Transferring money into Euro

[BlackForestCake]

I am expecting the pound to tank (again) in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

As I am planning/hoping to move to the Eurozone at some point, I want to move a significant portion of savings into Euro before that happens (say 5000 or so), but where should I keep it?

There are things like pre-paid Euro cards, FairFX, Revolut etc but they’re not actually banks and I’d be a bit hesitant about putting thousands into them.

Offshore accounts with UK banks appear terribly expensive.

Any ideas/solutions?

Paypal?

I would expect the Euro to take a hit as well so US dollar, or and other currency as a interim.

Could you not open an account in your new country?

The Euro might take a hit against other world currencies, but it’s only the pound/euro rate I’m interested in. Not planning on going anywhere outside the EU.

I don’t expect to be moving before March 2019 so won’t have an address in the new country to open an account.

Who do you bank with at the moment? Several high street banks will simply let you open a Euro account attached to your current account, even if they don't widely publicise this.

X-post with SonEtLumiere, also this one:

www.barclays.co.uk/current-accounts/international-bank-account/

Transferwise is fab

I use Fineco. I work as an EFL teacher in Europe but need to move money back and forth quite often. You get a Euro debit card and a GBP card too if you want. You can transfer to and from your GB bank account as much as you want, and convert at stock exchange rates with no commission.

Only downside is that they charge fees for bank transfers to other EU account holders.

How soon is "at some point"? Unless you have definite plans that require euros, there have to be better and less risky ways of hedging against sterling tanking, eg buying a Euro-based investment fund which i imagine you can do inside an ISA.

Some banks in your desired country might let you open a basic account without an address in the country, though you'd have to be there in person to open the account - ING do here in Brussels (or used to, 5 years ago), to make life easier for all the many many foreigners moving here in relation to the international organisations like the EU and NATO, if nothing else... Maybe your home-country-to-be has similar possibilities?

I'm in the process of opening a CA Britline account as I'm moving to France and had the same concern. Lots of people have recommended the account and it was easy to do online.

Transferwise has also been recommended a lot.

Cash under the mattress?

I have been worried about the same thing and have been moving my UK savings to my bank abroad. I fully expect the exchange rate to tank if there is no deal... And even if there is a deal I think it will take a hit.

I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket though, but having a buffer in Euros might be a sensible thing to do now, even if it's just your holiday money for the next few years.

If you can afford to do it, why not?

You have the right to open a basic bank account in any EU country if you are a resident of any other EU member state. You might need to visit a branch, which might be problematic.
Most UK banks offer foreign currency accounts.

We won't be in an EU member state, so what then?

Britline.com is the English speaking part of Credit Agricole so a seriously proper bank. It's an online/ telephone agency so quite a lot of proof required, but the application is online and proof is uploaded.

I did this in 2016 when I left the UK for good to go back to my home country. I had £25000 in savings and the £ was still quite big at the time so I changed everything into euros. I'm happy about it tbf

Check how much the fees would be to maintain an account on mainland Europe. I think many accounts aren't free to maintain.

I'd sort of assumed the pound had tanked about as far as it would go, and the certainty that would come with a deal or no deal outcome would prevent further devaluation. However, since we are paid in dollars, but save in sterling......