With so many Irish people living in the UK the topic on how to transfer money from the UK to Ireland comes up all the time.
Unfortunately, many people still use banks to transfer money between £’s and €’s.
It is one of the fastest ways to throw your money away.
Why?
- Banks take an extra 4% – 6% on the exchange rate. It might not sound like a lot but for example, a £5000 transfer to your Irish bank account can be an extra €160 just on the exchange rate!
- Not only that, but because it is technically an international transfer, you will likely pay sending or receiving fees. This varies between banks but can add up to an extra €20+.
*Need a quick solution? Register here with Currencyfair and get your first five transfers for free! An Irish company and up to 8x cheaper than banks!*
Over the years, I have lived in Australia and Canada on working holiday visas.
Luckily I figured out early about these extra bank fees. I lost about €150 on my first transfer using the Bank of Ireland to send money to Australia.
So what are you supposed to do?
Good question, well, there are three main companies that have come up time and time again. I have used two of them personally.
The following would be my recommendation for the cheapest way to transfer money from the UK to Ireland:
1) Currencyfair – Up to 8x cheaper than banks. An Irish company and exchanged over 7 billion euros. Register here and get your first ten transfers for free(only a €3 transfer fee afterwards!)
2) Transferwise – You will see these guys recommended all the time. I haven’t used them personally, but worth checking out. The only thing to keep in mind is their transfer fee increases the more you send. See this article on Currencyfair vs Transferwise.
3) OFX – Amazing if you need to send a large amount from the UK to Ireland. You get a dedicated broker, and for larger transfers around the world, they are my go-to. Currencyfair and Transferwise are great but very much automated, and sometimes you just need that personal broker. Register here and get free transfers for life over $1000.
Why are they cheaper to transfer money from the UK to Ireland?
Well, they use local banks, so you send money to their UK bank account, meaning no sending fee. Then you exchange it for your desired currency.
Send it via their local bank account, meaning no receiving fees! They obviously still need to make money for their money transfer service, but they only take around 0.25% of the exchange rate.
Meaning, it is literally 8x cheaper than using your bank! Any amount of any currency can be brought in and out of Ireland with no regulations or even formalities.
Transfers over EUR10,000 must be declared to European Union authorities.
Final points and advice for when you transfer money from the UK to Ireland
If it is your first time sending money to Ireland, it is well worth comparing the above companies.
Think about the long-term as well. My main go-to has always been Currencyfair unless I had to send larger amounts in which case I would always use OFX. Larger amounts are over $5k.
Either way, any of the above companies will be a million times better than using your bank to transfer money from the UK to Ireland.
I hope this has saved you some Euros, be sure to share with those that are still using banks.
Stephen Palmer