OK this has been posted to UK.finance, but knowing the inherent
knowledge at UK.DIY....

Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.
His exchange duration is one school year and he currently banks
with Barclays.
My wife has contacted Barclays but they will only discuss
Barclay's products (predictably) and not consider the benefits of
a local (Brussels) bank account.

Thanks for any suggestions

Phil


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On 03/08/15 20:24, TheChief wrote:
OK this has been posted to UK.finance, but knowing the inherent
knowledge at UK.DIY....

Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.
His exchange duration is one school year and he currently banks
with Barclays.
My wife has contacted Barclays but they will only discuss
Barclay's products (predictably) and not consider the benefits of
a local (Brussels) bank account.

The easiest way, but it's a bit late now, would be to get a
euro-friendly pre-pay card and use that in the ATMs.

Tim Watts Wrote in message:
On 03/08/15 20:24, TheChief wrote:
OK this has been posted to UK.finance, but knowing the inherent
knowledge at UK.DIY....

Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.
His exchange duration is one school year and he currently banks
with Barclays.
My wife has contacted Barclays but they will only discuss
Barclay's products (predictably) and not consider the benefits of
a local (Brussels) bank account.

The easiest way, but it's a bit late now, would be to get a
euro-friendly pre-pay card and use that in the ATMs.



Thanks Tim - any ideas on how competitive this is wrt charges?

The lad is actually spending his own money, but how best to get it
from his UK Barclay's account into Euros, or to pay landlords
direct etc.?

Phil

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In message , TheChief
writes
Tim Watts Wrote in message:
On 03/08/15 20:24, TheChief wrote:
OK this has been posted to UK.finance, but knowing the inherent
knowledge at UK.DIY....

Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.
His exchange duration is one school year and he currently banks
with Barclays.
My wife has contacted Barclays but they will only discuss
Barclay's products (predictably) and not consider the benefits of
a local (Brussels) bank account.

The easiest way, but it's a bit late now, would be to get a
euro-friendly pre-pay card and use that in the ATMs.



Thanks Tim - any ideas on how competitive this is wrt charges?


They can be pretty much fee free, depending on the card.

You can normally get the card free if you load it enough, and adding
more money to the card is normally free. Use of the card to purchase is
normally free, some have a foreign ATM fee, but not all. Most have fees
for use in UK ATM's, and generally they charge of you use if not in the
face currency.

Of course you also need to look at the interest rates charged.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/prepaid-cards/euros/
--
Chris French

"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article , TheChief
wrote:

Thanks Tim - any ideas on how competitive this is wrt charges?

The lad is actually spending his own money, but how best to get it
from his UK Barclay's account into Euros, or to pay landlords
direct etc.?

You should be able to transfer direct to furrin bank accts using the
account's IBAN number, which for his own Barclays account is printed on
the monthly bank statement. I do that but in reverse to get my CERN
pension back to the UK.

I lost about 7% to exchange "charges" when I did this.

I tried to find one of those discount money transfer places but no-one seems
to do Euro to pounds, only the other way around. I even got a local to
search for a foreign based one to no avail,.

I don't understand why the service isn't Commutative, there must be Brits
selling their foreign homes wanting to transfer back the profits, just like
there are Brits transferring out deposits to buy a foreign home

tim

On Monday, 3 August 2015 20:24:36 UTC+1, TheChief wrote:
Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.

For spending (not cash withdrawal) check the credit cards he

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...ney#specialist

making sure to pay them off every month.

see also the debit and prepaid travel cards further down the page.

Not sure a Brussels bank account will be particularly useful unless son has Belgian income to be credited to the account, or possibly requires to pay Belgian utility bills etc which require a local payment method (equivalent of our direct debit, for example).

Owain

wrote:
Not sure a Brussels bank account will be particularly useful unless son
has Belgian income to be credited to the account, or possibly requires to
pay Belgian utility bills etc which require a local payment method
(equivalent of our direct debit, for example).

http://www.keytradebank.be/

Should be easy to get for UK folks, decent value everyday banking (they pay
you EUR0.05 per transaction), you get a debit card if you're a Belgian
resident (which he is now), free transfers to Eurozone countries.

Then use a currency broker like CurrencyFair or TransferWise to convert GBP
to EUR - better rates than most forex places, though a couple of UK cards
beat them if you're paying direct from GBP.

Theo

Theo Wrote in message:
wrote:
Not sure a Brussels bank account will be particularly useful unless son
has Belgian income to be credited to the account, or possibly requires to
pay Belgian utility bills etc which require a local payment method
(equivalent of our direct debit, for example).

http://www.keytradebank.be/

Should be easy to get for UK folks, decent value everyday banking (they pay
you EUR0.05 per transaction), you get a debit card if you're a Belgian
resident (which he is now), free transfers to Eurozone countries.

Then use a currency broker like CurrencyFair or TransferWise to convert GBP
to EUR - better rates than most forex places, though a couple of UK cards
beat them if you're paying direct from GBP.

Theo


Thanks to all - I'll pass on your save words to the lad
Phil
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On 03/08/2015 20:24, TheChief wrote:
OK this has been posted to UK.finance, but knowing the inherent
knowledge at UK.DIY....

Our 20 yr old son left for Brussels this morning. He has taken
enough Euros for a couple of weeks, but how should he proceed
thereafter?
We are wondering what the most effective way will be to manage his
finances. He can use his debit card but this attracts a charge
for each transaction.

Halifax Clarity card and pay it off each month (or as he goes).

--
F

www.vulcantothesky.org - 2015, the last year to see a Vulcan fly