I B A N Swift Etc

[TomGoodheart]

Anyone else find it inconvenient that while bank transfers seem to be a common means of paying for goods au continent d'Europe they aren't in Blighty?

£25 my banking society charges for IBAN payments. Which is jolly inconvenient when you want to pay for something in Poland that will cost £40 and they (perhaps very wisely!) don't accept PayPal.

So .. anyone ever use something like globalwebpay.com? And is it safe?

Edited March 14, 2014 by TomGoodheart

[goomolique]

Anyone else find it inconvenient that while bank transfers seem to be a common means of paying for goods au continent d'Europe they aren't in Blighty?

£25 my banking society charges for IBAN payments. Which is jolly inconvenient when you want to pay for something in Poland that will cost £40 and they (perhaps very wisely!) don't accept PayPal.

So .. anyone ever use something like globalwebpay.com? And is it safe?

I will be in Poland for a day on monday. I might help you with your payment if you want.

Thanks

[Chris Perkins]

I still get the odd person in GB that sends me a batch of pre 47 silver and then insists on a cheque as payment, stating that he/she would rather not give out their bank details. In Germany it is utterly normal and people haven't seen cheques for 20+ years. Although I am a big fan of cheques.

Perhaps I can also help somehow, being in Germany. I can move money from my Natwest account to my German Targobank account within seconds and from the German account there are no (or very low) fees to send to Poland, or any other EU land as far as I know.

[TomGoodheart]

I will be in Poland for a day on monday. I might help you with your payment if you want.

Thanks

Anywhere near Białystok?

But seriously, I have asked if I can just phone them and buy using a Visa card over the phone. It worked for a recent Spanish purchase, so why not?

I did think someone in Europe could act as an intermediary, but it's an imposition, not to say there really ought to be a simpler and cheaper way to move money around from Britain to the EU these days.

[Chris Perkins]

In Germany (and I suspect Poland too) visa acceptance is very rare! They have EC (Electronic Cash) debit cards which are accepted in most places.

I really don't mind helping if goomolique is unable to. Poland is a big place.

[goomolique]

Well,

im not going to Bialystok,

but i have a bank account in Poland and can make a quick transfer for you.

[TomGoodheart]

With goomolique's help I think I have solved my international finance problems.

Now if only we could do the same for the UK generally!

[Gary]

Anyone else find it inconvenient that while bank transfers seem to be a common means of paying for goods au continent d'Europe they aren't in Blighty?

£25 my banking society charges for IBAN payments. Which is jolly inconvenient when you want to pay for something in Poland that will cost £40 and they (perhaps very wisely!) don't accept PayPal.

So .. anyone ever use something like globalwebpay.com? And is it safe?

Perhaps I can also help somehow, being in Germany. I can move money from my Natwest account to my German Targobank account within seconds and from the German account there are no (or very low) fees to send to Poland, or any other EU land as far as I know.

As Chris said we on the continent can transfer money to any country within the EU free of charge using IBAN etc. This is just the english banks sucking money from your pockets. £25 charge for a purely computerised transaction thats daylight robbery!

[TomGoodheart]

As Chris said we on the continent can transfer money to any country within the EU free of charge using IBAN etc. This is just the english banks sucking money from your pockets. £25 charge for a purely computerised transaction thats daylight robbery!

Quite. I can transfer money to other UK banks for nothing.

OK, maybe a small charge might be justified for European transactions. But I don't really see why it's so much.

As for Scottish independence, well, it'll be Mel Gibson all over again if they try to charge £25 every time someone wants to transfer money from Greenwich to Glasgow!

[Rob]

Banking as a whole would benefit from transparent pricing. If people paid for the services they used instead of having the cross subsidies as now which offers free banking at random, the systemic risk should be easier to manage with fewer exceptionals on the horizon. There would be less scope for profit and therefore bonuses (which will satisfy the left), and no need to employ unnecessary staff on account of automation (which will satisfy the city). Profits would be dictated by the efficiency of the system used in relation to a capped charge.

[azda]

Richard we all know that the UK rip off its residents, this Banking fee is just one instance. The UK is supposed to be in the EU yet in Germany there is no charge for transferring money throughout the EU, only in rip off Britain dös this happen.

I pay a small charge every year for my Bank account and its functions, but it does'nt run into 3 figures per year. One of the perks of living in Germany i suppose but i'm getting fairly annoyed at subsidising the Einheit Mr Perkins which basically means everyone on Germany is paying to rebuild the Old East Germany, it was supposed to stop in 2010 but its still ongoing, must be a sh**hole still lol

[TomGoodheart]

Ah, but I pay nothing, apart from a few pence if I overdraw which probably works out at less than 50p a year Dave. Presumably I am subsidised by people who pay larger fees and I know it's not actually free. Just it's not me that pays!

I think this is where the UK banks justify then charging more for what they view as 'non-standard' services. But £25 for a £45 purchase makes no economic sense! If they charged a couple of quid I'd probably accept that (as, I imagine, would many others). In the long run I suspect they'd make more money charging less as you'd have to be pretty desperate to pay the current fees, but the occasional £2-£3 doesn't seem too bad. Hence PayPal have managed to expand beyond ebay.

I did hear that we (UK) are pretty much alone in having 'free' personal banking and that it will have to change eventually. But I suspect there will be some resistance, even though it would be fairer to pay for what you use.

[azda]

Hmmmmm,, the written letter to say you are overdrawn costs £11 a pop or something in that region, unless thats changed since i left rip off Britain

[DaveG38]

Where's this £25 charge come from? I've just bought £1000 of coins from a German dealer and the charge for bank transfer was £10, not £25. That includes any transaction charges for conversion to Euros.

Edited March 17, 2014 by DaveG38

[TomGoodheart]

Where's this £25 charge come from? I've just bought £1000 of coins from a German dealer and the charge for bank transfer was £10, not £25. That includes any transaction charges for conversion to Euros.

Nationwide. I dare say each bank charges what they see fit.

[DaveG38]

Where's this £25 charge come from? I've just bought £1000 of coins from a German dealer and the charge for bank transfer was £10, not £25. That includes any transaction charges for conversion to Euros.

Nationwide. I dare say each bank charges what they see fit.

Mine was with Natwest - all done and dusted in a few minutes. Easy and £10 wasn't too bad on a £1000 transaction.

[Nordle11]

Where's this £25 charge come from? I've just bought £1000 of coins from a German dealer and the charge for bank transfer was £10, not £25. That includes any transaction charges for conversion to Euros.

Nationwide. I dare say each bank charges what they see fit.

Mine was with Natwest - all done and dusted in a few minutes. Easy and £10 wasn't too bad on a £1000 transaction.

What if your payment was only £40 like OP's? That's an extra 25% on your overheads!

[davidrj]

What if your payment was only £40 like OP's? That's an extra 25% on your overheads!

I resort to sending Euro or Dollar notes from the Post Office, for such a small amount, never had a problem

[DaveG38]

Where's this £25 charge come from? I've just bought £1000 of coins from a German dealer and the charge for bank transfer was £10, not £25. That includes any transaction charges for conversion to Euros.

Nationwide. I dare say each bank charges what they see fit.

Mine was with Natwest - all done and dusted in a few minutes. Easy and £10 wasn't too bad on a £1000 transaction.

What if your payment was only £40 like OP's? That's an extra 25% on your overheads!

That's different. I wouldn't have paid using IBAN in that case. My comment was really concerned with the difference in charges, not the ratio of charges to cost, which would be even worse in the case you quote.