If you are moving to the UK from Ireland – you are going to need a Sterling bank account in the UK. This might not be easy whilst you are still living in Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, you will find that many of the banks there will allow you to open a Sterling Bank Account if you are resident in the Republic Of Ireland. It is probably best to ring around the various banks before you go just to check (Try Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and Allied Irish )
We recommend opening the new account with a small amount of Sterling in cash to begin with.
- Don’t go drawing out loads of Sterling in cash from your Irish account from an ATM in the UK .
- Don’t ask your Irish bank to exchange all your savings into Pounds in cash. You could pay heavily with poor exchange rates and commissions.
Money Transfer from Ireland to the UK
Once you have a UK sterling account set up – then you can arrange for the currency exchange and transfer from your Irish Euro account to the Sterling account in the UK. You might assume you have to do this currency exchange through your own bank in Ireland – but you don’t have to use your bank.
There are some specialist currency exchange brokers that you can use – and their exchange rates will usually be better than the banks. A difference in the exchange rate of just 1 cent in the Euro on a €100,000 Euros transaction would save you a £1000 Euros. Not bad for a couple of phone calls and a bit of form filling . You send them Euros from your Irish bank account and they convert it to Sterling and send that to your Sterling bank account..
Fexco is based in County Kerry and is one of Ireland’s biggest financial solutions provider. Fexco can exchange your Euros into Pounds and transfer the money to a UK bank account (yours or someone else’s) .
Many other currencies are also available.
Fexco is authorised as a payment services provider by the Central Bank of Ireland and is also regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.
You can get a quick quote for currency transfers online at the Fexco Website
A currency exchange company in the UK that we recommend is called Currency Solutions.
They are regulated and authorised by the UK Financial Services Authority and HM Revenue. They can carry out currency transfers from Euros to Sterling as well as any other major currencies. You can make a no-obligation enquiry about your currency requirements at the Currency Solutions Website
If you prefer – you can telephone Currency Solutions on their Irish number: 01 4311344 or on their UK number 0044 207 740 0000 .
Ernie Enver, the head broker, and his team will be able to help you with all your currency exchange questions. Mention the “Irish Links” website when you call.
OFX is a global company that can offer foreign exchange services across 55 different currencies. Founded in 1998 ,OFX has8 offices across the world, including London and Dublin.
OFX is authorized in the UK by the FCA and in Ireland and the EU by the Central Bank of Ireland.
They don’t charge transfer fees and the minimum transfer amount is just €100.
You can register with OFX here
Of course – always check with your own bank first to see what exchange rate they will offer you.
Get the bank to confirm how much Sterling you will get after the conversion – after all fees have been deducted. If you just compare the raw exchange rates – the difference in those figures may look really small and you may feel it’s not worth the bit of extra hassle. But when you see the difference in the total amount you will get after the exchange – it could amount to several hundreds of pounds.
If you are worried about the Euro weakening against Sterling – you can reserve an exchange rate up to a year in advance. So – when rates are in your favour – but your money is tied up in a fixed rate account or in property – you can reserve the rate and make the exchange weeks or months in the future .