Reply to: Euro Bank Account (Cater Allen absolutely shocking)

[jamesbrown]

I've been using Transferwise Borderless for a while. I find the service is good and the price is right. It was not hard to set up.

I would, however, be hesitant to use it to hold significant funds for any length of time, because I've not been able to get any kind of satisfaction that funds held in their account would be covered by FSCS protection. I did do some checking with some people who are very well connected in banking and got pretty satisfactory answers about the people behind Transferwise and the way they have it structured. So I think the risk is probably quite low but I still don't want a lot of funds sitting in that account.

Funds aren't covered by FSCS:

TransferWise Help | Is my money covered by a financial protection scheme?

However, they are covered by the FCA, so they cannot play fast and loose with client funds, in theory. Doesn't guarantee protection following insolvency though, depending on what their employees might have done (e.g. illegally).

I moved from Revolut to TransferWise recently, as they are much better supported with accounts in client countries (in YourCo's name), rather than international accounts, which reduces friction.

All that said, I agree that it's best not to keep a large amount of Sterling or foreign currency with TransferWise for any length of time.

[WordIsBond]

I've been using Transferwise Borderless for a while. I find the service is good and the price is right. It was not hard to set up.

I would, however, be hesitant to use it to hold significant funds for any length of time, because I've not been able to get any kind of satisfaction that funds held in their account would be covered by FSCS protection. I did do some checking with some people who are very well connected in banking and got pretty satisfactory answers about the people behind Transferwise and the way they have it structured. So I think the risk is probably quite low but I still don't want a lot of funds sitting in that account.

[Lance]

Pick any bank (forget the Euros).

Get your business account setup, and get a Transferwise card (PM me for a recommendation link). Transferwise will do all the Euro transfers for you, into any currency you desire. And can also be used to accept payments in pretty much any currency.

[SuperLooper]

I've been told by Cashplus that they cannot provide a Euro Business Account for my UK Ltd Co and they're not familiar with SEPA. I can receive Euros from the Eurozone via IBAN into a seperate Natwest account owned by Cashplus, however I cannot choose to retain the incoming funds in Euros. They automatically buy STG£ and whatever the rate is on that day and transfer into my UK STG£ business a/c

I start new contract soon and the new agency in Euro Zone says I need a SEPA account.

Any ideas?

Get a Transferwise Borderless Account. You can hold funds in EUR and it is SEPA compliant.
TransferWise Help | What are SEPA Transfers?

[Neptune]

Euro Account

Have you looked at any of the challenger banks? Metro and Cashplus are getting good press at the moment.

I've been told by Cashplus that they cannot provide a Euro Business Account for my UK Ltd Co and they're not familiar with SEPA. I can receive Euros from the Eurozone via IBAN into a seperate Natwest account owned by Cashplus, however I cannot choose to retain the incoming funds in Euros. They automatically buy STG£ and whatever the rate is on that day and transfer into my UK STG£ business a/c

I start new contract soon and the new agency in Euro Zone says I need a SEPA account.

Any ideas?

[m0n1k3r]

Ulster Bank in Ireland (the republic) for a proper euro account with an euro debit card. Document certifications etc done at any NatWest/RBS branch in the UK.

[SuperLooper]

I've used transferwise for transfers but haven't tried their 'account' yet. Other may have.

http://transferwise.com/borderless

I use a Transferwise Borderless account for receiving USD payments. Works very nicely and the rates are good.

[northernladyuk]

I need to get away from Cater Allen ASAP, can you guys recommend a EURO account (approx. 10k eur month) where it's reasonable to transfer money into Sterling?

I've used transferwise for transfers but haven't tried their 'account' yet. Other may have.

http://transferwise.com/borderless

[coolkat]

I would recommend HSBC. I do have a USD account with them and service has been great.

jmann, yes HSBC is a great bank and they do offer great service!

But what about conversion rates/fees between your currency accounts?
Do they use a fair conversion like Revolut's "Spot Interbank exchange rate"?

[lecyclist]

RBS are garbage for currency accounts. If you want online banking you need to upgrade to their pricey bankline lite package. Otherwise you need to phone to check your currency balance. And imagine.. you need to send a fax when you want to make a SEPA transfer

[whats]

I have a Cater EUR/UK accounts as well.
For last 6 months I've had my customer pay directly into Currencyfair EUR account.

The good thing is the reference number that's used to work out the onward account is static. I always fill in the web form listing the expected payment, which is a chore. I wonder what would happen if I didn't, but considering the size of payment it seems sensible to do things properly.
Currencyfair is huge! When I last looked they had offices all over the place including I believe Redhill.

I would prefer a pukka EUR account with IBAN. To have an HSBC EUR account you also need an HSBC UK account. I do very few transactions so the arrangement with Cater works for me - and I do agree with many of the quirks mentioned in this thread. Though I've had 0 issues.

[jamesbrown]

They must be because they have asked to see quite a few company documents, proof of address and they did say they will need the invoice and agency contract on large amounts to check for laundering.

Anyway, I'll give it a few months and see!

Still sounds dodgy to me. I've used various FX companies over the years (business and personal), and I've never encountered one that's willing to accept third-party payments. Your experience with TransferWise is not unusual. I'm not familiar with currencyfair (and I can't be fecked to explore the link ), but I'd guess they're located outside the UK (?) Anyway, be careful if you have large amounts at stake and bear in mind that there's no need for third-party payments. There are many providers other than CA that offer foreign-currency business accounts, which you can use to hold the payments from the client/agent and then transfer via your own account with an FX broker. That's what I do.

[Crocket]

TBH, I'd be wary of any company that's willing to process third-party payments. You won't find large institutions doing this, because there's no way they can be sure they're meeting their regulatory/legal obligations w/r to money-laundering etc.

They must be because they have asked to see quite a few company documents, proof of address and they did say they will need the invoice and agency contract on large amounts to check for laundering.

Anyway, I'll give it a few months and see!

[jamesbrown]

So, I've confirmed with currencyfair that I can receive euro payments directly from the agent (they make a payment into their bank account). So this pain might be a blessing in disguise because I'll save so much money in transaction fees as they can deposit straight into sterling at the actual exchange rate or hold the money. Plus I'll get £30 eur free and free transaction when I signed up. If only I found this sooner.

TransferWise couldn't receive a payment without the agency signing up, if you read my other posts.

TBH, I'd be wary of any company that's willing to process third-party payments. You won't find large institutions doing this, because there's no way they can be sure they're meeting their regulatory/legal obligations w/r to money-laundering etc.

[Crocket]

So, I've confirmed with currencyfair that I can receive euro payments directly from the agent (they make a payment into their bank account). So this pain might be a blessing in disguise because I'll save so much money in transaction fees as they can deposit straight into sterling at the actual exchange rate or hold the money. Plus I'll get £30 eur free and free transaction when I signed up. If only I found this sooner.

TransferWise couldn't receive a payment without the agency signing up, if you read my other posts.