Sending money overseas discussion area

Lila_3

Hi, i moved to Canada 16 months ago from London with my Canadian b.f. Since then i have been transferring funds from a canadian bank to my nationwide bank once a month to pay my loan, credit cards (minimum payment)etc using the 'wire' method which costs a flat fee of of cd$30. I am always on the look out for cheaper ways to do this. I need a way which will go directly to my bank account as i don't want to ask a friend to do it for me. It's difficult enough getting the funds together with the exchange rate. To get just gb 200 pounds into my account i need at least cd$500. This is a struggle each month. I would be grateful if anyone else has to do this & how they do it (paypal?)
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Lila

amdunn

You can remove most of the charges with the PayPal model. I use this method regularly so I know it works! I have a UK and French Bank Account and often need to transfer money to my French account in Euros. I have 2 PayPal accounts. I make payments by DIRECT DEBIT from the UK PayPal IN EUROS to my French PayPal account. Using Direct Debit, there are no charges for the transfer (exept the loading within the exchange rate) and you must remember to transfer the funds in Euros not Sterling. The French PayPal account is not upgraded to either a premier or business account. On this basis, there are no charges for receiving funds in Euros or for transfering the funds to my French bank account.

Using the above, transfering money between 2 people becomes very inexpensive.

Andy

Jodie_2-2

Just to let you know we found this company Global Currency Exchange https://www.gcen.co.uk
we have only made the one transaction so far with them but it has been
quick, simple and great value - they gave me an exchange of 1.46 Euros / £1
tourist rate was 1.37 / £1. NO CHARGES and best of all gave a really friendly service.

If anyone has any other opinions of them please let me know as we are looking to set up a regular transfer with them.

scaty

amdunn wrote:

You can remove most of the charges with the PayPal model. I use this method regularly so I know it works! I have a UK and French Bank Account and often need to transfer money to my French account in Euros. I have 2 PayPal accounts. I make payments by DIRECT DEBIT from the UK PayPal IN EUROS to my French PayPal account. Using Direct Debit, there are no charges for the transfer (exept the loading within the exchange rate) and you must remember to transfer the funds in Euros not Sterling. The French PayPal account is not upgraded to either a premier or business account. On this basis, there are no charges for receiving funds in Euros or for transfering the funds to my French bank account.

Using the above, transfering money between 2 people becomes very inexpensive.

Andy

How do you set this up in the first place?
I have a french bank account and need to keep it topped up to pay my bills.

Your suggestion looks promising, especially as Lloyds tsb have just sent out a leaflet on how they are going to charge for using cards abroad!!!

Some advice would be greatfully recieved

HLK

In my search for a method to ship from UK to a Bank Account in Austria I've come across this site.. https://www.xe.com/fx/ a Canadian setup called XETRADE.

In the past I have used HIFX for larger amounts but because these brokers normally have a minimum trade £5k ish I've has to revert my normal bank for smaller amounts.

They certainly seem to offer a good deal - no charges (qualified) they only use the spread. The site has a well used currency converter which I think is what xe.com is known for.


Haven't found any negative reviews of XETRADE, has anyone else come across them ?

Martin, does this ring any alarm bells with you ?
Thanks

Grumpy_2

I use a similar system to Michaels but with an HSBC card. One of the benefits of globalisation is that HSBC is present in nearly every country. Obviously the card has to be given to someone you trust not to abuse it. In my case the card lives in Brazil and can be used to withdraw up to approximately £200 per day at the current exchange rate. The bank usually shaves about 2% off the exchange rate as 'commission' but it is far cheaper than either Moneygram or Western Union (Incidentally, MoneyGram has special rates for Brazil for some reason and at the time of writing charges £5.99 to transfer money from the UK to Brazil. Use Thomas Cooks or major Post Offices, both are Moneygram agents.)

Combine the card with internet banking and it is possible to move useful chunks of money around the world at minimal cost. Any withdrawals made usually appear and are debited to the account the following day.

You have to be a bit careful if you keep the account at a low balance, as exchange rate fluctuations can take you overdrawn and consequently it is better to have an arranged overdraft facility on the account or you can cop for a £30 charge for slipping 10p into the red (I was that man ....)

amdunn

scaty wrote:

How do you set this up in the first place?
I have a french bank account and need to keep it topped up to pay my bills.

Your suggestion looks promising, especially as Lloyds tsb have just sent out a leaflet on how they are going to charge for using cards abroad!!!

Some advice would be greatfully recieved

Setting up a second PayPal account is easy, all you need is a second e-mail address. As far as I can see in PayPal's Terms and Conditions, you are allowed to have 2 PayPal accounts, but you might like to check this out. Even if you don't have a French postal address, I used the address of my French bank and the account was opened. You can then change the language of the French PayPal account to English if needed. You will need to add your bank account details, and if you need to lift the limit of transfers to the French bank account from PayPal you will need to add a French Debit or credit card to verify your identity. Please note that at present, you can't use Maestro cards at the moment, only this with Master or VISA Card symbols, this may change in the future.

Hope this helps

Andy

Woofbag

Very interesting reading. I send money to my mum in Spain every month & the fees are horrendous. She doesn't have access to the internet, so not sure if Paypal would work for her? The Nationwide card sounds like a good idea. Sorry if I'm repeating what's been written, but I'm not too sure how this all works. If I open an account with them & send her a card, she can then withdraw an amount every month from a cash machine in Spain, without being charged? Sounds amazing, if I've understood it correctly. Thanks in advance for your help & advice.

meehank

HLK wrote:

In my search for a method to ship from UK to a Bank Account in Austria I've come across this site.. https://www.xe.com/fx/ a Canadian setup called XETRADE.
Thanks

This is exactly what I am trying to set up - a regular payment mechanism, transferring money from UK to a locally held bank account in Austria. Thanks for the tip, I will definitely look into it. :rotfl:

grumbler

Woofbag wrote:

... she can then withdraw an amount every month from a cash machine in Spain, without being charged? Sounds amazing, if I've understood it correctly...

Yes, you understood it correctly. Actually, a probability of being charged by the local owner of ATM still exists (the same we have here in UK). Read this THREAD .