Lowest cost way to buy bitcoin with GBP

[WillyC]

I used Kraken to buy bitcoins many years ago, but I'm looking for a way to buy a few hundred £ worth each month that doesn't have a massive cost overhead. Since Transferwise shut off cryptocurrency exchanges, if I do a transfer to a foreign bank account direct from my bank then I have to pay £25. Is there a better way? Also, if I transfer to Kraken as GBP, then it's difficult to buy as the GBP/XBT is almost dead, so I need to convert to USD for which my bank give me a poor rate costing me another 2% or so.

So if I want to buy £100 worth of bitcoins, it's going to cost me £127, which is pretty crap.

I know I can make card payments with Coinbase, but that still incurs a 4% charge, which is an improvement, but still, a 4% I'd rather not pay.

What's the best way to buy bitcoins with GBP?

[Idaho]

I suggest using bitbargain:

https://bitbargain.co.uk/buy/from/MrBTC

What you will notice is that they usually sell at about £50 over the stamp gbp spot rate - sometimes higher. However this changes all the time and often a newbie/desperate seller will appear and sell at or even below spot - then all the established sellers will drop their prices to match. This seems to happen most days.

[Ahead]

Hi,

The easiest way is to use https://spectrocoin.com/en/signup.html?referralId=2508987656
You can link your debit/credit card and deposit GBP, USD, EUR.
I think that you are not chatged any fees since it apears as a POS buy.
Then convert it to BTC using their exhange at current rates.
You can also get a cash card from them to use it for purchases/payments using bitcoins.

[WillyC]

I think that you are not chatged any fees since it apears as a POS buy.

They've got a list of fees here. They're not cheap and only offer Skrill as a GBP option.

https://spectrocoin.com/en/fees-and-limits.html

[Ahead]

Still cheaper than the wire transfer fee.
You can use the chat on the site to get more info on rates. Maybe the fee is for credit cards and not debit cards.

[TheQuin]

I use localbitcoins.com for small amounts like this. The BTC prices are higher but you save on banking fees as you buy p2p from someone with a UK bank account. I don't think you can really make buying from an exchange work economically unless you're dealing in thousands.

[WillyC]

Are there no other services like Transferwise that I can use to avoid being raped by my bank?

[TheQuin]

Are there no other services like Transferwise that I can use to avoid being raped by my bank?

It's all down to regulation. If you go through an intermediatory like Transferwise the exchange can't tell the original source so they fail the KYC test. I've traded Futures with brokers in the US for many years and they will not accept any wire unless it's come directly from a bank account with the same name as the brokerage account. Crypto exchanges are coming under more scrutiny and need to adopt the same practices. What I do is buy on Localbitcoins and the transfer that BTC to the exchanges to trade with.
There is a UK exchange called Coinfloor, I don't know much about them but there is a minimum deposit of £1000 with £5 fee. https://coinfloor.co.uk/fees

[WillyC]

It's all down to regulation. If you go through an intermediatory like Transferwise the exchange can't tell the original source so they fail the KYC test. I've traded Futures with brokers in the US for many years and they will not accept any wire unless it's come directly from a bank account with the same name as the brokerage account. Crypto exchanges are coming under more scrutiny and need to adopt the same practices. What I do is buy on Localbitcoins and the transfer that BTC to the exchanges to trade with.
There is a UK exchange called Coinfloor, I don't know much about them but there is a minimum deposit of £1000 with £5 fee. https://coinfloor.co.uk/fees

Unfortunately, even though they're UK based, Coinfloor still bounce all their payments through Poland.

[TheQuin]

It's all down to regulation. If you go through an intermediatory like Transferwise the exchange can't tell the original source so they fail the KYC test. I've traded Futures with brokers in the US for many years and they will not accept any wire unless it's come directly from a bank account with the same name as the brokerage account. Crypto exchanges are coming under more scrutiny and need to adopt the same practices. What I do is buy on Localbitcoins and the transfer that BTC to the exchanges to trade with.
There is a UK exchange called Coinfloor, I don't know much about them but there is a minimum deposit of £1000 with £5 fee. https://coinfloor.co.uk/fees

Unfortunately, even though they're UK based, Coinfloor still bounce all their payments through Poland.

Ah, that's worth knowing. Probably no UK bank able to deal with them. Regulations here are far more stringent than most of the world, even the US.
The only way around it I can think of is if you know someone in the US you trust, with an exchange account. Send the money to them with Transferwise that and get them to buy the coin and send to you.