay.
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