By DAVID KERNS [email protected]
Head of Private Clients for Moneycorp, one of the UK’s leading foreign exchange and international money transfer providers.
With the weak pound and strong euro, this is a difficult time for people receiving an income from the UK when living in Portugal. It is especially tough for those transferring pensions or making overseas mortgage payments.
This article examines some of the issues regarding the transfer of funds abroad from the UK and what, if anything, can be done to safeguard the amount you receive each month – or better still, increase it.
High street banks are often the first port of call for sending funds overseas. As banks do not specialise in foreign exchange, their transfer fees are usually high and their exchange rates relatively poor. In many cases, the rate they offer is two to three per cent less than could be achieved elsewhere.
In addition to poor exchange rates, the average cost for transferring your currency is £25 per payment. Crucially, the majority of banks do not have an automated process for regular payments, therefore you are expected to arrange your transfers every month via telephone and internet banking.
The Regular Payment Plan
A currency specialist like Moneycorp offers you a comprehensive, cost-effective way of making your regular international payments. Moneycorp is a market-leading international money transfer specialist and understands the needs of people making regular payments overseas, which is why the Regular Payment Plan has been tailored for transactions like pension transfers and mortgage payments.
The Moneycorp Regular Payment Plan will help save you time and money. Moneycorp offers better rates than a bank, as well as fixed and variable plan options. Customers can lock into favourable exchange rates for a set period of time, giving them peace of mind that the amount of euros arriving in their overseas account will stay the same each time.
The process is fully automated, so every month you can relax in the knowledge that your transfers are taken care of. As well as benefiting from great rates of exchange, transfer fees are as low as £4 and you won’t have to pay commission.
There are three plan options available, which all give you the flexibility to choose your payment schedule, with frequencies ranging from weekly to annual.
Option 1 – Fix the sterling amount
You will know how much sterling will be debited from your account for each transfer. The amount of euros you receive will vary according to the exchange rate at the time of transfer.
Option 2 – Fix the euro amount
You will know how many euros will arrive in your overseas account every time. The amount of sterling debited from your UK account will vary according to the exchange rate at the time of transfer.
Option 3 – Fix both
You will know exactly how much sterling will leave your UK account and how many euros will arrive in your overseas account. (Option 3 is available for a period of between six and 24 months.)
Moneycorp invested over £1.3m into making their payment processing system one of the best in the industry. It is geared towards processing regular payments as efficiently as possible – using the very latest technology. The sterling is collected by Direct Debit and the foreign currency automatically sent abroad.
Moneycorp can also take care of all your larger transfers to and from Portugal. Our experts make the process quick, easy and highly cost-effective.
Contact Moneycorp in Portugal on 800 863 328 or in the UK on +44 (0)20 7589 3000 or visit their website www.moneycorp.com
