Exchange rates and foreign currency EU bank transfer

tomtom1990

Hello there,

My parents live in the EU but in a non Euro country. They are worried about the inflation and want to send me their savings which I would then exchange to EURO and store in an Irish bank account.

Do you know what is the best way to do this? I was thinking using Revolut to avoid the intermediary bank transfer fees.

Has anyone researched this or has any experience? Thank you, all answers are greatly appreciated.

Jim2007

There is an array to money laundering legislation and EU directives that makes this a bad idea...

Firstly under the T&Cs of your account you are obliged to hold only funds of which you are beneficial owner and clearly you would be in breach of the terms of your account and the bank could decide to terminate your banking facilities. How would they know? Because you can't receive funds into your account without providing evidence that shows the source of the funds and the reason you are receiving them.

The consequences for you if it goes wrong is that the funds will be frozen, the regulatory authorities and the Garda will be informed of the suspected money laundering activity and they will then carry out an investigation. This can be a long process as no one is going to sign off on this unless they are absolutely sure there in no money laundering activity involved.

As a hedge against inflation I have to say it does not hold much merit for me as the proposal comes with its own set of risks, risks I doubt your parents understand. Unfortunately this is common in bad times - people swap known risks for unknown risks simple because their lack of knowledge makes the alternative seem less risky.

If they really want to do this then since they are in the EU, they can either open a Euro account with their own bank or find a bank in the Euro Group countries who are willing to open accounts for them. On the note you could also ask your bank if they would be willing to open accounts for them.

You should also warn your parents that there are several scams going on at the moment targeting people like themselves and they should be very careful who the do business with.

walterking

Do not use revolut. As above it will raise red flags and revolut will freeze the account.

If they want to hold Euro's then their own bank probably has a currency account

coylemj

OP, I fail to see how your parents moving their savings into Euros that will act as a hedge against inflation, unless they're living in a country with an unstable currency. What it will do is open up the risk that the Euro falls against their local currency. Which will reduce their local spending power. You'd only really move your savings in the way they are proposing if they planned to move to a Euro country like Ireland or France and they want to lock in the exchange rate at a time when it's favourable to them so they can (e.g.) buy a house when they move to the new country.

If they plan to live out the rest of their lives where they curently live, I don't think engaging in currency speculation is the right thing to be doing in their retirement. Inflation is everywhere these days, you're not going to escape it by moving your money into Euros.