Send money abroad

newtimes2021

I'm looking for the cheapest ways of sending money abroad. 
My own bank charges £20 so I found Transfer Wise and it seems to be roughly £5. 
I'm wondering if there are other ways to send money which is cheaper as I'm paying an online tutor directly paying monthly as I can't afford to pay yearly upfront. I'd rather that money goes to them though as the £5-£6 will add up. I appreciate I'm using a service but you know, money saving..

eskbanker

As you've found, using a specialist currency broker is likely to be better than a simple direct bank to bank transfer - you need to consider not just any fee but also the exchange rate used, as the latter will vary by provider:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange/
https://www.monito.com/

subjecttocontract

I often use Currencies Direct. You could compare Transfer Wise with them or there are others.

Shanwick

The destination country and approximate monthly amount might impact which method is "best".

The_Fat_Controller

It's WISE, they dropped the "transfer" part of their name over a year ago.

WISE works well as long as the payee details match exactly and the currency is supported.

Rates with WISE are generally better than anything available from the banks and on their website they show a comparison with other providers.

silvercar

What is it as a percentage of the transaction? With Wise you can store money in the currency of choice if you want, prior to making payment. Or you can keep the money in sterling in your Wise account. the app makes transfers a whole lot easier.

Band7

silvercar said:

What is it as a percentage of the transaction? With Wise you can store money in the currency of choice if you want, prior to making payment. Or you can keep the money in sterling in your Wise account. the app makes transfers a whole lot easier.

It is also a whole lot riskier if you keep your money in an e-money provider rather than in a bank because you get no FSCS protection with an e-money provider. They give you nice wooly words about safeguarding your money but the fact remains that you have no guarantee that you get all your money back should they go bellies up.

Wise has recently upped their charges and invariably don't give you the best deal. Worth checking with monito every time, as has already been suggested. Also worth checking out the likes of HSBC Global Money and Fineco Bank as they have great rates and FSCS protection.

Band7

Strange to dig out a thread which didn't have activity since November 1 last year.

A quick look at Fexco suggests that they won't tell you what their rates and fees are without you giving them your email address and phone number. Perhaps that is the reason why they don't appear on money transfer comparison sites. IMO, definitely not a contender for the top 5, may be not even the top 10, currency transfer services. Be careful.