TransferWise, a cheap way to transfer money abroad

cipnt

This is a new service I saw featured on Reuters:
reuters. com/video/2013/10/11/reuters-on-the-road-transferwise-takes-o?videoId=274112893

I've used it for one transfer so far. Their fees are low (0.5% min £1) and exchange rates are much better than you would get anywhere else.
This is a service that will transfer money from a UK bank account to another bank account abroad. Probably works just as well from other countries too.
This is by no means a fast transfer. It will take about 3 working days to reach the recipient. If you are after speed, it's best to stick with Western Union or MoneyGram.

The process works like this:
- you create an account and set-up your first transfer (your personal and bank details and the recipient's bank account and BIC/Swift code)
- you will receive instruction on how to transfer the funds to the TransferWise account in UK. This should be free to do from your internat banking. There is also the option to use a debit card which is more convenient and there's no extra charge.
- Once they receive the funds they make the conversion and transfer the money to the chosen account.
There is a small deposit they will take with the transfer to cover any exchange rate fluctuations, which will be returned to you.

There is an offer where you can get the first transfer free, meaning they will not charge the usual 0.5% fee. This is only available by flowing this link found on Twitter:
transferwise. com/t/e650

Company description from their website:
Sending money abroad is deceptively expensive, thanks to the hidden fees we’ve all been forced to pay. Now TransferWise lets expats, foreign students and businesses transfer money wherever it's needed, at the lowest possible cost. No hidden fees, no headache.

Please note I am promoting this only because I really think it's the best way to transfer money abroad, something I do quite regularly. I've used GlobalWebPay, HiFx, the PostOffice, and banks to transfer money before, but this will get you the best exchange rates and lowest fees in my opinion. The PostOffice for example advertises a 'no fee transfer' which is not exactly accurate since they will take their fee through the exchange rate.
Hope it helps and that the moderators will make the links active

benjus

It's not exactly new... it's been discussed on here for quite a while. Good rates, although some people claim that http://www.currencyfair.com/ has even better rates - haven't done a comparison myself.

Main disadvantage with TransferWise seems to be the rather limited range of currencies supported.

cipnt

I just had a quick look at CurrencyFair, which I wasn't aware of until now. A quick quote says a conversion from 1000 GBP to EUR will give you 1,173.66 euros which is not bad but under the 1,176.11 euros that TransferWise will give you. To be fair both have fluctuating rates so it's probably not always like this.
One reason CurrencyFair wouldn't fit my needs is because it doesn't allow transfers to RON (Romanian currency)
But it's nice to see services like this taking off. Wish I knew them when I was transferring money with £25 fee at Lloyds.

grumbler

For £<->€ you can find both CurrencyFair and Transferwise at
http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-France/1000-GBP
and
http://www.fxcompared.com/Content/money-transfer-from-UK-France-below-3000-amount-1000

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

majexy is a spammer. New member, three posts, all with the same referral link.

jonesMUFCforever

Other transfer services are available - !!

baby_frogmella

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Other transfer services are available - !!

Can you tell me which transfer services offer the mid market exchange rate AND charge less than 0.5% in fees?

Archi_Bald

I have used Transferwise myself when they are offering the best overall deal. But they are not always the best, particularly not for smaller amounts. I would always recommend shopping around rather than blindly just using one, or only just using the one you used last time.