First topic message reminder :

Say you had £40k , what sort of rate after tax could you expect? Also if you lived near the Turkish border could you get a Turkish account to take advantage of thier high rates, would converting Lie to levs wipe out any gains? And yes I'm aware the Turkish rates are dropping fast. Thanks once again in advance from a Fulham fan reeling from defeat to qpr.

Using ballpark figures.

Does anyone have any idea what the charges would be to have a Turkish sterling/Lira and a BG account, then 'for arguments sake' transfer on a monthly basis a set figure of say £500.

Also would it be better to transfer Lira or sterling to the BG account.
Taking into account that using Lira would have a conversion fee to sterling before it was transferred, and either would have a conversion fee to LEV.

Or would it be possible to withdraw sterling from a Turkish account at a ATM, then deposit it into a BG account.

This way one could have the best of both worlds (ish)
Turkish higher interest rates and cash on hand in a BG account to pay direct debits and other bills, plus the security of payment refund if the bank was to get into trouble.

i have no clue about turkish banking. but when i transfer from the uk, the transfer fee is 40 pounds and bulgaria charge 30 levs acceptance fee. when i transfer to spain its 40 pounds the uk and 15 euros spain charges me. they are all different. I transfer an estimated years living money so i only pay the transfer once a year.

they charge more if you have it done express ( 1 day) the norm is 4 days.

starlite wrote:

i have no clue about turkish banking. but when i transfer from the uk, the transfer fee is 40 pounds and bulgaria charge 30 levs acceptance fee. when i transfer to spain its 40 pounds the uk and 15 euros spain charges me. they are all different. I transfer an estimated years living money so i only pay the transfer once a year.

Ok, partly there, my UK bank LloydsTSB wants to charge on the amount of money being transferred, such as £70 per £10,000.
But unless the BG rate was shall we say reasonable, then I don't think I would want to be transferring 12 months worth of funds at a time from a Turkish account to a BG account.

Maybe if ATMs are readily accessible then monthly cash withdrawals using a Turkish debit card might be the way to go, unless anyone has any further information that is!

Transaction costs would be too high for the first option, in my opinion. This would negate the gains of the better interest rate.
Withdrawals from an ATM are a better option but still, spreads on Lira/Lev are high. Banks are expensive for currency exchange, this is why most Bulgarians use "
Change"
bureaus. Today`s automatic ( ATMs ) spread on the TRY is 7.81 buy/8.65 sell for 10TRY, or 0.84BGN. This is pretty expensive at approx. 10.76% spread charge - looks like this option is far from good. Second, when you do the initial deposit transfer, you will have to buy TRY with GBP/BGN where another such charge would be imposed and should be taken into consideration. Add to this administration difficulties ( its not in your town ).
You need to sit down and calculate - the exact amount you need to deposit, initial exchange spread, interest, long term forecast on interest rates, back-exchange TRY/BGN when taking benefits.

Scanspeak wrote:

Transaction costs would be too high for the first option, in my opinion. This would negate the gains of the better interest rate.
Withdrawals from an ATM are a better option but still, spreads on Lira/Lev are high. Banks are expensive for currency exchange, this is why most Bulgarians use "
Change"
bureaus. Today`s automatic ( ATMs ) spread on the TRY is 7.81 buy/8.65 sell for 10TRY, or 0.84BGN. This is pretty expensive at approx. 10.76% spread charge - looks like this option is far from good. Second, when you do the initial deposit transfer, you will have to buy TRY with GBP/BGN where another such charge would be imposed and should be taken into consideration. Add to this administration difficulties ( its not in your town ).
You need to sit down and calculate - the exact amount you need to deposit, initial exchange spread, interest, long term forecast on interest rates, back-exchange TRY/BGN when taking benefits.

Obviously a lot as you say depends on the transfer rate which would have to be either negotiated with the bank, or big fat pockets coming through customs, of which is quite legal providing it is declared.
Obviously also a wise move is also to carry some sort of proof of where the cash came from, such as bank statement/s etc.

Obviously there are lots of if's &
buts, and unfortunately most of them can't be done or sorted unless actually in the country to discuss the matter with the right people.

Thanks for the information.
Phil

[quote="
Phil-H"

Ok, partly there, my UK bank LloydsTSB wants to charge on the amount of money being transferred, such as £70 per £10,000.

![/quote]


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The Lloyds TSB transfer charge you pay depends on the amount of money you send and how you send it:

Online

If you are sending less than £5,000 = £10
If you are sending £5,000 or over = £17.50 !!

Branch and Telephone

If you are sending less than £5,000 = £20
If you are sending £5,000 or over = £35

Thanks Varnagirl, I will check what he told me later this month when I see the manager, then give him a roasting for not pointing out the much lower charge if I did it myself over the internet the same as I do all my other banking, so it's not exactly rocket science.

Lloyds TSB offshore has started to offer an account with free transfers, quite suitable for expatriates. You`ll still have to pay the receiving bank any commission they might have. I took a quick look at this offer, have ot investigate it for any hidden charges.

Something to warn you about the banking system in Bulgaria: Deposits are guaranteed for 90% of their value and up to €100, 000. However, a close look at the way this is defined says that in the case of a bank filling for bankrupcy, compensation payment shall commence within 20 days of the insolvency date. However, it doesn`t say when it will end. It may be spread over time and be repaid by the responsible insurer in one, two or fifty years. This is quite rudiculous but it is the way its defined in the bulgarian legislation and I am absolutely sure that the insurers know about this back door. Guarantee ( if you could call it this way at all ) works for every single deposit up to the amount of 100k but if you have two plans with the same bank, totalling for example 150 grand, you`ll be "
protected"
for up to 100 grand only. So, if this is really the way you have chosen - its better to keep several deposits with different banks that do not exceed €100, 000 per plan, per bank.

Good stuff..I keep mine spread a little thinner than that though!

Phil-H wrote:

Thanks Varnagirl, I will check what he told me later this month when I see the manager, then give him a roasting for not pointing out the much lower charge if I did it myself over the internet the same as I do all my other banking, so it's not exactly rocket science.

Sorry Varnagirl but nothing to report back on my earlier post, 'basically I forgot to ask' and as I'm not quite ready for a move forgetting at this moment in time didn't leave me with that feeling of 'something else that must be checked on, asap'

Scanspeak,
Thanks for the heads-up, obviously something else to try and remember.

BGbazz,
Yes, likewise, even here in the UK I still say it's not a good idea to have all your eggs (cash) in one basket, as my TSB manager can attest to when I threatened to pull out of his bank and transfer my money elsewhere unless he gave me a decent rate on the last Cash ISA.

Phil-H wrote:

Using ballpark figures.

Does anyone have any idea what the charges would be to have a Turkish sterling/Lira and a BG account, then 'for arguments sake' transfer on a monthly basis a set figure of say £500.

Also would it be better to transfer Lira or sterling to the BG account.
Taking into account that using Lira would have a conversion fee to sterling before it was transferred, and either would have a conversion fee to LEV.

Or would it be possible to withdraw sterling from a Turkish account at a ATM, then deposit it into a BG account.

This way one could have the best of both worlds (ish)
Turkish higher interest rates and cash on hand in a BG account to pay direct debits and other bills, plus the security of payment refund if the bank was to get into trouble.

Turkey and Bulgaria don't appear to have a contra account system. It would be nice to draw out sterling here in BG, but I haven't seen an ATM that does it yet. Turkish banks basically take account holders for a ride when you attempt to change Lira into Sterling, their exchange rate is ridiculous compared with taking the money out in Lira and going into the nearest jewellers and changing into Sterling. BG banks will not change Lira for Leva or vice versa.