Cheapest Current Account To Receive & Convert Foreign Payments From Client?

[jamesbrown]

Avoid Revolut like the plague. It's great until something goes wrong, then it's agony.

Same experience. Absolutely avoid.

[Fred Bloggs]

Transferwise. Or Wise as they now call themselves.

The best option by a mile. I have used them for the last year and it works very well indeed. I don't in fact have a UK business bank account. I just use my Wise Euro and GBP account.

Avoid Revolut like the plague. It's great until something goes wrong, then it's agony. I had a complaint to the financial regulator upheld against them this year. Avoid Revolut.

[jamesbrown]

I'm my experience, it isn't so much the fees on multicurrency accounts. I also have several UK multicurrency accounts without fees. The problem is the horrendous (and non-transparent) currency conversion rates, typically 2% above spot, whereas you pay spot with Wise and a fee that amounts to about 0.5%.

Which is also why you shouldn't treat Wise as a bank. There's no FSCS protection, so just use them for currency conversions and then move the funds to another GBP or non-GBP currency account, as applicable.

[jamesbrown]

All my bank accounts in other countries are multi-currency by default, with no additional cost for holding those currencies. UK banks seem to view this as an opportunity to generate account fees unfortunately. Although I would imagine they are getting better these days.

As recently as 2 years ago, when making transfers between my Natwest/RBS UK business sterling account and my EURO currency account, I was required to send a fax (and only a fax) to a settlement team to authorise the transfer. I was informed that if I needed to check my balance online, or make transfers using digital banking, I should pay for their premium Bankline service. On one occasion, they accidentally converted from EUROS to Pounds, instead of the other way around. When I informed them of the mistake, they converted back, burning several hundred due to the spread in the process, and expecting me just to accept it as cost of doing business.

Just use Wise as other posters have indicated. No trouble, low fees, and near instantaneous transactions.

I'm my experience, it isn't so much the fees on multicurrency accounts. I also have several UK multicurrency accounts without fees. The problem is the horrendous (and non-transparent) currency conversion rates, typically 2% above spot, whereas you pay spot with Wise and a fee that amounts to about 0.5%.

[lecyclist]

All my bank accounts in other countries are multi-currency by default, with no additional cost for holding those currencies. UK banks seem to view this as an opportunity to generate account fees unfortunately. Although I would imagine they are getting better these days.

As recently as 2 years ago, when making transfers between my Natwest/RBS UK business sterling account and my EURO currency account, I was required to send a fax (and only a fax) to a settlement team to authorise the transfer. I was informed that if I needed to check my balance online, or make transfers using digital banking, I should pay for their premium Bankline service. On one occasion, they accidentally converted from EUROS to Pounds, instead of the other way around. When I informed them of the mistake, they converted back, burning several hundred due to the spread in the process, and expecting me just to accept it as cost of doing business.

Just use Wise as other posters have indicated. No trouble, low fees, and near instantaneous transactions.

[jamesbrown]

Transferwise. Or Wise as they now call themselves.

[Lance]

What's the best (cheapest) , ideally fee-free business bank account when receiving and converting payments in Euros (Euros to Pound Sterling conversions, ideally with zero exchange commisions i.e. at interbank rates , and no monthly account fees ?

Cheers

just use a Transferwise card. You'll struggle to find a business bank that will provide the same rates and zero commission.

[xenopus]

What's the best (cheapest) , ideally fee-free business bank account when receiving and converting payments in Euros (Euros to Pound Sterling conversions, ideally with zero exchange commisions i.e. at interbank rates , and no monthly account fees ?

Cheers