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I have just signed up for Xe.com for transferring money to Spain (they say there are no additional charges unless levied by the receiving bank) as I do not wish to use HiFX for personal reasons. I notice you can only do an electronic funds transfer (which are free) within the USA or Canada, leaving wire transfer as the only option for Europe. Whilst I can BACS my money to Xe for free, it costs about £8 per transfer (I think it is costed on the amount you send) to Spain because it is wired and not EFT. I have tried the trial site tonight and have seen that apart from the £8 fee (instead of £20 charged by my bank), their rates aren't that much better and my money would actually arrive in Spain quicker if sent by my bank rather than Xe.
Any Xe users out there that could comment on their experiences please?
Mark
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Hi Mark
Athough I haven't used XE.com I have used Custom House which offers the same thing. With Custom House they have never charged me a fee to transfer money from here to Spain, and I always find their rate to be good. I pay them via BACS and as soon as they receive it they then transfer it to my spanish account, this can take as little as 3 working days from the date I make the BACS payment. I have even transferred as little as £500 with no fee and the same rate as if I'd been transferring thousands.
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Hi Mark, Carol & Richard.
For the benefit of those who are wondering what this is about I'll post links for reference.
http://www.customhouse.com/ http://www.xe.com/
I'm wondering if it's because you've transferred thousands previously that custom house gave you a great rate for as little as £500, Carol & Richard. Interesting point.
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Hi Morerosado
Yes, interesting point regarding the rate. I will have to ask them the next time I transfer if the rate differs depending on how much I am sending. I really like the fact that there is no transfer fee and no minimum transfer amount too, as there seems to be with others.
Also useful advice you have given elsewhere to open up accounts with a few currency transfer companies and go with the best on the day. I'm currently investigating this for future payments.
btw, not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I have recently used Martin Lewis's site for obtaining euros to take with me. www.moneysavingexpert.com you put in the amount you want and it brings up the best rates with links to their websites to place the order. I did this a few weeks ago and ended up ordering euros at Travellex to collect from the aiport and the rate was 6 points higher than if you get it on the spot. As long as you can order 2 or 3 days before you travel you end up with a much better rate for your holiday cash than you would have got from a travel agent or similar.
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We have a Nationwide flex current a/c that we opened with nothing !  We take cash out of our Halifax bank & put it into our flex a/c then take euros out of Spanish Visa ATMs with our Nationwide debit card at terrific rates. Whatever we don't use we take out of Nationwide & put it back into Halifax on our return. We did this as Halifax UK to Banco Halifax rate on day we transferred was appalling, nothing like what we had been enjoying. We got 1.4802 early June in Spain & only 1.4296 or so with Halifax transfer.
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That is a big difference. We have also just opened a Nationwide account, I've just transferred some money into it this week and intend to take it out over the weekend while we are in Germany to test how it works. Again, this was advice from this forum so thanks whoever it was! Thank heavens for internet banking!
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Just ensure you only use a VISA ATM for obtaining money on your Nationwide debit card or you'll be charged.
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Hey Morerosada,
I used to work for the Halifax in the UK and always found their transfer rates appalling, they tend to get a lot of custom because of how they advertise 'free transfers'
I would use anyone but them, now luckily I don't have to!!
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Russ
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Athough I haven't used XE.com I have used Custom House which offers the same thing. With Custom House they have never charged me a fee to transfer money from here to Spain, and I always find their rate to be good. I pay them via BACS and as soon as they receive it they then transfer it to my spanish account, this can take as little as 3 working days from the date I make the BACS payment.
That's interesting as when you use Xe, you have to send the BACS payment to Custom House for processing. If I could do it without having to pay the £8 wire fee at the same rates Xe give, I should be okay  .
Mark
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So many companies are interlinked nowadays you never know who you're dealing with! I had a scout around on the XE website earlier and I'm sure I read there was no transfer fee. Also, I think I read that there was a minimum trade (of a few thousand I think) which is no good for me now as I purchased my property a couple of years ago. I just need to transfer money every month to cover the mortgage, utilities etc and of course spending money for each time we go out. PS, remember to quote your deal number on the bacs payment to Custom House, as if you don't it can take another day or two to tie it up and remit to Spain.
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There is no minimum amount that I can see, and I have just logged into my account to see if I could sent £100 and I can, but again the £8 fee makes in not worhtwhile.
The no fees is a bit naughty really, that's what caught me out. There are no fees if you have Xe use EFT to transfer the money, but that is only available in the US or Canada. If you want to send funds from the UK you can send it free if you have the payment sent as a money order or the wire transfer which is £8. Still, £8 is still a lot cheaper than the £27 my bank charges to do the same thing and at a crappier rate!!!
Mark
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Hi Russ
We used to get great rates transferring from Halifax UK to Banco Halifax but lately it's changed. Sometimes it's just convenient for topping up the a/c for the DD's. At the end of the day, on a small amount, you're probably only looking at the price of a couple of pints of beer. Not the end of the world. Nationwide gets our vote each time these days. My hubby did make the comment "not another bank a/c !!!!!!!" though when I told him "we're opening a Nationwide Flex a/c as it'll save us money" 
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Try Travelex as well . No charges and top rates. Very efficient
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Simmo
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Hi Morerosado,
You are correct in respect of small amounts.......however having taken a liking over a number of years I would be 'gutted' to learn that I had to have a couple of pints less 'cos of the exchange rate!!!!!!
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Russ
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