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Best way to receive Euro payments in the UK
Thread poster: Mihailolja
Mihailolja
Mihailolja
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
Oct 19, 2017

Hello,

How do colleagues in the UK receive payments in Euros apart from the default option of getting them converted to Pounds in a UK bank account? (I'd prefer not to have to Euro payments converted to Pounds because I need the Euros for holidays!)

I used to have a CITI bank account in Euros and it was very simple but they've closed these accounts.

I now have a Euro account with the Bank of Cyprus but the charges and fees are extortionate.

Any
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Hello,

How do colleagues in the UK receive payments in Euros apart from the default option of getting them converted to Pounds in a UK bank account? (I'd prefer not to have to Euro payments converted to Pounds because I need the Euros for holidays!)

I used to have a CITI bank account in Euros and it was very simple but they've closed these accounts.

I now have a Euro account with the Bank of Cyprus but the charges and fees are extortionate.

Any ideas anyone?

Best Regards

Mihailo
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Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
how I do it Oct 19, 2017

Although the fees are not great, I am quite happy with my current solution:

I have 1 × £ account, and 1 × € account at Barclays, here in the UK.

Their online banking system and smartphone apps are very good, and I can manage both accounts from the same interface, which is very handy. As I said though, they sometimes charge high fees, e.g., if you want to send someone in Europe euros (which I hardly ever need to do).

Another slightly cheaper (but only
... See more
Although the fees are not great, I am quite happy with my current solution:

I have 1 × £ account, and 1 × € account at Barclays, here in the UK.

Their online banking system and smartphone apps are very good, and I can manage both accounts from the same interface, which is very handy. As I said though, they sometimes charge high fees, e.g., if you want to send someone in Europe euros (which I hardly ever need to do).

Another slightly cheaper (but only slightly), is to get both a euro and sterling account in the UK (e.g. at Barclays), but then do all cross-currency transfers with a currency broker, such as CurrencyFair (http://www.currencyfair.com/ ). That is, if a client pays you in euros, to your UK euro account, you send it to your other UK account (the £ one), with a currency exchange company, which will be slightly cheaper than doing it internally via Barclays. However, doing it via Barclays is easier as it is just an internal transfer, which can be done from the online interface, or even your phone.

HTH!

Michael
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Mihailolja
Mihailolja
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Oct 19, 2017

Cheers Michael for that, I might just do exactly the same.

You've solved a major problem for me.

Best Regards

Mihailo


 
Laura Mussutto
Laura Mussutto  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
English to Italian
+ ...
I'm still with Citi Oct 21, 2017

Are you sure they don't do Euro accounts anymore?
I still have a Euro account with Citibank and use it regularly to receive payments and pay in shops/withdraw money when in the Eurozone.
I can also see they still advertise them on their website. Try giving them a call as I think their conditions on foreign currency accounts are the best.
Laura


 
Mihailolja
Mihailolja
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
They've definitely closed them..... Oct 21, 2017

Hi Laura,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal-banking/current-accounts/citibank-scraps-low-cost-foreign-currency-account/

Barclays seems to be perhaps the only option.

Best Regards

Mihailo


 
Angela Malik
Angela Malik  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
German to English
+ ...
HSBC also offers euro accounts Oct 23, 2017

Mihailolja wrote:

Barclays seems to be perhaps the only option.



Just so you know, HSBC also offers euro accounts, as does Santander. I use HSBC, exactly the way that Michael Beijer described.

The only thing is that as far as I know, you cannot withdraw euros as euros from your HSBC account (at least I think that is still the case). You have to transfer the money to a GBP account to withdraw it as cash.

For me this is not a big issue; I just use my euro account to stock currency so I can pay my suppliers in Europe (via online SEPA transfers) without being at the whim of the exchange rate or losing money to the bank in currency conversion fees, and also to stockpile euros so that I can transfer big amounts at times when the exchange rate is more favourable instead of having to hope that the exchange rate is OK at the exactly moment when my clients make their payments.


 
Armorel Young
Armorel Young  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:10
German to English
Yes, HSBC Oct 23, 2017

Like Angela, I have sterling and euro accounts with HSBC and find that works absolutely fine. Contrary to what she says, I find that I can withdraw euros as euros from the euro account (but only in cash / over the counter), and in fact that is mainly what I use the euro account for - as a source of euros that haven't been converted into sterling and back out again.

 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
~ Oct 23, 2017

Yes, I had HSBC accounts (£ + €) prior to switching to Barclays a while back, which I did because I prefer the Barclays online banking software.
E.g., back when I was using HSBC, their online system had no keyword search within transactions (!).


