# Key Post: Opening a Uk Bank Account



## joe sod (27 Jan 2005)

Does anyone know what is the cheapest method of transferring money from an Irish account to a UK bank account. The only way I know is buy bank draft which is expensive


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## Enaja (27 Jan 2005)

Don't know if it is the cheapest:

[broken link removed]


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## TirOileain (27 Jan 2005)

I found this website informative

[broken link removed]

Click on the introduction link in the banner at the top of the page


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## Broke parent (29 Jan 2005)

have done this by swift. Costs 50cent and money goes through within three days in my experience. You must have all the relevant bank no's though including the UK IBAN no.


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## joe sod (31 Jan 2005)

what is swift, which bank operates this system. Also is the exchange rate  the actual wholesale rate rather than the "we sell" rate used when you are buying sterling notes.


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## macplaxton (19 Nov 2005)

*Re: >>Opening a Uk Bank Account*

Transfers from UK Bank accounts to Eurozone banks cost a fortune. I was quoted between £13-35 by the Co-operative Bank and £24 by the Clydesdale. It's a big con as in the Eurozone, cross-border transfers between accounts should cost no more than domestic ones. In principle it should be the same EU -wide, but the banks work round it and charge loads on the exchange or something like it.

I'm looking at transferring the other direction UK to Ireland, PayPal is expensive. Moneybookers looks better. It would probably take about a week to shift money from account to account.

If you have greater connections with the UK you may be able to open a bank account here and easily maintain it online. Although you would need a UK address and pick up the post occasionally. You don't need a current account either. There is a choice of "Basic Bank Accounts" that offer no overdrafts, but are able to offer other services such as Direct Debits and Standing Orders. Nice and fee free too. You can get a ATM card which you can use in foreign cash machines for cash withdrawls. You can sometimes get a debit card (usually SOLO or Visa Electron) which is handy for online payments in Sterling.

HTH,
mac p


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## Alex (20 Nov 2005)

*Re: >>Opening a Uk Bank Account*

i have transferred stg to the uk and it cost me 12.70 euro! how did you get it for 50 cent? i had ibans and bic codes...

Alex.


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## wrymill (23 Nov 2005)

*Re: >>Opening a Uk Bank Account*

I have both Irish and UK bank accounts with a major Irish bank and have to go into a branch, buy a sterling draft, then post it to the office in the UK.  The whole process takes around 2-3 days, with costs for the draft (around €3.50), the exchange rate at the time, the postage (always Swiftpost as you can't trust An Post with normal delivery, so that's another €5).

I accepted this as normal until I went into a branch of this bank in Glasgow.  They accessed my Irish account instantly and paid a UK giro payment for me.  I told the counter assistant what I have to do here in Ireland, and she couldn't believe it.

There surely has to be a simpler and faster way of doing this?  To be honest, the part that frustrates me the most is having to use the postal service.


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## rob30 (6 Jan 2007)

I have an irish account with NIB, and a UK account with halifax. I can very easily transfer money via my online banking account from NIB to Halifax, it takes 48 hours and only a few euro. NIB also accept cheques from my halifax account that I post to them and they again clear in a few days.
However, on the UK side it is a lot less efficient and easy. Lodging a Euro cheque is difficult, can take 2 weeks to clear and they take a big commission, so see if your bank in ireland will let you transfer cash online ( NIB recently overhauled their online banking system and it is a no brainer to set up and use). 
I have nothing to do with NIB by the way, just a very satisfied customer.


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## missthrifty (8 Mar 2011)

*Ireland - UK bank transfers*



joe sod said:


> Does anyone know what is the cheapest method of transferring money from an Irish account to a UK bank account. The only way I know is buy bank draft which is expensive



I use aib in ireland and nationwide in uk.  I write sterling cheques to aib, they convert to euro, take a commission and lodge cheque to aib account.  The cheque usually clears in 4-5 working days in uk.  Other methods seem more comlplicated via these two banks etc.


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## Ravima (8 Mar 2011)

currencyfair.com


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## seantheman (8 Mar 2011)

Just wondered if the title of this Keypost might be changed as it isn't really about opening a Uk bank a/c, more like money transfer between a/c's


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## harryd (14 May 2013)

The cheapest way I found was transferwise.
They give the best possible rate - mid-market rate
Their fees are just 1ukp/1EUR for transfers up to 200ukp
After that is 0.5% fee.
I've used them a few times and found them great as they bypass the banks
They are expanding the other countries slowly... I think it's a game changer for fx transfer.
(Note: Above link contains a referrer that will give you your first transfer for free)


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