I have searched the threads but much of the advice on this is out of date. I need to transfer a large sum (over 50k) from the UK to Switzerland after the sale of a property in the UK. I think my options are:

a) instruct my solicitors to pay the proceeds directly into my CH account on completion - presumably the rate and fees will be whatever their bank's are

b) have my UK bank transfer it to my CH bank

c) use Transferwise (now Wise), which I have used for sending smaller amounts from CH to the UK, but never in the opposite direction

Although I guess it will give the best rate, I am nervous about c), although I have never had problems with Wise in the past. I suppose my real question is - how much do I really stand to lose by just going through my banks (option b)? Then I can work out whether it is worth it for the peace of mind...

Sorry if this is such a basic question, I am clueless about these things and have no idea how I passed GCSE maths... or even function as an adult really...

3) or use Revolut

Pay into Revolut GBP account and you can always convert necessary amounts to CHF. You would have to pass KYC checks and prove source of funds, but that's doable.

If you really need to have money sitting in CH bank, you can later transfer from Revolut to CH bank via IBAN.

I know people who did 200k+ sums via Revolut without any issues, apart from proof of funds checks

INKSPE.

Your Bank will be about £1,250 more expensive than wise or currency fair.
I have used currency fair for multiple transactions of that size without issue.

Thank you, that's very helpful to know!

Yeah, NotAllThere, believe me, I get it! It's the product of 20 years of investing in a property that, for most of that time, was in negative equity and let out at a loss. I know it's now a 'nice' problem to have, but that amount of money makes me very, very nervous...

Thanks otec, I'll look into that. I don't need to have it sitting in a bank, it's for a down-payment/deposit on a Swiss mortgage.

The guy I know did exactly that. Transferred ~200k via Revolut from the UK to pay for a downpayment on a mortgage in CH. No point using local banks that will milk you on fees

You won't have any issues, I use Wise and it is much faster than CF for example. I only got questions asked on my first large Wise transfer, they were asking the sender actually as it was a third party who was paying me, nothing after that. If it comes from your own account, I think you won't get any questions asked.

Use Wise or Revolut. But convert to CHF during a working day, the rates are usually better. And transfer directly to the mortgage account, avoid intermediate accounts.

That's great advice about transfering directly into the mortgage account, thank you bowlie!

you will also have to buy a premium package with Revolut to convert large amounts without fees. its about 120 a year.

I dont remember their limits on free account

Few months ago I transferred around 50k gbp from CH to UK vis Wise. Transfer was quick and I got good rates. Don't use high street bank to transfer large amounts as their charges (transfer fees) are quite high and they offer bad rates...

For such, I use my stock broker: Interactive Brokers. I can deposit in GBP, convert and then withdraw in CHF.

You can use the lower premium rather than metal which is still unlimited and is 84 a year. Think its max 2.5k a month on free now.

Well, you kind of get it, but 50K isn't that much to be transferring around every now and then. I once took £26K in a bag to a bank to pay in. Now, that was nerve wracking!

A man went with a briefcase went into a bank in Switzerland and whispered to the clerk. "I'd like to deposit the money in this briefcase".
"Certainly sir, how much is in there ?".
"Four million francs", whispers the man.
"No problem sir. And you don't have to whisper. Poverty isn't shameful in Switzerland".

I used https://www.torfx.com/personal/ for a much larger sum than this. I had to do it in stages as I think you can only transfer 25k per day.

It all went very smoothly. Highly recommended.

Ah, I see! I thought you were taking the piss out of me for being momentarily wealthy, but now I realise it is for being relatively poor (by Swiss standards)! See, I'm slow to catch on...

Suppose you wanted to convert 50k or even more like 75 or 100 what platform would give you the best fx rate

I’m thinking what happens when I cash out my ch pension

Transferring is not the problem - exchange rate is.

LLoyds Bank in the UK charged £9.00 per Sterling transfer with a cap of £100,000 per day.

If you open a Sterling account here - ZKB charged me CHF25/year - you can convert when you think it is more advantageous…