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TEFOFF · Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 36

Does anyone know the cheapest and best way to send money back from the gulf to the Rep. of Ireland? It is relatively cheap sending it back to the U.K., but I don't think that's the case with Irish banks. I was charged a fee of 10% of the money I was sending back, then I started using Western Union, but I am wondering if there is a better option. Question

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

I use internet banking. It costs about SR50 per transfer and you lose about 1% on the currency conversion.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Man - Western Union is EXPENSIVE. Depends where you are in the Gulf. In Saudi al-Rajhi is still good. Saudi American bank ?

I get a draft and post it. Al-Rajhi charge 5 or 10 SR for the draft. The Post Office charges about 10 for the registered letter.

A SWIFT transfer can cost you 120 SR - regardless of how much.

fishjock · Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 5:19 am Post subject:

I have just opened an account with SABB - Saudi Arabian British Bank. They are a subsidiary of HSBC and they say that if I open an account with the HSBC when I go back to the UK in the summer then I can transfer money between accounts using the internet at no cost.
They told me that money can be transferred at no cost through internet banking between international branches of the HSBC. I'm not sure whether this bank operates in the ROI

TEFOFF · Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 36

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES, BUT I AM JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ANY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF SENDING THEIR MONEY TO SPECIFIC IRISH BANKS (AIB, BOI OR IRISH PERMANENT). IN CONTRAST TO UK OR AMERICAN BANKS, I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM IS THE MONEY FIRST GOES TO A CLEARING BANK IN THE UK, AND THEN GOES FROM THE UK TO IRELAND, HENCE THE 2 TRIPS SO TO SPEAK AND THE HIGHER COSTS. THANKS FOR THE HSBC BANK TIP, BUT I AM NOT SURE IF THEY HAVE RETAIL BANK BRANCHES IN THE REPUBLIC, ALTHOUGH IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO.

fishjock · Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 12:26 pm Post subject:

When I used to remit money from Taiwan I hated paying the fees for electronically tranferring money home. I found it cheaper to simply buy pound sterling travellers cheques from my bank in Taiwan and then mail them by registered post to my bank in Scotland. This worked out a lot cheaper than the 20 pounds fee per transaction I was being gouged per transaction by the British bank. So long as I double scored the back of the cheques and wrote "Only Payable to AC No xxxxxxxxx" then they could only be paid into that account.
My bank didn't like me doing this (probably because they were missing out on their 20 quid cut) but it worked no problem for me.
Might be worth asking if your bank in Ireland would accept deposits using this method.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

You will find one of the branches of Al-Rajhi can issue a draft in Euros drawn on an Irish bank.. They will charge 5 or 10 riyals. Ask around. There must still be a few Irish around. There used to be hundreds. They can't all have gone back home !

Bebsi · Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 958

No, some of us went to the new lands of eastern Europe!! Smile

When I was in KSA, I used to send money to Ireland, from Riyadh Bank. It cost me, if I recall correctly, SAR 50 to send by bank-to-bank transfer, and took about 3-5 working days. Some banks were even cheaper, but as I had an account in RB, and 50 riyals wasn't going to break any bank anyway, I sent it from there. This sum, if I recall, was the same irrespective of the amount being sent. If sending to different accounts, you will of course have to pay for each transaction.

Might be cheaper in such case, to send to one Irish bank and then redistribute.

I never worried about tax. As far as I know, you are exempt from paying tax in Ireland on KSA earnings anyway, due to a standard international DTA (double taxation agreement). The fact that you don't pay tax in Saudi is irrelevant, it is the fact that you are assessed in Saudi that counts.

Doing it all by i-net banking saves a phenomenal amount of time and stress by avoiding the queues.

Al Rajhi is cheaper, about 30 SAR, but you can queue for hours.

Don't use Western Union, as it is an express service. It goes quickly, and that's what you are paying for. If speed is not of the essence however, it's a waste of money. I once told a friend of mine NOT to send stuff by DHL when moving country, but to do a standard air-freight type of deal. Did he listen? Nope, of course not, and ended up paying about three times over the odds.

Do bank-bank, pay your 50 riyals and forget it after that.