What is the best way to pay for rental deposit in Euros?

[countdowntoxmas]

We are renting a villa in France and the contract says it needs the deposit to be paid via BACS in Euros. Am I going to get hefty bank charges or is there a cheaper way to do it via something like Western Union?

lloyds told me yesterday that bank charge if you do electronic banking is £10 and £20 if you don't. not sure if this is BACS, but i would imagine so. there's also paypal, but i didnt bother investigating this since our charge will only be £10

I pay Euro deposits by international bank transfer with first direct and it costs £9. I think it's basically the same as a BACS payment, but (at first direct anyway) you have to do it by phone rather than online. You will need the payee's IBAN and BIC code numbers. It is very quick and straightforward.

It's a while since we had to use Western Union, but I seem to remember that it was comparatively more expensive.

It's 15 quid at Barclays (feels robbed)