Why does my bank charge me for this type of transfer and what are the likely costs?

As the UK is not in the eurozone, cross-border euro payments will always attract charges. Some banks are more competitive than others and it always pays to shop around for a bank that may offer a more competitive rate.

However, the way to minimise the charges when you transfer money to Europe would be to tell your bank in the UK that you want to pay ALL the charges, i.e. those at both ends of the transaction. The receiving bank will not then levy charges. Secondly, you should quote the international bank account numbers (IBANs) for both accounts (which your respective banks will allocate). This will ensure that your payment is processed electronically where possible and may assist in the transaction being priced slightly lower.

APACS is the UK payments association and as such we can only give advice about what happens to money transfers before they leave the UK or when they arrive in the UK.