Using bank cards in the EU. : comments [Matthew's Journal]

I got confused, but a friend of mine who was working in a euro-country did something like put money in his bank (er unfortunately I forget the bank. its internet banking requires windows.) in sterling, move it to the same bank in euros on the isle of man or something, then move it from there to a euro bank account in the country he was living in. apparently that saved on the commission, or something.

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Yes, that would work if they had an income in sterling (e.g. they were letting their house while working abroad), but were living in the Euro area. Converting a lot of money is cheaper than converting a little. Getting the sterling-to-euros done within one bank might well be cheaper.

I think most banks offer a Euro account, often off-shore. The problem is (for people like me who spend between 300 and 1000 euro a year on academic publications, holidays, etc), is that they are all either expensive, or you need to put a regular amount into them (along the lines of a salary).

Off-shore Euro accounts won't be in Europe, though, so the 'no fees' bit won't apply. Hence the setting up a real euro account to pay for stuff / get cash, rather than use the off-shore acount.

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