There is no doubt that the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in June 2016 sent shockwaves through the global economy. Over 30 million Brits voted to leave the EU and negotiations have been ongoing to agree a deal for the terms of the UK leaving the community. The issue for many people at the moment is that this deal is far from agreed and there is uncertainty over what it might contain. That means that both UK residents and other interested parties from across the globe are wondering just how Brexit might affect them.
Will Brexit impact on money transfers?
One area that many people are concerned about is the potential impact Brexit could have on money transfers. This is especially true for any personal or business transfers that happen on an international level. Whether you send money to or from the UK, the below is how Brexit could affect the procedure.
- Currency exchange rates – one major influence this situation may have on money transfers is the exchange rates of sterling against other currencies. Any kind of news around what might happen or what is going to happen will cause the pound to rise or fall against other currencies. That will affect how much money you actually have in real terms when making money transfers to or from the UK. The latest advice to get the best deal possible is to check the overseas transfer rates before you make any money transfers and to find the best rate you can.
- There may be no impact – do not forget that Brexit is concerned with the UK leaving the EU. For the rest of the world, it doesn’t have any real influence bar the exchange rate of the UK’s pound. That means that how you make money transfers to other parts of the globe and what you are allowed to do in that regard will probably not alter.
- May require more knowledge – an impact that it could mean for your money transfers is that you will need to pay more attention to what is happening. At the moment, you may simply just send a payment to the UK or receive one after little thought. After Brexit, you may be well advised to check the current exchange rate and political news to see if it is better to wait in the hope that the value of the currency will rise.
- Could make cross-border payments harder – although this has not yet been confirmed, Brexit could make it harder to send money across borders. It could mean that if you have a UK bank account but want to move money to an EU country, it may become more difficult than at present. It may also make it harder to receive payments from EU countries.
Time will reveal all
The major issue around Brexit for many people is that they simply have no idea what will happen. That lack of knowledge makes it hard to plan how to proceed in your business or personal life when making future money transfers. The best advice is to keep a close eye on the news and how it affects the currency exchange rates before making any transfers at all.