Poster: A snowHead
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I need to transfer a 100 euro deposit to an Austrian bank as a deposit for our apartment. I have a name, bank name iban number and bic code to do it but my bank want 20 quid to transfer the cash plus a rubbish exchange rate....how is it usually done?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've never found a better way than paying the fees to transfer it. Most UK banks charge about £15 and then the Austrian bank usuall deducts 10-15 Euros from what is received. Then you need to allow about 8 working days for payment.
Life would be a lot easier if more Austrians could take Visa (or even paypal). In some seasons I've booked 3 hotels this way, which at £75 a time, and lots of hassle is a bit of a chore.
Once - when on the 5th beer and 3rd scnhapps in an Austrian apres-ski bar - I had a wacky business idea around doing a paypal gateway to Austrian hotels. Taking deposits via paypal (and via Visa - via paypal) and then transferring money from a local account to the hotel. Would also help for buying those cheap Skis off German ebay (the other big source of my international money transfers)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Quote: |
my bank want 20 quid to transfer the cash plus a rubbish exchange rate....how is it usually done? |
that's how it's usually done, and it's a pain. However, for such a small amount, you'd save a fortune getting the euros from the post office and posting them in an envelope. Or find a friend with a euro bank account to write a cheque.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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ollski, It is better to pay for the whole thing upfront, although more expensive the charges do not become so much of an issue
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ollski, really annoying isn't it? I've always wondered if the landlord would accept paypal you could do that way, but i'm not sure what the cost for that would be.
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The Post Office will do you a cheque in Euros, then post it.
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ollski wrote: |
I need to transfer a 100 euro deposit to an Austrian bank as a deposit for our apartment. I have a name, bank name iban number and bic code to do it but my bank want 20 quid to transfer the cash plus a rubbish exchange rate....how is it usually done? |
Why dont you send the whole payment? The transfer cost will not seem so much & you will not have to take the money or change it when you are there.
Alternative. Open a Euro account at a UK bank (They all do them).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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stanton wrote: |
Why dont you send the whole payment? |
I haven't got it
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stanton, from my experience, if you have a eure account with a UK bank, then they still charge you for an international transfer. Citibank claim they don't but then it's only free to other Citibank banks. I've yet to find a way to avoid the fees.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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kamikaze, my Barclays UK account charges me to transfer to my Barclays France account.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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ollski,If you have £2k or more open up an austrian bank account and transfer all you have available with moneycorp or other companies of similar stature... you will save on bank charges. The golden rule generally is the more you transfer the less the charges eat into your dosh and the better rate you will get.
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I would imagine that most Brits holiday in Europe so I do not see why you do not open a Euro account and keep it for life.
It will save you a lot of money in transfers.exchange rates etc.
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You know it makes sense.
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stanton, it's a fine judgement. However you do it, it costs money. It costs less on the transfer fee, proportionately, if you do a big transfer (say, £3000) as that costs the same as transferring £50. But that money has an opportunity cost - so unless it's in an interest bearing euro account (which on the whole will bear less interest than an equivalent sterling account) you have to decide which course is the most expensive. I wonder every time I do it, because my sterling is in an account offset against my mortgage, so if I transfer £X to France I am foregoing the mortgage rate on £X for however long it takes me to spend it. What's more, I have to fill in very tedious forms for the privelege of paying an outrageous transfer chage. The girls in the bank do so few euro transfers they're no more familiar with the system than I am, and it's like the Middle Ages. I don't understand why I can't do it online, but there you are! The obvious answer is for the UK to join the euro. (ducks)
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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It's ridiculous - I only pay CHF 5 for international transfers
If you did have an account abroad, then often the cheapest way of transferring money is to write a cheque to yourself and pay it into the foreign account. Not quick, but deffo the cheapest IME
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Poster: A snowHead
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write a cheque to yourself and pay it into the foreign account.
I wonder how that would work with my accounts? I have little experience of this, but when my daughter had tax back in Australian dollars, by cheque, they said it would take six months to clear, or something ridiculous. And I suspect the exchange rate wasn't the greatest. For small amounts, like a £50 deposit, I still think my suggestion of banknotes in an envelope, by post, is the best one.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Eng ch - Most (all?) Austrian banks don't accept cheques now.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It just occurred to me that there may be a fantastic opportunity for a card issuer to come up with a deal that gets them entry into the Austrian small business market. If they made the fees low enough, then they may get enough volume to entice the smaller places to come on board. Maybe?
Until then, we just transfer the whole sum in one go. The interest I forego is negligible compared to the ATM fees - we used to transfer only the deposit and then to multiple ATMs when we got there because the owner would only take cash - and we did not want to travel with that much cash
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