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Hi,

has anyone used one of these companies to transfer money from the uk?

I need to transfer some money and have read that i would get a much better deal with a currency broker rather than a bank, just a bit nervous of using something new to me i don't want to end up losing my money or something awful (oh dear i must be getting old...lol, next i'll be like my old gran with her money under the matress because she didn't trust the banks)

My Dad uses them all the time Mand and never has any probs.

If I get a chance to speak to him today, I'll ask him which one he uses.

Currency specialists can save up to 4% overall compared to high street banks. Depending on the amounts and currency involved 2% - 3% is the normal range. Obviously the higher the amounts the more you can save. If you are buying a house, then receiving €103,000 instead of €100,000 on a transfer allows for a rather enjoyable housewarming party !

I've used Currency Direct. They offer various solutions (forward transactions, regularly monthly payments, etc etc). They appoint a contact person who will follow through your currency transactions and advise you of various options.

Some general notes about currency transfers : http://the-languedoc-page.com/property/currency.htm



Peter

Currency brokers are way better than the banks, particularly if it is a sizeable amount you are transferring.

I use World First and their service is excellent, you agree the deal and the rate is set (never accept the first rate offered). You then transfer sterling into their UK account and the money appears a few days later in your euro account. Before choosng Worldfirst, I tried a few others but found they suited me best.

http://www.worldfirst.com/#tab=videos

If you have an i-phone they have a good i-phone app.

There are many other companies and it is just a case of finding which fits your needs the best

I've used HIFX for years! Excellent service!

I've used CaxtonFX for 7 or 8 years without any problem!

I use Moneycorp and have never had any issues

edann42 wrote:I've used HIFX for years! Excellent service!

...so do we, and never had any problems.

ryanm63 wrote:I use Moneycorp and have never had any issues

I agree with your choice, excellent service.

Been using HIFX for sometime now....excellent service...all on line and good rates

thumbelina wrote:My Dad uses them all the time Mand and never has any probs.

If I get a chance to speak to him today, I'll ask him which one he uses.

He uses Moneycorp and the rate today is 1.19!

Hi we have been using HALO for 3 years, excellent service

Just a quick update for you Mand.

The money was transferred to Moneycorp on Thursday. It arrived in my French account on Friday! Great service.

thanks for all the replies, being new to all this money transfering would i be better off transfering now or waiting a while the money needs to be in my French bank account by the beginning of September, also because it is quite a large amount am i better off transfering it in drips and drabs or all in one go

thanks

I'm no finance specialist, but I would keep your eye on the exchange rate. The pound is going up against the euro so you may get a lot more euro for your pound in a few weeks time.

I think almost certainly, you will be best to transfer the lot in one go. You will get a better rate, the more euros you buy.

mand wrote:thanks for all the replies, being new to all this money transfering would i be better off transfering now or waiting a while the money needs to be in my French bank account by the beginning of September, also because it is quite a large amount am i better off transfering it in drips and drabs or all in one go

thanks

When we moved some money here to buy our flat,the guy at the bank said that sums over £15000 get a better exchange rate than those below,if that's any help.

I moved our complete sum for the net cash price of our erstwhile house in Le Soler from UBS Zürich
to our Crédit Mutuel account in Perpignan (though twas back in 2002, in case any laws have changed
since!), at an exchange rate which was between considerably lower than the quoted rate on that day.
It is (or was at that time) well worth it!
At the same time I brought over €25,000 in cash from UBS.
To give an idea of the difference (at that time):
The transfer was made at 1.47 CHF to €1
The cash from UBS was given at 1.56 CHF to €1

That is certainly a big difference, Roger.
What, about 8%?

mand wrote:thanks for all the replies, being new to all this money transfering would i be better off transfering now or waiting a while the money needs to be in my French bank account by the beginning of September, also because it is quite a large amount am i better off transfering it in drips and drabs or all in one go

If any of us knew the answer to whether or not it will be better later in the year then we would make a fortune. The pound is however about as high as it has been for a couple of years so it all depends on how much of a risk you are prepared to take, as others have said, keep an eye on rates.

All currency dealers will haggle and compete with each other, it may be only a fraction of a percent difference but if it is a decent size sum you are changing then it can be significant. Generally I aim to pay less than half a percent for the exchange. On Thursday last week I got 1.205, my bank would have given around 1.16. Generally speaking, larger amounts get better rates.

