How to transfer money to Europe?

Yes, I quite agree, but it's rather more than the charge for a transaction here in the UK (for accounts where you pay for transactions).

There is a difference in 'philosophy' between banks in mainland Europe and here in that we get 'free' banking but pay more for extras. In Europe I don't think you can get free banking but extras seem to cost rather less.

I was about to post the same question about sending euros abroad. The Halifax charges 15 for a bankers draft or I think 10 for an IBAN transfer.

Roland.

In message , Chris Blunt writes

What do you mean "the same thing"?

"The same thing" in UK would be a bank giro credit which are mostly free. If you meant transferring dosh to Euroland then that most certainly isnt "the same thing". It a foreign currency transfer.

it is the same thing except for the currency of the transfer. if you compared a Euro transfer from a Euro account at a UK bank to a French account then it would be the same - whilst the currencies are the same (as in the within Euroland transaction) the different members of the Eurozone still all operate their operate their own clearing systems meaning that straight through processing is not viable, meaning that the admin is still substancial.

Ian

In message , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com writes

With the greatest of respect, transferring a foreign currency to another country is not in any way comparable to transferring a single currency with its area of domicile.

The mechanism of a currency transfer is quite different.

I meant the latter. Why should an international transfer from say Spain to France cost 1 Euro to carry out, while from the UK to France it costs £25? Its a trivial matter making the conversion from one currency to another, the cost of which is insignificant, so it is in effect the same thing.

Chris

It doesn't really matter how different the mechanisms are, what matters in terms of what a reasonable fee for the service should be, is the relative ease associated with those mechanisms. These things must surely happen often enough to cause the mechanisms to be honed to shit-hot efficiency.

If it is possible to effect a foreign currency transfer for next to nothing [OK, this is slightly exaggerated] when using a credit/debit card abroad, it's difficult to justify disproportionately large fees for foreign currency transfers between ordinary bank accounts.

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

It is possible, all people need do is use the infrastructure that is in place for Debit & Credit cards. If they want to do it manually then they will have to pay.

In message , Chris Blunt writes

That isnt handled as a currency transfer because both domiciles are denominated in Euros.

Again, with respect it isnt a trivial matter and the accounting is not as straightforward as you seem to think.

If a currency transfer is such a big deal, then how is it I can put my Nationwide card into almost any ATM in the world, instantly pull out cash in a foreign currency and still get an excellent rate of exchange with no charge made for doing it? An international transfer of currency is effectively taking place there, its just that the funds are delivered directly to me in cash instead of being credited to a bank account.

Chris

Sadly this infrastructure is not availble enough so that ordinary people can sit at the receiving end of card payments. You need to be a vetted merchant, which rules out not only ordinary individuals but also small-time traders for whom the overhead involved would be prohibitively uneconomical.

Why can't *banks* use the same infrastructure that is in place for cards? They're part of it anyway.

Have you tried paypal? It is not limited to eBay.

Roland.

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

I cant see how it would work. Please tell me.

In message , Chris Blunt writes

Huge number of reasons.

The main ones are that the currency transfer is bulked with all the others. Its a 'pull' not a 'push'. The account details etc., are guaranteed to be correct and in the right format, the amounts are small. The rate you get for cash aint as good as the rate you get for TTs. VISA etc., have established a network etc. Ther isnt actually a transfer of funds between accounts etc., etc.,

It would work exactly the same way as it works for established merchants. At the moment I could order some widgets from Big Shot Widgets GmbH and fax/email/phone through my card number. But if I wanted instead to order the same widgets from Honest Hans Small Time Widget Maker, who doesn't have a proper merchanting account, he should be able to go to his bank's mickey-mouse merchanting centre and tell them that I wanted to transfer 100 euros to his account, and that my card number is such-and-such and here's a chit I'd signed.

because a transfer from spain to france is in the same currency and is something both bank branches do often for customers paying a fee for their current account.

A UK Branch making a transfer to a French one is a rare occurance and is not something that happens often, as you get free personal banking in the uk, you have to pay for out of the ordinary requests like this, get over it, or f*ck off to france.

It can't be that difficult. I can move money between accounts denominated in different currencies within the same bank instantly, and with no fee charged. Eurozone banks can transfer money between their countries for a 1 Euro fee. If those two things can each be done individually at minimal cost, why is it such a difficult and costly exercise to do a combination of them both?

Chris

So why can't the currency conversions for bank transfers be bulked in the same way?

Those same issues would apply just as much to bank transfers within the eurozone, but they can still do it for 1 Euro.

You said before that the high cost of international transfers from the UK was due to a currency conversion being required. When I send money from the UK to a Sterling denominated account overseas, the UK bank still charge me an exorbitant fee for that, yet no currency conversion has taken place. I don't see why they can't do that for the equivalent of 1 Euro just as banks can within the eurozone.

The rate I get when withdrawing cash from an overseas ATM is better than a TT.

Banks were transferring money to accounts internationally long before debit and credit cards were around. I'm sure they've established all the network interconnections they need to do this efficiently by now. Isn't that what SWIFT was established for?

Chris

Several times, but the number of countries where you can withdraw Paypal funds to a bank account is quite limited.

Chris