TransferWise

BoA is the snake that tried to squeeze me with hidden fees. The bank manager got caught lying about the exchange rate when I pulled out my phone. She probably had to toss back a bottle of Merlot when she got home.

 

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Too funny... My ex Girlfriend from my University days is now a EVP at BoA. Have not spoken to her in almost 40 years... yep, that is the type organization they are if she is there!

 

I won a lot in Yesterday's Leu auction. Today I paid Leu with TransferWise. It was easy.

The first time you use TransferWise you have to set up a way for them to get your money. That takes a while. Then you have to have bank details for the firm/person to which you are sending the money. European invoices usually have their IBAN number which is what you need most. You have to enter that in, their business name, etc., which is more complicated than just entering an e-mail address.

But, once you have done that the second time is really easy. I had won from Leu before and paid with TransferWise, so TW had the Leu bank details already. So, all I had to do was to go to the TransferWise site and click on the old Leu transaction. Up popped the option to pay them again. I filled in the exact amount they will get this time (in Swiss Francs) and it computes how many dollars will come out of my bank account to pay that. Unlike PayPal, they get the amount you choose. You pay the small fee and it is completely clear how many dollars it will be. A couple of clicks to confirm, and TW says they will have the money in their bank account tomorrow.

Instead of 4% and a poor exchange rate, I get a real exchange rate and a small fee. Why give 4% of your money to PayPal when TW will do it for a lot less?

 

It's not the only such firm. Recently I've used
- Xoom
- CurrencyFair
So far as I can see, they all do the same thing. You send a bank transfer in your currency to a local bank in your country or currency area. In turn they send a transfer to the recipients, in the recipients currency, from a bank local to the recipient. Because of this structure, there are no "wire" or other transfer costs because everything is done local bank to local bank (and Xoom or CurrencyFair or TransferWise do the big currency swaps in the background at beneficial rates).

It's worth shopping around though. Don't get hung up on "TransferWise". Maybe you would save a lot more with "Xoom" or someone else. "CurrencyFair" charge me a fix fee of 4 euros per transfer, and after that I get the best money market rate which is typically 0.1% or better off the XE central rate, which actually sounds better.

 

This is really good information. My bank in the US has been charging a flat rate of $50 for international currency transfers, plus the conversion rate. TransferWise (or the other services noted by Andrew) could significantly save some money. Especially for lower priced lots.

 

I've used Xoom - they are PayPal's wire transfer service. They do NOT allow you to pay a business account with a wire transfer via the Xoom service. I found this out the hard way.

I tried to pay an auction house through Xoom and after several days of the funds being held the transfer was cancelled with no explanation. I had to get on the phone with customer service to find out that they cancelled it do to the recipient being a business account. You can pay business accounts on PayPal, so why they have this restriction on their wire transfer service is beyond me.

 

So they can make more money, of course!

Here's a reasonable comparison of Transferwise vs. CurrencyFair. Personally I have found the amounts I transfer (usually well under $1000) mean that Transferwise is cheaper, plus their borderless account is very convenient for sending and receiving money in USD, euros, GBP, or AUD (literally zero transaction fees).

 

I have used TransferWise a couple of times from US to UK.

Worked fine and the best rate I have found.

Their cheapest transfer option takes 2-3 business days so check if your seller is ok with that. They have an instant transfer option but it’s a little more expensive.