Sterling account query and cheque times

shaaarn

Can anyone advise-

I live in Eire and have a sterling cheque made to me but I do not want to convert it to euros. Instead I want to give the money to my son in England as soon as possible.

I believe I can open a sterling account in eire but does anyone know if it takes longer for a cheque (originating from England and in my name) to credit my account than normal. Then I need to transfer this amount to my sons english account, once again, how long does this take?

If there are long delays would it help if I opened an account in the North instead?

Many thanks.

unclebill98

Opening a Stg current account in Ireland will only be done for very good reasons. Normally its a business. Other options are hold account but again the opening balance for these can be thousands.

You can ask your branch to do a contra rate on the chq when buying it. ie they buy it off you and then send the funds at the same exchange rate to your son, again highly unlikely.

If you head North to open an account chances are cause its new and your address is in the south they'll send the stg chq on collection, this can take 6 weeks(2 weeks normally but they'll allow 6) for credit back to your account and you'll incur a fee for this. Then of course there is the fee for actually sending the money via an electronic payment.

so, keep it simple. Lodge it in euros, depending on the amount you can ask for a better rate. Then send it to your son, again if its alot as for a better rate. Its the easiest most cost effective way. Otherwise your just running around causing yourself alot of hassle for very little gain if any.

dermot_sheehan

It might be easier just to endorse cheque over to your son and have him lodge it to his account

unclebill98

The vast majority of English chq's have account payee only already stamped on them by the issuing bank.

shaaarn

Thanks Bill, does that mean I will have to exchange it to euros initially and then send it to my son where it will get exchanged back to sterling?

I hear what you are saying about negotiating rates but wont this be costly?

By the way the cheque does have "a/c payee" marked on it.

shaaarn

Were talking almost 20000 sterling here if it helps.

unclebill98

Well, then your stuck with it.

You'll have to lodge it.

Yes, I mean converting to euro then sending it in euro to your son and then it will be converted to Stg by his bank.

If i was you i would do this.

Contact your branch and ask them how much you'd get for the chq at that days rate and make a note of the rate quoted. Ask them can they get you a better rate and also ask what commission they are charging. They may get a better rate & that would invovle "booking" a rate. They'll give you a booking number that will be put on the back of the chq. When you go down you simple inform the teller you've booked a rate and sign over the chq and thats that.

This all depends on your relationship with the bank. If your a reg customer and someone they can trust they'll do this for you. Like I said the amount is very large and given that it can take weeks for the chq to clear and they way the internal banking systems work the funds would be cleared in a matter of days and in some cases instantly.

So a potential loss to the bank could mean they would want to send it on collection. This means taking the chq from you and your bank send it to the issuing bank for guaranteed payment. This process can take up to 6 weeks but normally takes about 2. You'll get charged 30-40 euro but your money is safe and the bank will be happier. Rates can not be booked for a chq sent on collection. So your at the mercy of the rates on the day.

After that you can send the money to your son via an electronic transfer. You can as before book a rate with this an get more stg for your euro.

Things to note,

Booking a rate is a final deal. If you decide not to use the booking you'll never get another on again. As there is a potential loss to your branch for un-used deals. The amount in quetion could mean 100's of euros of a loss.

Commission.

1 charge for buying in the chq, 1 charge for sending the money, 1 charge for sending it on collection. Charges for booking deals. This will all add up.

Some banks do not have a maximum on the amount of commission charged. So best to know all the charges so there is no nasty surprises.

Lastly, what bank you with?