It has been six month since I recommended using TransferWise to make your foreign currency transfers and I would love to get some feedback from you.
Did you try my recommendation or have you been using alternative methods to move your money around?
I have used it now around 5 times excellent value and rate better than money corp and world first who I used in past.also recommended now to 2 others both have used it.
Quick and easy.
Used it once. Then the bearded one got involved. Won't use it again.
I meant Transferwise. I have not used the co-op, sorry for confusion.
Do you mean Transferwise or the Co-Op Pam?
We are French residents with a French and a UK bank account but not a UK address. It works fine.
Do not know, Tracy. Should be OK if you have a UK bank account
That sounds good but not presumably available to French residents without a UK address!
If you only want a grand changing, use Co-op travelcare and load a card with £1000 and they will give you an extra 50 euros. Beats the lot. You can take out any number of cards.
Cheaper than HIFX whom I have used for 8 years. Got 120 euros more with Transferwise on £5000
Yes I do use them since your recommendation. I had to make a transfer only last week in fact and the transfer was due in the account in France on tues am and it arrived fri well in advance. So easy to do online and cheaper by far than the bank with no fuss.
No because I get better rates from XETrade or Halifax Clarity MasterCard
Used them several times since your recommendation . Rates and speed and simplicity , makes them an ideal choice for me . Thanks for recommending them
Yes thanks James and the rates seem genuinely good. The only problem I had was with one UK Bank Account which offered no 'transaction code' box on their online money transfer web page, only on their pay bills page. As this wasn't a bill but a transfer I did the move without such a number but then entered into a convoluted telephone/ email exchange with Transferwise to link the money they knew I had sent them with the transfer I had asked them to make. I can understand their concerns (data protection etc.) but talk about jumping through hoops.......!!
I haven't used a bank to transfer money to France since 2003 always using the currency transfer people after first shopping around for the best deal, i was bitten by Nat West once and once only. I contacted a guy who worked for one of the bigger well known currency exchange companies he explained TransfeWise appeared to be exchanging your UK £ with another parties € you were literally swapping money with someone who wanted £s how they made a profit he couldn't or wouldn't say.I have used Smart Currency Exchange for years and when we moved here i set up a standing order no transfer fees the money is transferred to my account in France from my bank in the UK within 3 days without me lifting a finger i know it will be there without having to chase worry or check the bank the difference i would gain using TransferWise would be about 10€ after i calculate in their fee, now if i was transferring a huge amount of money that would be a different kettle of fish 10€X5000 is worth the hassle of picking up the phone. Its whatever suits your personal circumstances
Happily I had used them a couple of times before you recommended them James and continue to use them monthly. As everyone else says here, they do offer the best rate around, I have compared them a few times to other FX dealers and they win hands down. Even if they didn't beat my previous dealers rate though I would still prefer to use them for the reasons Myles has described below. Fab company and so glad they saw the gap in the market.
Yes, and thanks very much for the tip. Since I used it for the first time I have been informing all of my friends and acquaintances, who I know have the need to transfer money to european countries from time to time. For me it is most suitable for topping up my own French accounts, doing it at the best rate that I have come across (both in terms of exchange rates and minimal transaction charges). It appears to have a limit of £2000 per transfer for funds sourced through a UK debit card, but there are other options. I haven't needed to transfer more than that, yet. I also like the fact that you can use controls that protect against any large fluctuations in the exchange rate, by setting a Rate Limit (in the form of an acceptable percentage change set by you). I am very impressd with the service. Once you've got the recipient account details set up for the first time, they are stored on the system and you can simply reuse the details the next time you want to make a transfer. Anyone else who wants to benefit from this service can access the site here.
I used TransferWise for the second time earlier this month. It was a somewhat different experience this time. The first time was to send €2000 to the states. It was fast (a few hours), the currency conversion was almost at spot and the fee was only €9.95.
The recent transfer was to send $4000 from the states to my bank here. It involved sending the funds from my US bank to the TransferWise, Wells Fargo bank account in Houston, where it then proceeded on to Europe. This took 3 days to post here and cost $40.00, but the currency conversion was still near spot. The reason I was given for the higher fee was due to the size of the transaction. The escalating fees are base on the size of the transaction, but the Euro difference between the two experiences was only €900 when converted. Transfer Wise is a better deal sending Euros west than dollars east. Factoring in the $10.00 US bank wire fee, the total transaction was just about what it would have cost to simply deposit the US check into the French bank, but the exchange rate was far better. This was the only real savings.
I have used TransferWise since you recommended them. The rates are excellent, the charges low, but the most important for me is the speed of transfer. So all in all a good recommendation and a good deal!
Me neither, I had already discovered them and know how wonderful they are. Use them regularly for amounts between 50€ and 1000€ and can't get over how the money even arrives on the same day sometimes.