To all the financial gurus in the house!!!

[VKK3450]

I need to make a payment to a British Bank on a British Pounds Invoice from my Euro bank account in the Netherlands. The amount is quite substantial, and my time frame is relatively short. Any ideas on how I can minimize both my bank charges and the amount by which I get screwed on exchange rates?

If it helps, I bank with ABN in NL and it's going to Barclays in the UK.

Thanks in advance for the assistance

K

 

[Looking to improve]

Originally Posted by VKK3450

I need to make a payment to a British Bank on a British Pounds Invoice from my Euro bank account in the Netherlands. The amount is quite substantial, and my time frame is relatively short. Any ideas on how I can minimize both my bank charges and the amount by which I get screwed on exchange rates?

If it helps, I bank with ABN in NL and it's going to Barclays in the UK.

Thanks in advance for the assistance

K
Minimising bank charges: I hope you can access your telebanking-facilities from where you are at the moment and that it allows international transfers.

Find out the IBAN (International Bank Account Number) for the bank-account of the person you're sending the money to.
Find out the BIC (Bank Identifier Code) of the specific Barclays Bank where the account is administerd. The person you're sending money to should be able to provide you with these details.

If you use the option 'SHA' for the sharing of costs, you shouldn't incur any costs for the transaction, provided the transfer doesn't exceed € 50.000,00 or it's equivalent in GBP. The money will probably arrive within a week.

I got my information here. I think ABN will have a similar page/arrangement (at least where the procedure/charges are concerned this is a result of European legislation/regulation).

MtB

 

[VKK3450]

Thanks MtB, I think I have the bank charges down now.

Anyone care to venture some advice on how to make the most of ForEx?? Someone round here (especially) must be dong this regualrly

Cheers,

K

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by VKK3450

Thanks MtB, I think I have the bank charges down now.

Anyone care to venture some advice on how to make the most of ForEx?? Someone round here (especially) must be dong this regualrly

Cheers,

K

Unless you have a brokerage account somewhere whereby you would buy the Pounds through them and then have them wire the money, you will get screwed by your bank. Keep in mind that your bank will need to make a profit on the currency exchange and that they in turn will be paying someone a profit when they buy the Pounds for you. The last option would be to Western Union the money (agree on a set amount of Euro's with your contraparty) and have him bear all the currency exchange costs. I don't know whether you have access to Western Union though.

 

[Luc-Emmanuel]

Originally Posted by VKK3450

Thanks MtB, I think I have the bank charges down now.

Anyone care to venture some advice on how to make the most of ForEx?? Someone round here (especially) must be dong this regualrly

Cheers,

K
You can't. Someone out there has to make a living on your money transfers.

!luc

 

[VKK3450]

Ahhh, such is life. Looks like I need to just take the risk and suck up the cost then huh?

I am not averse to the bank making some money on the deal, but as it is a percentage it grows quite high as this is a considerable amount. Plus they wont give you the trade rate ahead of time. You have to execute it and hope that there is no fluctuation from what you believe it is.

Was interested to see if I can make an arrangement with an organization for a fized price or an agreed rate.

K

 

[GQgeek]

When I've done large transfers from US to canadian I've always used a foreign exchange broker. They typically offer better rates than banks and will give you lower rates for higher amounts. It can be substantial. You can do a swap with them in which you give them a bank draft from your euro bank and they'll in turn pay barclays and skim a bit off the top. You should definitely look in to it if you'll be doing this on a regular basis. We also bought futures contracts through the broker to hedge against the slide of the american dollar which resulted in additional savings.

 

[VKK3450]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

When I've done large transfers from US to canadian I've always used a foreign exchange broker. They typically offer better rates than banks and will give you lower rates for higher amounts. It can be substantial. You can do a swap with them in which you give them a bank draft from your euro bank and they'll in turn pay barclays and skim a bit off the top. You should definitely look in to it if you'll be doing this on a regular basis. We also bought futures contracts through the broker to hedge against the slide of the american dollar which resulted in additional savings.

That could be the ticket. Any recommendation of an international broker?

K