Sending money to Spain

joglynne · 13-06-2007, 00:38

Have to do this tomorrow and want to know what I may be up against.

I need to send Ã‚Â£1000.00 to a friend living in Spain who needs the money as soon as possible. I have a regular, and an on line account, with the NatWest but could also make the money available as cash.

My friend has a Spanish bank account.

Is there a way of ensuring the money will transfer quickly, and can anyone give an idea of the bank charges I may encounter?

Can some one advise me please?

Jo

danielf · 13-06-2007, 01:00

http://www.westernunion.co.uk would be an option. They take credit/debit cards (not sure about the cost).

Alternatively, contact NatWest and ask them. I'm sure they can arrange a same day transfer of funds into a nominated foreign bank account.

Chris W · 13-06-2007, 01:03

Your friend's bank account should have an IBAN to allow you to transfer the money to it. I believe most banks take the same amount of time to transfer within the EU via BACS as they would in the UK (normally 3 days) and this shouldn't cost you anything, aside from the poor currency conversion rate that you'll probably get.

The alternative is a CHAPS transfer, which should be immediate, but this will cost you- can't remember how much though.

I believe Western Union is instant as well, but not sure how much it costs... may be worth investigating though

joglynne · 13-06-2007, 01:15

I think NatWest counter will be my best bet but as it's so long since I had to do this for my son I was wondering if things had changed.

Thanks for the reply danielf.

---------- Post added at 01:15 ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 ----------

Thanks Chris. I've been looking at Chaps ( Ã‚Â£25.00 a transfer

) and Western Union.(Ã‚Â£45.00)

It's definitely looking like a cash transfer will be my best bet at the moment. Was hoping on line would have been more usable by now, so much for progress.

Gareth · 13-06-2007, 14:36

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is used for international transfers, as opposed to BACS. CHAPS is only for inter-UK transfers.

Not sure how much Nat West charge for Swift payments, but I'm with Nationwide and they only charge Ã‚Â£20 for a Swift transfer. Transactions are carried out on the same day... although there's a cut-off point which I think is about 3pm. Although there's no guaranteed delivery timescale, it's one of the quickest ways of transferring.

superbiatch · 13-06-2007, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

I need to send Ã‚Â£1000.00 to a friend living in Spain who needs the money as soon as possible.

Could i be your friend in England?

I'd suggest western union, but its already been mentioned before. Safest and quickest way i know.

altis · 13-06-2007, 15:15

PostOffice MoneyGram = Ã‚Â£46 !!!
Cash by Global Priority (250g) = Ã‚Â£47.05 !!!!!
Cash by International Datapost (250g) = Ã‚Â£56.80 !!!!!!!!!!

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/p...diaId=19700176

Acathla · 13-06-2007, 15:34

paypal?

joglynne · 13-06-2007, 15:37

Thank you every one for giving me your information. It looks possible that their son is going to be able to fly out there tomorrow and if so he will be taking the money over. (If this isn't legal forget I said it

)

Been quite a panic for the last 24 hours.

Moral of story. If your going to burn your bridges and retire abroad make sure you have enough money for emergencies.

Thanks again. I won't forget this birthday in a hurry!

superbiatch · 13-06-2007, 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

Thanks again. I won't forget this birthday in a hurry!

Never mind that, get yourself a repayment plan made up asap

joglynne · 13-06-2007, 15:57

Lump sum and pension being paid in 9 months so will get the money back then. Friends are worth more to me than the money in this case. Gosh that sounds trite but it is very true.

AdamD · 13-06-2007, 16:58

Not sure if IKobo works in Spain, but that's what I use to send money to friends in the USA if they need it

danielf · 13-06-2007, 17:04

I remember when we were in need of some Rupees ahead of a trip to India. I believe having them faxed from India was one of the ideas that was floated.

joglynne · 13-06-2007, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamD

Not sure if IKobo works in Spain, but that's what I use to send money to friends in the USA if they need it

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

I remember when we were in need of some Rupees ahead of a trip to India. I believe having them faxed from India was one of the ideas that was floated.

Will look into both of these in case the their son can't get a cheap stand-by flight tomorrow. He has the choice of Manchester or Liverpool Airports so we're keeping our fingers crossed. I must admit I will be happier if he can go to them.

Gareth · 13-06-2007, 18:34

Hahaha, I like the idea of faxing the notes - just make sure you fax both sides of the notes though