Peter wrote:
Well, October 2016 is, ahem, ahem, about 2 months ago….!
It is indeed however most major UK banks were already doing this considerably earlier. HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds. By early this year 95% of the UK payments (by volume) were in-scope.
Peter wrote:
Even my own one (a UK building society) now appears on the SEPA list, though I would prefer to test it before assuming too much because they struggle to even do an IBAN payment to the USA!
FYI, while not directly related to this discussion (which is about pre-authorized direct debit), there is a fantastic service for international money transfers involving currency exchange called TransferWise. For anything over about $500 one can save up to $30-40 on the exchange rate. They offer the actual mid-market exchange rate at the time of transfer so there is no buy/sell spread, just a small fee for their service.
Information here: TransferWise
Yes; I know… these outfits are everywhere and they phone me almost daily at work. Probably worth doing but then you have to set up a new payee in your online banking interface, which needs the card reader thingy.
Presumably SEPA is a system for direct debits from abroad.
I have just got this from a UK pilot who managed to get the TOTAL card
I guess this is to be expected since one loses some £6-£10 on foreign payments converted into £ so you have to pay for it one way or another.
I don’t pay anything for foreign currency conversion (to any currency) when using a Bank of America Travel Rewards card, and paying the bill in USD. No annual fee, nothing. The exchange rate seems OK too relative to whatever is listed in real time on my iPhone.
I think Peter is talking about bank transfers, not card payments.
I am not getting charged for each purchase separately. Several purchases seems to be grouped in one bill. That said I have not really figured out the billing periods.
Just read up on the billing by TOTAL. It is “20 hours fin de décade”. I believe that means that you have 20 days credit starting at the end of the decade during which the purchase was made. So if you make a purchase on the 4th, you will get 20 days credit starting on the 10th so you will be charged on the 30th. If you make several purchases between the 1st and the 10th, the will all be charged on the 30th.
Other UK residents have told me about those UK bank charges for SEPA direct debit. The solution is to have a bank account in the EU on the continent.
Other UK residents have told me about those UK bank charges for SEPA direct debit. The solution is to have a bank account on the continent.
That was historically always the solution, before SEPA. Unfortunately that solution was problematic because most banks don’t want to open an account for somebody living in a different country. We have had many threads on this in the past; IIRC it used to require a sizeable deposit.
Incidentally, and assuming the airfield in question has some human presence, can’t one just pay in cash? Is it possible for a local pilot to use his card, and you give him the cash, plus a bit on top if required?
Of course it is possible if you find the right person. Sometimes there is an attendant that accepts credit cards. But then it is the same old question: you need to rely on someone being there, able and willing.
It should be no problem for a foreign resident to open a bank account in France. My brother who resides in Norway did. Some UK pilots I met have. The bank does not risk anything because the direct deposit is only accepted if there are funds available.
