BANK again...even sorrier

[kimg]

sorry if this has been flogged to death but im about to commit to a holiday home.

i clearly need a french bank account and i assume its best from reading threads herer and elsewhere to go to a local high street branch local to your house with the required documentation.

my question is in this age or mergers etc, is there no uk bank which enables a seemless transfer of funds with its french partner?

ty

kim

[suein56]

[quote user="kimg"]sorry if this has been flogged to death but im about to commit to a holiday home.

i clearly need a french bank account ... my question is in this age or mergers etc, is there no uk bank which enables a seemless transfer of funds with its french partner? [/quote]

Apparently HSBC has branches here - under its own logo perhaps - and transfers cost £10 up to the personal limit of 50000 euros per transfer, so I am informed.

Sue

[Hoddy]

I'd read that about HSBC too, they are my nearest bank in the UK.

When I looked into it though there didn't seem to be any branch near my French house.

I'd check out where the branches are before you make any definite decisions.

Hoddy

[Chas]

HSBC seem to be thin on the ground.  Our nearest is just over 1 hour away in Bordeaux.

[jc]

They have partner banks;there is one near us with an HSBC logo outside but I have never seen it open-I can't even remember who it is.Open an account with a major French bank(I use Credit Lyonnaise and have never had any problems at all-took me about 10 min. to open it but they were about to shut for lunch) and transfer money from the UK using the Co-op bank at £8 a time.The advantage of the major banks is the ability to use their branches elsewhere in France-not possible with CA.

[AnOther]

[quote user="jc"]...and transfer money from the UK using the Co-op bank at £8 a time[/quote]But at what exchange rate, comparable with the likes of HiFX or ATM withdrawls on a Nationwide Debit Card ?

I haven't seen anyone else advocating the Co-op.

[jamesg]

I use Moneybookers for smallish amounts and the rate and costs are very competitive:

http://www.moneybookers.com/app/

However at the moment I am unable to log in to the site, which won't recognise it's own turing number for some strange reason.   Anyone else have this problem?

I have emailed them and am waiting for their reply.

[Benjamin]

[quote user="jamesg"]

I have emailed them and am waiting for their reply.

[/quote]

I also use them but responding to emails is not their strong point.

[jc]

Type "tipanet" which is the Co-op system into search and you'll see some.Probably not the absolute best rate but my local Co-op branch is half a mile away,the transaction takes about 5 mins. and has never failed me.There are other cards than Nationwide that charge no commission and give good rates.

[jc]

And Credit Lyonnaise does not charge me for receiving it as some French banks do.

[AnOther]

[quote user="jc"]There are other cards than Nationwide that charge no commission and give good rates.[/quote]Pray do elaborate on that on please JC, I'm sure others would be interested too [:D]

CA have never charged me for receiving funds sent via HiFX BTW.

EDIT: Comparison charts here - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges#credit

 

 

[jc]

You've done it yourself!!!Please also note that different parts of CA operate in different ways as you will see if you look back over the past few years of fora(ums) on Finance-I first joined many years ago and there have been a number of jc's on "Living France".

[AnOther]

I guessed as much !

And yes, you're quite correct of course and thanks for reminding me, CA is not a simple bank in the traditional sense but more like a regional franchise so what you get from one branch won't neccessarily be reflected in another.

[jc]

Also,"Credit Lyonnaisse" is part of the CA parent group having been taken over a few years back.CA began as a federation of small banks-some with just one branch and some still operate like that.

[jamesg]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

[quote user="jc"]There are other cards than Nationwide that charge no commission and give good rates.[/quote]Pray do elaborate on that on please JC, I'm sure others would be interested too [:D]

CA have never charged me for receiving funds sent via HiFX BTW.

EDIT: Comparison charts here - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges#credit

 

 

[/quote]

The trouble with all these is that you have to be UK resident to obtain one.

I had a Liverpool Victoria Visa card, the Caravan Club one, even registered to my French address, but they withdrew it with no real notice following a 'policy' change.   I offered them a UK address but they said that if I was not registered to vote there they would still cancel the card and they would be checking that.

No way to treat a loyal customer.