Cheapest method for making foreign payments

orangatang

Hi,

I'm wondering what's the cheapest method to pay foreign companies?

I make about 10-15 payments a month to US companies and 1 to a Swedish company every couple of months. I've been using my debit card but realised that they charge 2.75% on each transaction. My orders are usually $250-1500 so it's adding up!

So far I've come up with these methods to pay suppliers to save money:
- paypal (we already have balances in Dollars and Euros plus we can convert GBP into dollars and Eurors for any extra that we need that the balances don't cover)
- Nationwide credit card (no foreign currency fees - but I've been told they will give a rubbish exchange rate so will cost us that way?)
- Western Union/World First (they charge £10 transaction fee + 0.5% on the spread)
- Having a dollar & Euro account (there will be charges on this, I need to call the bank to find out yet)

Or do you have a better way to pay?

I'm finding it very confusing to understand which method will be the cheapest - can anyone shed any light on this?

Hopefully you money saving experts can help :-)

Thanks

Amy

NiftyDigits

Halifax Clarity

Revolut(instant virtual card. Physical card sent on request.)

bigadaj

Nationwide card should be fine if no fees, the exchange rate should be ok, some anecdotal evidence to say that clarity might be better due to MasterCard offering better rate than visa but nothing definite in this.

if this is a business use then might affect some rights for cards but no worse than the other methods mentioned.

NiftyDigits

bigadaj wrote: »

Nationwide card should be fine if no fees, the exchange rate should be ok, some anecdotal evidence to say that clarity might be better due to MasterCard offering better rate than visa but nothing definite in this.

if this is a business use then might affect some rights for cards but no worse than the other methods mentioned.

Unless it is the Select credit card, there will be a fee, even if it is just the 1% Payment Scheme Exchange Fee for payments outside Europe.

knightstyle

We use the Halifax Clarity for most non £ payments, but use Paypal for some companies or individuals who do not have credit card facilities. Always get a very good rate of exchange with Halifax, fairly good with Paypal. Be aware that some Paypal payments do not have any buyers protection an are classed as a non returnable gift.

orangatang

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone! It is the select card, I had to change current accounts to get it but the other one offered by nationwide wasn't free foreign payments. So would using paypal or the nationwide select credit card be just as good as using a foreign exchange company such as Western Union/World First etc?

I suppose I'll have to call up and find out how much each option would cost us to be sure.

Thanks

Amy

NiftyDigits

orangatang wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone! It is the select card, I had to change current accounts to get it but the other one offered by nationwide wasn't free foreign payments. So would using paypal or the nationwide select credit card be just as good as using a foreign exchange company such as Western Union/World First etc?

I suppose I'll have to call up and find out how much each option would cost us to be sure.

Thanks

Amy

Select card is by far and wide the best of your current options. Better than Western Union et all too.

Check exchange rates here

Unless they levy extra charges for utilising a credit card, it's your best option.