Sending Money Home During Your Ski Season

Most seasonaires working in France, Austria, or Switzerland are paid in EUR or CHF and eventually need to get some of that money home — whether mid-season, at the end, or to cover UK, Australian, or New Zealand bills that don't stop just because you're in the mountains. Using a traditional bank transfer can quietly cost 3–5% of the amount you're sending. Over a full season's earnings, that's real money.

The Problem with Standard Bank Transfers

Banks apply their own exchange rate — the "retail rate" or "customer rate" — which is typically 2–4% worse than the mid-market rate (the actual interbank rate you see on Google). On top of this they often charge a fixed transfer fee.

On a CHF 3,000 transfer, a 3% hidden markup equals CHF 90 lost to the bank. Repeated across multiple transfers over a season, this accumulates into a meaningful chunk of your earnings.

Wise (Formerly TransferWise)

Wise uses the mid-market rate and charges a transparent percentage fee — typically 0.4–0.6% for EUR-to-GBP, and 0.6–1.0% for CHF-to-GBP. No hidden markup on the exchange rate itself.

Setup: create an account, verify your identity with a passport, then add your UK bank as a recipient. Transfers typically arrive within one business day.

Wise also offers a multi-currency account with local bank details in EUR, GBP, CHF, and other currencies. This means your French employer can pay you directly into a Wise EUR account number — you hold EUR until you choose to convert, which is useful if you want to time transfers when the rate is more favourable.

Revolut

Revolut similarly offers near-mid-market exchange rates during weekday trading hours. One important caveat: Revolut applies a weekend markup — typically 0.5–2% — on currency conversions Saturday and Sunday. If you receive your wage on a Friday and convert immediately over the weekend, you'll pay the surcharge.

Convert on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid this.

Both Wise and Revolut require identity verification (passport plus proof of address). Set this up before your season starts, not while you're urgently trying to send money from a resort with patchy wifi.

Using a Local Bank Account

If you're paid by direct transfer into a French bank account (Caisse d'Épargne, Crédit Agricole, BNP), or an Austrian or German account, you still need to move money home from there. French banks often charge €10–25 per international transfer.

The more cost-effective route: transfer from your local account into Wise or Revolut first, then convert from there. This sidesteps the French bank's international transfer fee entirely.

Tax

Money transfers home are not income — you're moving your own money between accounts. There is no tax event on the transfer itself.

That said, if you're tax resident in France (broadly: more than 183 days in the country in a calendar year), you're subject to French income tax and social contributions on your earnings. This is a separate question from the transfer. See French social security and tax during a ski season for more detail.

Practical Approach

• Set up Wise before your season starts
• Ask your employer whether they can pay into a Wise EUR local account (many can — it looks like a standard French or Belgian IBAN)
• Transfer home at the end of each month or at season end, on a weekday
• Keep a small buffer in local currency for end-of-season expenses before you leave

The difference between using a high-street bank and using Wise or Revolut properly over a full season can easily be €200–400. It's one of the simpler financial decisions a seasonaire makes, and the one most people delay until it's already costing them.