Fees for lodging euro draft

I wonder if anyone can help with this query ....my son has a Euro bank draft in the sum of €30k that he wishes to lodge to a Euro bank account he has in the U.K. However the bank there says there will be charges for lodging it but can't give him even a ballpark figure of how much that will be. The bank says this is because it accrues interest while being cleared. Is this unusual? Isn't there usually a list of charges that must be given to the customer?

They say the charges are because the draft is on a foreign (Irish) bank. They also claim it will take 6weeks to clear it!! Surely that is an unreasonable length of time in this day and age to clear a bank draft which in itself is guaranteed money.

Anyone have any idea how this works?

Many thanks.

Broadcaster said:

which in itself is guaranteed money

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There are large scale scams involving bank drafts. The only way for the UK bank to be guaranteed the cash is for the draft to be physically transferred to the branch of the Irish bank that wrote the draft, for them to confirm the details, and then the funds get cleared. There is no automated clearing.
It is a horrific process.

If I was ever doing it, I'd avoid bank drafts if possible. If he has an Irish bank account, he'd be better lodging there, and then transferring the money.

Out of interest, does the UK bank charge him interest on his Euro account?

RedOnion said:

There are large scale scams involving bank drafts. The only way for the UK bank to be guaranteed the cash is for the draft to be physically transferred to the branch of the Irish bank that wrote the draft, for them to confirm the details, and then the funds get cleared. There is no automated clearing.
It is a horrific process.

If I was ever doing it, I'd avoid bank drafts if possible. If he has an Irish bank account, he'd be better lodging there, and then transferring the money.

Out of interest, does the UK bank charge him interest on his Euro account?

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Thanks RedOnion for that. the draft is from EBS so I'm not sure if gat makes any difference. Would it take 6weeks to do the clearance as you set it out? My son is more concerned at not knowing the charges in advance. Surely that's not rocket science. As regards your question re interest on his euro account, he has only open it recently so I'm not sure if he has many or indeed any transactions so far. I will inquire and let you know.

He has a credit union account here but they refuse to accept it as it was over the amount they wcan accept!!! another surprise so basically he is stuck unless he can get home to open another account in the EBS (closed the other one he has)and lodge the money back there. The draft is only valid for 6 months so if this lockdown goes on for many months it's difficult to know what to do.

Broadcaster said:

Would it take 6weeks to do the clearance as you set it out?

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I think the way they word it is 'up to 6 weeks'.
But it would definitely take a couple of weeks. UK branch sends to their central clearing. Who send it to their clearing bank if they don't do it themselves. Who send it to their Irish clearing bank. Who send it to EBS head office. Who send it to the EBS branch. Who check details, and send confirmation. Then funds settle.

The worst I've seen in practice is a French bank draft - the Irish banks allow up to 10 weeks for those to clear. The 10 weeks is based on experience...

Unfortunately I can't help with the UK bank fees. As much as people complain, it's a lot more straight forward here.

Do you have an EBS account yourself?

You could try lodging it there. They might refuse it, but they might not.

Then you can transfer the money.

Brendan

Broadcaster said:

I wonder if anyone can help with this query ....my son has a Euro bank draft in the sum of €30k that he wishes to lodge to a Euro bank account he has in the U.K. However the bank there says there will be charges for lodging it but can't give him even a ballpark figure of how much that will be. The bank says this is because it accrues interest while being cleared. Is this unusual? Isn't there usually a list of charges that must be given to the customer?

They say the charges are because the draft is on a foreign (Irish) bank. They also claim it will take 6weeks to clear it!! Surely that is an unreasonable length of time in this day and age to clear a bank draft which in itself is guaranteed money.

Anyone have any idea how this works?

Many thanks.

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Have you / he asked EBS if they can make an electronic transfer rather than the bank draft? If they could, it would be quicker to return the draft and have them transfer.

EmmDee said:

Have you / he asked EBS if they can make an electronic transfer rather than the bank draft? If they could, it would be quicker to return the draft and have them transfer.

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Agreed. I can't see what advantage a bank draft has over an electronic transfer in this day and age.

There is no pan European clearing for cheques or drafts regardless of currency. The physical draft will go from the UK bank to AIB via post/courier, they may need to send it on to EBS for their approval. EBS go back to AIB who go back to the collecting bank saying paid and then funds get transferred from AIB to the collecting bank. It's a slow and tedious process largely governed by 19th century legislation. Bear in mind there is both a UK and Irish bank holidays in the next few weeks also which will delay