Revolut

[DaveGrohl]

I'm looking to trade GBP/EUR without actually sending money anywhere. I have a EUR account with my own bank as well as GBP account obv (I'm in the UK). Once a year I have a EUR invoice to pay which is for a fair amount. What I'm looking to do is be able to swap between the 2 currencies as and when I like the exchange rate. I'm doing this currently only by phoning my bank and getting a quote from them. The spread is obv the killer with my own bank but there is no charge other than that.

When I've looked at Revolut it is showing a fee of £64 to carry out a €20,000 trade at the mid price as it's over the 5000 per month limit. This ends up being pretty much the same charge as my own bank after what I lose with them on the spread

So the question is this: does the premium account (£6/month) do away with the £64 charge thus leaving a completely free mid price trade (apart from the £6/month fee)?

[The Moose]

I haven’t looked since Revolut launched their latest service, however the cheapest option for home has always been TransferWise. I can send you a referral code that gives you a discounted first transfer if you like. Just PM me.

[boxst]

I change money around a fair bit and if I have any cash sitting around in Revolut I play with currency and as I have the premium account can do it as much as I wish. It's an interesting game as depending on the amount you can make (or lose) quite a lot of money on just a small change in the currency value

[DaveGrohl]

The Moose said:

I haven’t looked since Revolut launched their latest service, however the cheapest option for home has always been TransferWise. I can send you a referral code that gives you a discounted first transfer if you like. Just PM me.

Thanks, I looked at Transferwise but their charges were similar and the person I spoke to on the helpline gave me the impression I couldn't just keep swapping currencies without moving the money out of the country, ie I had to be paying someone abroad. Which is why I was looking more closely at Revolut. I know they don't have the best reputation and aren't FSCS regulated, I just wouldn't leave the money in there, I'd put it in, exchange it and move it out straight away.

[DaveGrohl]

boxst said:

I change money around a fair bit and if I have any cash sitting around in Revolut I play with currency and as I have the premium account can do it as much as I wish. It's an interesting game as depending on the amount you can make (or lose) quite a lot of money on just a small change in the currency value

Yes that's why I'm interested. Using my bank is a slow process which I'm not in control of. A large move in the rate during a day doesn't filter through to the bank's rate for wuite a while so I can't pull the trigger when I want to to my satifaction. Do you trade over £5k a month then?

[boxst]

DaveGrohl said:

Yes that's why I'm interested. Using my bank is a slow process which I'm not in control of. A large move in the rate during a day doesn't filter through to the bank's rate for wuite a while so I can't pull the trigger when I want to to my satifaction. Do you trade over £5k a month then?

Before I purchased my house we were playing with a few hundred thousand and that made us some money with the tiniest of exchange rates. I did say 'game' as at some stage we were down quite a bit. We could wait and then made some money, but the worst scenario is that you are down and then you need the cash. It sounds fun and a great way to make money, in reality it is quite stressful.

Edit: If you move a large sum in there, they will block your account and you can only 'talk' to them via messaging. I had to prove a few times that I'm not some international drug dealer and could show where the money came from.

Edited by boxst on Saturday 28th March 11:27

[DaveGrohl]

boxst said:

Before I purchased my house we were playing with a few hundred thousand and that made us some money with the tiniest of exchange rates. I did say 'game' as at some stage we were down quite a bit. We could wait and then made some money, but the worst scenario is that you are down and then you need the cash. It sounds fun and a great way to make money, in reality it is quite stressful.

Edit: If you move a large sum in there, they will block your account and you can only 'talk' to them via messaging. I had to prove a few times that I'm not some international drug dealer and could show where the money came from.

Edited by boxst on Saturday 28th March 11:27

Cheers, it's that last part that would put me off. Locking me out of MY money, WTAF?!? I wouldn't actually be playing to the extent you were and I used to do a lot of spreadbetting so I'm well aware of the dangers of getting carried away.

[TRW11]

Have you looked at Starling? Im paid in Euro's and live in Austria but still have bills in pounds. You can have both accounts and transfer instantly between them. I have never moved over a couple of grand and unsure of costs with ten's of thousands. hope it helps

[DaveGrohl]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've had a quick look and they're no better than Revolut or Transferwise, 0.4% seems to be the best going rate for mid price transactions. As with the others, the only benefit over my bank would be that I'd be in control of timing of pulling the trigger.