Yep, that's about right. It is a LOT cheaper than a bank.... It takes a little while to set everything up (usual money laundering checks etc), but well worth it if you are going to be doing more than one transfer (or even for one large transfer). They never actually quote the spread, just give you the up-to-the-minute rate that they will do the trade at, but when doing direct comparisons with quotes I was getting from a couple of banks, it was significantly cheaper.

If you want any more details about how it works let me know.

You can withdraw more if you go into the bank and specifically withdraw as many CHF as you want using a cashier.

I've taken out 45,000 CHF like that.

If your monies are in England and you are looking for work in Switzerland how about this Charge Card.

It looks as if you top it up from a UK bank account of your choice on line (you know the exact amount of Euros when you do the transfer) and then you use it like a credit card. It sort of looks like a pre-pay credit card in Euros. You can also draw out cash from an ATM.

http://www.fairfx.com/

I do not possess one myself, but was looking at it.

not my experience

The fees and commissions may be the least of your problems. Either buy a wheelbarrow to hold your English banknotes, or buy currency futures to hedge the coming financial débâcle. http://www.scribd.com/doc/34648049/G...-to-21-07-2010

At least that's what some pundits say...

I cannot find a closer thread for this question redirect me or just tell me to shut up if needed.
I just sold a house in USA. I want to transfer the US dollars here to protect them from partnerships and other issues…enough said.
I understand I can transfer from the US bank to a Swiss bank and keep the money in US dollars until the exchange rate is a bit more favorable. Is this correct?
And this would protect my money from US agencies (not government) trying to attach them?

Has anyone more info on which UK banks allow you to do electronic international transfers simply from within internet banking?

With LLoyds (SWIFT = 20 pounds or 35 above 5000!) and the Co-Operative bank (Swift costs 0,25% of total, min. of 13 up to 35 pounds) , they tell me you have to visit a branch or telephone, which is a pain!. A forum member said Nationwide (SWIFT 25 pounds) allow it online if you have the reader.

Any have any info on whether you can transfer online with these banks?

1. Halifax
2. HSBC?
3. First direct?

Some tips

1. Voltrex is a UK company that also offers online FX services like Oanda, they were very fast so far (if you want the spread I got, let me know).
2. Raiffeisen offers free UK sterling accounts (only costs 15chf if you close it), unlike PostFinance which is not free if you have less than 7.5k in your set
3. You can transfer pounds to your Swiss account in pounds (see above) and use local companies to transfer to CHF/EURO or other currencies (example Wechselstube.ch)
4. Nationwide will change the overseas withdrawal fees! From November I think it will be much more (check out their site, cannot remember how much http://www.nationwide.co.uk/current_...nt-changes.htm)

First Direct definitely offers online transfers internationally -- unsurprisingly, given it's an online/telephone-only bank. You need all the usual account info (IBAN/SWIFT number etc). From memory, the fees aren't negligible.

Maybe HSBC too, since First Direct is a subsidiary of theirs. A quick phone call would give you the answer.

Ah this is an interesting way....however what are the pros and cons of this method?

Yes possible, but you pay 2.5% fee i thought?

A lot of banks will do it, either through internet banking or via a phone call. A small problem is that there is normally a moderate fee involved, but the big issue is the rate that they give you for the exchange. It's here that you get ripped-off, and if you are moving reasonable sized amounts around (thousands rather than hundreds) it is well worth the hassle of using a specialist ForEx transfer account or agent such as those previously mentioned.

Assuming you have GBP and you want CHF, then you'll be paying an exchange rate whichever method you use, and, generally, the easier it is to use, the more you'll be paying.

If it's a significant amount, then a 25 quid fee will be insignificant compared to what you'll lose in exchange rate.

If you use the exchange desks at the Airport, from memory they change you about 5%!

PayPal fees are generally outrageous, so I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole - their website doesn't even tell you the rate up front, saying it'll tell you once you've done the transaction, but there's a 2.5% fee on top.

If it's a decent amount, you're probably better off going via a dealer, the big names are currenciesdirect.com, HiFx.co.uk or maybe XE.com. They're really easy to use, so don't be put off by the fact that you might need to 'open an account'.

If you find work in a bank, you might get (virtually) free currency exchange ;-)

Hi folks,

I work in a Bank in Switzerland, to find the best option it's important to determine :

- How much
- Which currency

I don't know the fees that a british bank would charge, but I advise you to open a GBP account here in Switzerland, and then transfering the monney from the GBP account to a CHF account.

By doing this way, you'll avoid the automatic change if it's directly sent to a CHF account.

With E-banking acces you'll have no fees normaly to transfer monney from an account to another one as long as it's in the same bank.

Cheques are not a good solution, too much fees (approx 10-20 sfr)

Which bank?

This is not necessarily a good idea, anyone thinking of this needs to consider the monthly fee for having a GBP account which is normally non interest paying.

True however if you do transfer from the GBP account to the CHF account held at a swiss bank, the bank will give you the best they can do at the time, which they normally charge around 2% spread for!

Yes there are no fees for the transfer per se but it's all made up for through the spread!!!

Raiffeisen but I'm going to change.

Of course there will be a spread when you change the monney, the bank live from that. You won't avoid that.

About the fees for a GBP account, they are not more expensive than a CHF account, and you're right ther is no interest BUT the target is to change your GBP when you need it at a rate that you'll know.

I gave this sollution for amount up than 2000 GBP I would say that every little transaction beyond 2000 GBP it won't be efficient

That's the best sollution I found and I process like that for me with €

The global idea is to have your savings on a GBP account in Switzerland (as long as you'll stay for a long time here) and transfer what you need to live monthly or weekly.

If you withdraw monney from a GBP account you'll be charged with agio (0.5% usually).

As I said there is no THE best sollution there is one sollution for each case =)

I have a GBP account at PostFinanz and transfer from pounds to pounds. NatWest charges me £20 for the transfer. This process seems more transparent to me. I try not to do this much though - changing pounds to Swiss Francs has become a quite painful experience

Reviving a part of this thread .. and not the part of the thread that is in the title, but the discussion about what to do with the money that you have transferred.

I have been advised to not keep money in the UK as even though I am non resident, I will be required to report to the Inland Revenue with regard to the interest earned etc, which my advisor says "will be a nuisance". (Will it?)

His advice is to transfer it into a GBP account in CH and to wait until the interest rate perks up (I have no immediate need for the money at the moment).

Which banks offer free GBP accounts? And from this thread, am I getting the feeling that I will then face a poor exchange rate when I eventually changing my money into CHF as I will not be able to shop around for a rate?

Up until now, I have usually transferred GBPs to CHF by using a foreign exchange trading company and depending on the amount I want to exchange, have usually been quite successful at going between several companies and negotiating a good rate.

This is not something I do very often. Advice from the more savy members of the forum would be greatly appreciated.

PostFinance offer GBP accounts. I think if you have more than around 7,500CHF in total assets with them there are no charges. They pay no interest, but then the normal savings account (e-deposito) is only 1% so you aren't losing that much.

If you want to use a ForEx company at a later date to do the conversion into CHF, I see no reason why you couldn't. I use OandA, and if I were doing this would just need to set up my PostFinance account as a "funding" account in OandA before sending the money to OandA.

Whether you think GBP is going to go up against CHF or not is something I will leave to you to decide on though :-)

Thanks for your reply.

I will check out the Post Finance.