The best way to transfer money to Spain (Seriously)!

Hi, i am currently sorting out my money transfers now, i have been in touch with a few companies so far , I managed to fix a rate of 1.14 on the Euro yesterday, the company I used was Currencies 4 you, who worked with the agent I bought the property from.

However I used another site to compare them with, which was very useful

comparethecurrencymarket . com

Let me know if this is of any use, if not, private message me and I can give you the contact details of my broker.

Firstly, please excuse my ignorance in these matters.

I'm at the very early stages of looking to buy a holiday home in Spain. I appreciate some of the comments in these forums about the state of the UK and Spanish Banking sectors and some of the really adverse comments about the Spanish banking system in particular.

For a non resident, would it not be easier to simply open a Barclays UK current account and a similar euro account with Barclays which can then be used for the Spanish side of things, transferring funds between them?

Can somone point out the pros and cons of this, because it seems too simple to my uneducated brain !

 sol bank are now offering free international transfers and this who we use.

Hi Davy D

Barclays (who i bank with here) do not offer international transfers.

I transfer my monies from Barclays to a Currencies Direct who send it after getting me the best exchane rate to my Spanish bank.

I think this is the best way and you can set up regular transfers for free !

 Hi Davy D

Just to let you know that i bank with Barclays and they do offer international payments - they refer to them as SEPA payments and cost either £25 (1-2 day service) or £15 (3-4 day service).  

At the moment I use this method but send the money in Pounds (as mentioned earlier in the thread) rather than Euros which does get me a slightly better rate.  Instead of  sending money every month I try and send money across in lump sums to save on the SEPA charges.

This isn't likely to be the most cost efficient way of transferring funds to Spain and I am currently looking into some of the other methods mentioned in this thread.

p.s. - I did initially have a Barclays euro account but there was no benefit in using it as the process was exactly the same as above but simply took longer.  I also tried buying currency (euros) from the post office (who were offering some of the best rates) and paid this directly into my Barclays euro a/c but still got charged £15 (as per a SEPA payment) for every transfer so this wasn't ideal for regular monthly transfers.  Might be worthwhile for large lump sums though.

Thanks Guys.

I knew there would be some kind of catch. Back to the drawing board.

 currencyfair.com

unbeatable value as they match buyers and sellers a bit like betfair so you get very close to the market rate

very secure 

pm me for a bonus starter

You could also get in touch with a commercial currency exchange outfit, I have been using Voltrex (VFX financial PLC)  in the city of London for years, minimum to move is 1K but but with no charges and at a good rate

Once you are set up with an account with VFX its all done by e/mail - you agree and fix the rate offered -  transfer the sterling  + send the landing bank details and job done - very fast and painless - I have transferred funds into monday PM and had the funds in Spain by Tuesday lunchtime - Highly recommended !!

Leigh Payne is the conatct as below....

VFX Financial |5 St. Helens Place |London |EC3A 6AU

 Direct line:            +44 (0) 20 7959 6929

Fax:                         +44 (0) 20 7588 8504

 Email:                     leigh.payne@vfxplc.com

Website:                www.voltrexfx.com

 Just thought I would let everyone know that using our Santander Card we obtained excellent rates providing you decline the sterling rate offered by the ATM. You need to find a Santander ATM to get these rates.

The rates we obtained, with no charges were as follows:

14 July  1.1329

19 July  1.1351

20 July  1.1328

We obtained 300 Euros each time from the ATM. However, you only discover the rate 2 or 3 days later when it hits the bank statement. We are very happy with the service provided.

Kevin

Hi DavyD, we bank with Barclays here and in Spain.  We transfer money through Moneycorp who we have used for three years.  I ring up for a spot rate (I check the bank rate and the tourist rates prior) and if I am happy I do the deal over the phone.  We receive an email (in five mins) with the details and then transfer the sterling to Moneycorp and if they receive it before 12pm it will be in our bank next day in Spain.  Barclays don't charge for receiving it, job done.

Yes other posters are correct you can get one or two cents from other currency companies but unless you are sending large amounts it doesn't make much diferrence and as Morerosado said it changes every 10 mins.

Hope this helps. 

Geoff

** EDITED - Removed at Poster's request **

 I use the sabadel atm they dont make a charge to the account and give you the rate on screen and on the ticket