Never take the first rate offered, you can normally get a better rate simply by asking. I perceive this as a weakness in some of the internet based systems, - you can't haggle with a web page.

I'd agree with much of that Allan. TBH,I've never found the exchange bureaux on the Web have ofered the best rate. Always been better to go to a place where you've been a customer for a while,and they know you. Often they'll,as you say,offer you a preferential commercial rate which is far better than the rip off tourist ones.

If all you want is small amounts on a regular basis,a cashcard from people like Nationwide,put in a machine here will pay out in Euros at a very good rate. For example I did precisely that on Friday and got 1.21 to the £. No commission charges,no hassle,no form filling.

john wrote:I'd agree with much of that Allan. TBH,I've never found the exchange bureaux on the Web have ofered the best rate. Always been better to go to a place where you've been a customer for a while,and they know you. Often they'll,as you say,offer you a preferential commercial rate which is far better than the rip off tourist ones.

If all you want is small amounts on a regular basis,a cashcard from people like Nationwide,put in a machine here will pay out in Euros at a very good rate. For example I did precisely that on Friday and got 1.21 to the £. No commission charges,no hassle,no form filling.

I'm astounded by that John, on Friiday the official rate hovered around 1.21 so it cost you nothing to change. Good luck to you, I've never seen anything anywhere near that good. Do they put a maximum on how much you can change in any day?

I think the maximum Nationwide hole in the wall withdrawal is £300 a day.
We always use this method when needing to pay for a big item in cash (work done in the house for example) or if we need to put money into our French bank account.
The good thing is that we can each draw this amount if we use separate cashcards, even though we are taking the money from the same joint account.

john wrote: If all you want is small amounts on a regular basis,a cashcard from people like Nationwide,put in a machine here will pay out in Euros at a very good rate. For example I did precisely that on Friday and got 1.21 to the £. No commission charges,no hassle,no form filling.

Agreed, but sadly the days of the Nationwide cash card are numbered. Replacement cards issued over the next couple of months (called cash card+) can't be used abroad.

graham34 wrote:

john wrote: If all you want is small amounts on a regular basis,a cashcard from people like Nationwide,put in a machine here will pay out in Euros at a very good rate. For example I did precisely that on Friday and got 1.21 to the £. No commission charges,no hassle,no form filling.

Agreed, but sadly the days of the Nationwide cash card are numbered. Replacement cards issued over the next couple of months (called cash card+) can't be used abroad.

Well,Graham,I have this very week been issued with my new Nationwide debit/cash card and it is no different either in style or service to the old one.

To be fair,I've been a customer of theirs for donkey's years(remember the Anglia Building Soc ?),which may account for this and the good exchange rate I enjoy.

I suspect new customers may not be so lucky.

My Nationwide debit card comes up for renewal at the end of July.
Hope I'm as lucky as you, John.

We are Nationwide customers and use the debit cards in France without problems and get good rates. My understanding is that all Nationwide debit cards are currently being reissued (ours all came this month), for security reasons - the card numbers are different - and perhaps also something to do with the demise of the cheque guarantee system.

From what I've read debit cards are fine. It's replacement cash cards (one's without a chip) that were going to change. Nationwide Credit card goes on as normal, but it is obviously a relatively poor deal for obtaining cash.

graham34 wrote:From what I've read debit cards are fine. It's replacement cash cards (one's without a chip) that were going to change. Nationwide Credit card goes on as normal, but it is obviously a relatively poor deal for obtaining cash.

Am I missing something here? John got a rate on his Nationwide card that was far better than any bank or broker would offer.

That doesn't sound like a poor deal to me.

Allan wrote:

graham34 wrote:From what I've read debit cards are fine. It's replacement cash cards (one's without a chip) that were going to change. Nationwide Credit card goes on as normal, but it is obviously a relatively poor deal for obtaining cash.

Am I missing something here? John got a rate on his Nationwide card that was far better than any bank or broker would offer.

That doesn't sound like a poor deal to me.

I think he meant it would be a poor deal if you used your credit card to get cash.
The debit card is always a good deal as far as I am concerned.

We use both nationwide debit and credit cards, when we move to france are we better off keeping these cards (will the nationwide let us if our address is in France).