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Transferring your Money - Cheaply and Safely |
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Whether you are purchasing a new or resale property at some point you will need to transfer money from your UK bank to Spain and you will need to buy Euros BEFORE you can make any purchases in Spain. In addition to this the exchange rate between the UK and Spain changes everyday so how will you know how many Pounds to exchange to get the right amount of Euros to Spain ? We have prepared a checklist to help you get the best deal when making international transfers. - There are two exchange rates: Bank and Tourist rates. Base your calculations on the Bank rate as it is the rate used for Inter-bank transactions. The Tourist rate is what you would be given at a Bureau de Change or in a high street bank for smaller exchanges. www.xe.com is a useful website for calculating currency exchanges.
- Open a Spanish bank account BEFORE you transfer any funds this means that your money goes to your account in Spain so you will know when it arrives rather than waiting to hear from a lawyer's or builder's office that your money has reached its destination safely. Setting up telephone or internet access to your Spanish account is very important.
- Don't open an account until you have decided who you are going to use to transfer your funds. There may be Bank Receipt charges if your Spanish bank does not have a partner agreement with your transfer company. Some transfer companies will guarantee no bank receipt charges.
- Do get exchange rate and commission cost information from your UK bank but make sure you ask them about charges that you may incur when your Euros reach your Spanish bank. Receipt charges can be surprisingly high when you are moving thousands.
- Currencies Direct and Moneycorp are two companies who specialise in international money transfers. They both offer competitive rates and no commissions plus you can fix future exchange rates with them so that you can budget for your next payment without being at the mercy of exchange rate fluctuations.
- It is not as complicated as it sounds. British Citizens in Spain use these international money transfer companies regularly for receiving pension payments at the best rates.
- Talk to the money transfer companies; their Customer Services are very good at explaining clearly how this all works, what your best options would be and they are clear on what costs are involved.
- Do your homework - it may save you thousands.
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Finances