Talk Quesada forum

Has anyone used the new Sabadell cash transfer system where you can use your debit card from a UK bank for example to transfer funds to your Sabadell account? They charge a €10 flat fee for the service. I've tried it a couple of times using my Santander UK card it seems to work fine and I get the one time security code sent to my module which I enter correctly into Sabadell online banking but then the system puts up an error message and cannot complete the transaction. I've not yet spoken to the bank but wonder if others have had the same experience

sounds expensive at 10 euros I use transferwise usually transfered within an hour

I have the same accounts as you, Santander in the UK and Sabadell in Spain. I've not heard of this new scheme but do you not also get charged by Santander for conversion to euros on top of the flat €10 Sabadell fee? That would make it very costly in my eyes.

TonTri wrote:I have the same accounts as you, Santander in the UK and Sabadell in Spain. I've not heard of this new scheme but do you not also get charged by Santander for conversion to euros on top of the flat €10 Sabadell fee? That would make it very costly in my eyes.

No as far as I see it leaves the UK in Sterling and is converted here at no fee. As the currency exchange companies like Smart Currency Exchange who I generally use give you about 2% below the interbank rate then 10€ is good (half) if you're converting say £1000. But as I say I've not been able to get the Sabadell system to work

I thought €10 was a bit steep. But in an emergency I might use it. I use OFX who charge nothing for transfers to your Sabadell bank account and give 0.5% under the interbank rate for £to€ currency exchanges.

I was notified of this facility while back in the UK and went in to both my British banks, one of which is Santander, to see if they knew how it worked. Neither had any idea but both assumed the exchange rate would be determined by the UK bank. Interesting that this is not the case and also that Sabadell make only a fixed charge.
I will try this facility next time I need to make a transfer and feed back on both whether or not it worked and how the actual transfer compares.
Also interested in the fact that OFX give such a good rate as I am looking for an alternative to my current transfer agent.

transferwise for me, they give you exact same current currency exchange rate, no sneaky percentage below the current rate, and charge around fiver for sending £1000. you can even see the real live exchange rate and fee on their home page, before you even become a customer. have a look.

Vicb wrote:I was notified of this facility while back in the UK and went in to both my British banks, one of which is Santander, to see if they knew how it worked. Neither had any idea but both assumed the exchange rate would be determined by the UK bank. Interesting that this is not the case and also that Sabadell make only a fixed charge.
I will try this facility next time I need to make a transfer and feed back on both whether or not it worked and how the actual transfer compares.
Also interested in the fact that OFX give such a good rate as I am looking for an alternative to my current transfer agent.

Looking forward to your feedback I guess we're all looking for a better deal with the pound low against the euro. I should have pointed out Sabadell online banking works out the rate for you before completing the transaction which I've compared against my usual agent and it's been the same but I will look at the others mentioned here as well

Ron Hill wrote:

TonTri wrote:I have the same accounts as you, Santander in the UK and Sabadell in Spain. I've not heard of this new scheme but do you not also get charged by Santander for conversion to euros on top of the flat €10 Sabadell fee? That would make it very costly in my eyes.

No as far as I see it leaves the UK in Sterling and is converted here at no fee. As the currency exchange companies like Smart Currency Exchange who I generally use give you about 2% below the interbank rate then 10€ is good (half) if you're converting say £1000. But as I say I've not been able to get the Sabadell system to work

I'd only use this service in an emergency; it may be cheaper than High St banks, but it's still expensie. I agree with the other posts about TransferWise, a Which? Best Buy. You can register for an account in just a few minutes online: https://transferwise.com. I transferred £1,000 last Friday morning and it was in my account before close of business the same day. I secured a "live" exchange rate of 1.14000 Euros to the £, minus the fee of £4.98, giving me an actual exchange rate of 1.13432 Euros to the £. No hidden fees or interbank % deductions.

Many thanks folks for introducing me to TransferWise. They are saving me a lot of money and do things as they should be done these days! I just wish I'd learnt about them sooner!
Again, many thanks