Sterling inheritance but Euro bank account

So my brother in law will soon receive a large sterling inheritance from a relative's estate in Northern Ireland. The local solicitor has suggested that his bank will do the FX and transfer the euro proceeds into his account in the Republic but he is smart enough to know that bank FX rates have a deservedly awful reputation.

He is based in the Republic and only has an euro bank account. He spoke to his Irish bank and they don't seem to offer sterling accounts. He will see if any of the Irish banks in Northern Ireland will allow him to open a sterling account but without a local address I guess this is a long shot.

So I have a few questions.

Does anyone offer gbp accounts in Ireland? If so what firms would anyone recommend for the FX? I have a Currency Fair account but they seem to have made life more complicated for transactions and, crucially, they have removed the Marketplace feature which I used a lot in the past.

I am based in the UK and I could take the gbp payment into my account here and then FX it back in clips to his euro account in Ireland. Trust is not the issue here but I wonder if this opens me up to scrutiny or even a tax liability.

Any suggestions welcome and thank you all in advance.

My spouse opened a basic current account with Bank of Ireland UK for the very same reason, and still keeps some money there. This was a few years ago and he opened it over the phone and posted the documents they needed - id etc.

Now it seems you can open this account online here https://www.bankofirelanduk.com/personal/ - Irish residents can apply for a basic account as a new customer and upload all your docs.

We always use Currency Fair but there are several alternatives.

Wise? (Formerly Transferwise). I used it to move house sale proceeds from UK to Ireland and use it for smaller transfers still going the other way.

mct1 said:

My spouse opened a basic current account with Bank of Ireland UK for the very same reason, and still keeps some money there. This was a few years ago and he opened it over the phone and posted the documents they needed - id etc.

Now it seems you can open this account online here https://www.bankofirelanduk.com/personal/ - Irish residents can apply for a basic account as a new customer and upload all your docs.

We always use Currency Fair but there are several alternatives.

Click to expand...

At a guess, BOI would still apply a big fat margin on the currency exchange.

You could open an account with Ulster Bank in Newry to accept the cheque.

Then transfer it to euro using Wise.

Brendan

LondonIrish said:

I am based in the UK and I could take the gbp payment into my account here and then FX it back in clips to his euro account in Ireland. Trust is not the issue here but I wonder if this opens me up to scrutiny or even a tax liability.

Click to expand...

I doubt it.

If anyone asks questions, show them the documentation.

Will your bank allow you to lodge a cheque made out to someone else?

Or can he instruct the Executor to make the payment into your bank account?

Brendan

I presume if you have an account with Wise, the solicitor will transfer it into that account directly?

Brendan

Thanks all for your comments.

I do have an account with Wise - my brother in law is not entirely comfortable with depositing the proceeds of a house sale there but I guess it is no more risky than any bank.

Think we will go down the route of the solicotor transferring the money to my UK account and I will FX it over using Wise or CurrencyFair given that I am comfortable with this process and have done it many times before.

In this case if you have a wise account, use it.


But You'd be very surprised at how competitive the banks can be if you contact them and ask for as dealer rate.