Geoff, which online UK bank do you use do transfer funds to your Corfu account. The one I have, (Nat West) will not allow me to transfer out of the UK.
Message posted by NIGEL on 13 December 2008 at 8:52pm - IP Logged
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I bank online with Halifax and use them to pay any deposits for my holidays. All you need is a/c name, iban number and bic and you can transfer any amount online . Funds are in the other bank within 1/2 days.
Nige...
Message posted by kinninviekid on 14 December 2008 at 1:03am - IP Logged
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Quote: Originally posted by Geoff on 12 December 2008
Baywatcher -- Thats interesting. I currently use Internet Banking to transfer from my UK Bank to my Corfu Bank, but I get charged for every transaction.
Which type of account do you need to have with Nationwide for the benefits you describe?
Hi
You need a Nationwide flexaccount.
They dont charge AT ALL if you withdraw using the debit card.
You can also keep the money you are not using in their e-savings account until needed to get a decent interest rate(comparatively!)
Bob
Message posted by kingofswing on 14 December 2008 at 8:07am - IP Logged
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We have 17 days left of 2008 at the current level of decline for the pound my prediction is Jan 1st even stevens. I also predict tomorrow will be cold in the u.k. Hi John and Yvonne will see you soon. johnny mac.
Message posted by nuffstrong on 14 December 2008 at 2:56pm - IP Logged
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Well I need to buy some Euros to pay for the ferry in Jan. Minoan have kindly offered to hold our reservation until 10th Jan without any payment yet (don't think P&O would do that) so I've bought a FairFx card.
The card costs a one off £9.95 if you buy under £500 when you open the account. I only bought £20 just to test things out and got 1.109E to the £ which is poor but on that amount its ok.
The "Commercial" rate is 1.119E just now so not a bad deal but the main thing is FairFx don't make ANY charges for online purchases eg buying Minoan ferry tickets or shop purchases abroad. They use the Mastercard system so acceptable globaly.
They do charge 1.50E for cash transactions but that's it, no hidden charges so the 3% charge which my credit card company wanted is saved.
Hopefully by 10th Jan the rate will have improved.
Downside is that your funds aren't guaranteed under the FSA scheme.
Steve
Message posted by Melster on 14 December 2008 at 6:39pm - IP Logged
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We bought our house this time last year and got 1.42E. Just sent some money over for renovations and by the skin of our teeth got 1.20E. What with the property market crash and the Euro crash, we're down about £30k on our original budget from last year. Means we have to stay in the UK longer to pay for the renovations, but hey, we'll get there eventually!
Our broker reckoned it would drop to 1.10E by the first quarter of 2009, but as they're already at 1.11E, think he might have been slightly optimistic!
Fingers & toes crossed for everyone on the site that rates don't reach 1:1 and pick up again soon.
Melster
Message posted by thecorfiot on 15 December 2008 at 9:49am - IP Logged
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Sorry if I am repeating something already covered in this thread but I have only just stumbled over it!
I have a few observations!
Firstly, as for transferring money from the UK, those of us resident in Greece will be aware of the difficulty in ...er... legally opening UK bank accounts, so if you don't already hold one of those accounts that offer free transfers into euros one is basically stuffed!
However, should you have a UK bank account and want to transfer funds abroad in euros, you may want to check out, UKForex. (www.ukforex.co.uk).
They will transfer amounts up to £3,000 for a flat fee of £7 and amounts over £3,000 for free. I can't speak for all banking institutions but I can say that their rates are significantly better than Barclays. I use them regularly and have not had a problem.
Secondly, Can anyone that withdraws funds from UK banks from ATMs here tell me whether their UK bank charges them as the funds are transferred in euros and if they do, what effect this has on the rate? I regularly buy from all over the world, usually in euros or US dollars but I am always charged by Barclay's when the debit hits my account for transferring the amounts into Sterling. Perhaps, more importantly, is there any difficulty in obtaining 'pink slips' to keep the Greek tax authorities happy?
Thirdly, on a personal note, I cannot see any logical reason for the UK not adopting the Euro. I would suggest that for the average man (or woman!) in the street, it would only be beneficial. I should add that until living abroad, I was fiercely protective of 'our' pound but now realise my stupidity!! The only people who will lose out are bankers who won't be able to charge for the exchange.
Finally, BBC News 24 reported this morning that one of the large bookmakers was offering 20-1 odds on the UK adopting the euro within a year. I reckon that might almost be worth a bet!
Have fun!
Bob G.
Message posted by Geoff on 15 December 2008 at 12:28pm - IP Logged
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Hi, and thanks to all for the replies. Looks like I need to open a Nationwide Flex Account.
KT1 - HSBC - Internet Banking allows you to transfer in most currencies to more or less anywhere. Funds take no longer than 3 days to Corfu, and on occassion the transfer has happened on the same day!. The service is only available during UK office hours, but that's no real hardship. There's a standing charge of £9 per transaction, the exchange rate varies according to the amount transferred but it is usually pretty good - always above tourist rate, but never quite the full banking rate of course. I use Alpha Bank in Corfu, which also has Internet Banking, so I can control that from the UK and do further transfers to any Greek Bank Account if I need to without that £9 fee, very handy if paying several small sums to different people.
Melster - I can sympathise as I have the same problem as you. I still have to find about 20,000 Euros to finish my house completely. When we first started the rate was around 1.54 which meant it would have cost me £13,000 then - at todays rate it's more like £18,500. Such a pity we couldn't have afforded to pay for it all at the beginning, not only would I have saved a load of money, but I could have already retired and be living there instead of still struggling here in the UK. Oh well - such is life. Don't worry, I'm sure we will all get there eventually!!
Message posted by DavidJ on 16 December 2008 at 1:32pm - IP Logged
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Yvonne + John - Thanks for the info. I think I will continue to use HSBC for Internet transfers - I got 1.0948 on a 350 Euro transfer this morning, so that's not bad. But I will definitely be opening a Nationwide Flex Account as well so I can use the ATM when I need some extra cash.
Merry Christmas to you all - here's hoping for a better 2009 that helps everyone to achieve their Corfu dreams.
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