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Member (2004)
English to Italian
same here... Oct 23, 2017

Armorel Young wrote:

Like Angela, I have sterling and euro accounts with HSBC and find that works absolutely fine. Contrary to what she says, I find that I can withdraw euros as euros from the euro account (but only in cash / over the counter), and in fact that is mainly what I use the euro account for - as a source of euros that haven't been converted into sterling and back out again.


The major shortcoming of the currency account is that it doesn't offer a card... so, when I'm in Italy, I can't use it to withdraw money from the cash point...

[Edited at 2017-10-23 13:41 GMT]


 
Angela Malik
Angela Malik  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
German to English
+ ...
Oops, sorry, you're absolutely right Oct 23, 2017

Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:

Armorel Young wrote:

Like Angela, I have sterling and euro accounts with HSBC and find that works absolutely fine. Contrary to what she says, I find that I can withdraw euros as euros from the euro account (but only in cash / over the counter), and in fact that is mainly what I use the euro account for - as a source of euros that haven't been converted into sterling and back out again.


The major shortcoming of the currency account is that it doesn't offer a card... so, when I'm in Italy, I can't use it to withdraw money from the cash point...


Ah, sorry about that, I knew it felt a bit fishy when I was writing it (sorry, I'm tired today!) Yes, absolutely right -- the reason why it is more difficult to withdraw euros is not because you can't but because the bank doesn't issue a debit card for the foreign currency account.


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
re withdrawing cash (in euros) abroad Oct 23, 2017

Don't quote me on this, because I haven't looked into it yet fully, but my Barclays account manager called me recently to let me know about their "Barclaycard Platinum card" or "Platinum travel credit card" (think it was called something like that). anyway, she said that with this card, you can withdraw euros in Europe, from cash machines, for free. subject to a few conditions, of course.

hmm, as I'm writing this, I realise I also don't know whether this means withdrawing it from
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Don't quote me on this, because I haven't looked into it yet fully, but my Barclays account manager called me recently to let me know about their "Barclaycard Platinum card" or "Platinum travel credit card" (think it was called something like that). anyway, she said that with this card, you can withdraw euros in Europe, from cash machines, for free. subject to a few conditions, of course.

hmm, as I'm writing this, I realise I also don't know whether this means withdrawing it from your Barclays £ account, or your Barclays € account.

In any case, my wife, daughter and I are off to Barcelona this Christmas (to visit my family), and so I am planning to look into this more fully before we go. From what I remember, it sounded like a good way for me to take out euros while in Spain.

just found this: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/platinum-travel-credit-card

(will report back after I call Barclays)

[Edited at 2017-10-23 15:56 GMT]
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Maria Grazia Inserillo
Maria Grazia Inserillo  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
English to Italian
+ ...
Transferwise Oct 23, 2017

This could be another option:

https://transferwise.com/borderless

I have used transferwise for many years now for personal transfers, but now they have the account option. It's worth having a look

[Edited at 2017-10-23 16:04 GMT]


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
wow, great tip! Oct 23, 2017

Maria Inserillo wrote:

This could be another option:

https://transferwise.com/borderless

I have used transferwise for many years now for personal transfers, but now they have the account option. It's worth having a look

[Edited at 2017-10-23 16:04 GMT]


Thanks for that. I'm signing up now and will check it out.


 
Mihailolja
Mihailolja
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Withdrawals? Oct 23, 2017

Maria Inserillo wrote:

This could be another option:

https://transferwise.com/borderless

I have used transferwise for many years now for personal transfers, but now they have the account option. It's worth having a look

[Edited at 2017-10-23 16:04 GMT]


Do they let you withdraw Euros in cash?

Not clear from their website, I guess it's primarily a transfer service between bank accounts?

Regards

Mihailo


 
Maria Grazia Inserillo
Maria Grazia Inserillo  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
English to Italian
+ ...
Transferwise and others Oct 23, 2017

Yes, for receiving money and then send them to your bank account saving quite a bit!

You don't necessarily need to keep them in Euro to spend them in Europe as there are UK bank accounts/credit cards that offer free European transactions, like my Nationwide credit card. I also heard that Metro Bank offer free European transactions, and Barclays was mentioned above. I would suggest using these methods than travelling with cash.

[Edited at 2017-10-23 18:17 GMT]

[Edited
... See more
Yes, for receiving money and then send them to your bank account saving quite a bit!

You don't necessarily need to keep them in Euro to spend them in Europe as there are UK bank accounts/credit cards that offer free European transactions, like my Nationwide credit card. I also heard that Metro Bank offer free European transactions, and Barclays was mentioned above. I would suggest using these methods than travelling with cash.

[Edited at 2017-10-23 18:17 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-10-23 18:18 GMT]
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Best way to receive Euro payments in the UK






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