Excellent
There are two main charges with transferring money internationally these are:
We are all familiar with football transfer fees and these are similar in that the fees are charged for sending money from one international account to another.
Transfer fees vary depending on where you are sending your money.
Wire transfers are typically processed on the same day as initiated and are subject to fees which vary across the financial institutions.
An exchange rate is the price of one currency compared to that of another.
Most people are aware of the transfer fees but not so many people are aware of the exchange rate costs!
Transfer fees are standard fees that you are charged per international transfer.
I will give you an example of what the three big Dutch banks charge: ABN Amro charge €9 if it is done online or €18 if it is a priority transfer or €25 if done in a branch.
Rabobank charge 0.1%, a minimum charge of €10 and maximum of €50.
ING Bank charge €12 or €50 if it is a priority payment.
There will also be fees for amendments or cancelations.
A lot of money transfer companies do not charge these fees.
Exchange rates are not standard like transfer fees.
Each bank or money transfer company set their own rates.
Normally, the larger the amount of money you want to send then the better the rate.
There are many platforms such as DailyFX, XE and Oanda that provide live rates/
However, the rates that you are seeing are not available to customers or even large corporations!
They are known as ‘interbank rates’.
This means that only the banks themselves and large financial constitutions can use them.
There is normally small disclaimer near them saying something like “for informational purposes only” or “not available to customers”.
The banks do not offer competitive rates.
A lot of banks have an exchange rate margin of 2 to 5%.
On a €100,000 transfer this could cost you €2,000 to €5,000 in exchange rate costs!
Money transfer companies offer more competitive exchange rates as they have a lot less overheads than the bank so they can pass their savings straight onto the customers with better rates.
Achieving a great exchange rate can be difficult because the rates are moving around every few seconds.
The better the exchange rate, the more money you will save.
Not all of the rates that you see online are real rates.
Companies such as XE, DailyFX and Oanda will provide live rates however these rates are not actually available to customers.
These are known as ‘interbank rates’
This means that only the banks themselves and the large financial constitutions can actually use them.
Not even large corporations that trade in the millions a day can use them!
To get an accurate quote, I would advise to get a quote from a money transfer company or a bank.
Most money transfer companies are safe but not all of them!
One way to check to see if the company is safe is by checking to see if they are regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).
If they are regulated by the FCA then they are required to keep your money in a separate, safeguarded client account away from the company’s funds.
You can check to see if a company is regulated by the FCA by checking the FCA register online.
Currently, the UK has no limits in place.
Banks normally set their own daily limits, for large money transfers this can be a pain as you will have to do the transfer over a period of days to get the money across.
Money transfer specialists do not have limits set in place.
The UK banks limits are around £25k to £50k.
Money transfer specialists can be more cost efficient when it comes to sending larger amounts of money.
It normally takes 1 to 3 working days for the money to clear in the UK bank account.
Most of the time that you are waiting is for the money to clear in the account.
This timeframe depends on what banks are involved in the process as some are faster than others at clearing the funds.
ABN and Rabobank suggest to allow 3 to 5 working days.
There are two main options: use a bank or use a money transfer specialist.
They are both good for different things.
Banks are the familiar option as your money is already in your account however, they have high charges and they do not offer much support in this area.
Money transfer companies have much lower costs and they are much better for larger or frequent transfers as they are faster and much more cost-effective.
Most money transfer companies will guide you through the whole process, ensuring you have all the information you need.
Banks do not offer the same service as this is not their area of expertise.
Regency FX are a UK based independent currency broker, specialising in high volume transfers.
We pride ourselves on our premium level of customer service, you will be allocated your own personal account manager whom you will have direct access to.
All funds transferred through Regency FX are made using client segregated accounts in accordance with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) guidelines.
The important thing is the comparison, online rates shown on Google and other search engines are not always accurate for the consumer.
They can often refer to the rates that banks exchange at rather than what is available to you, the customer.
Even if you are just looking for property at this stage it is worth getting in touch to discuss your options.
We can monitor the market on your behalf enabling you to budget more effectively.
As a first-class currency transfer service, here at Regency FX we endeavour to get the best available rate regardless of how much you are transacting.
Get a quote and see how we stack up.
© 2021. Regency FX Ltd. All rights reserved. *Third party fees may apply.
Payment services for Regency FX Ltd are provided by The Currency Cloud Limited. Registered in England No. 06323311. Registered Office: The Steward Building 1st Floor, 12 Steward Street London E1 6FQ.
The Currency Cloud Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 for the issuing of electronic money (FRN: 900199). In the US Currency Cloud operates in partnership with CFSB. CFSB fully owns the bank program and services are provided by The Currency Cloud Inc.
Currency Pairs, Approved Jurisdictions and Non-Permitted Activity