Hi Dawn,
TransferWise for small amounts
For large amounts the big brokers will beat TransferWise rates on demand. And give you a fixed and known exchange rates.
Banks? Depends on your branch… a friend swears by Lloyds in Chelmsford …
Agree with Bill, Malcolm and Melanie. I have used TransferWise for two years now, transparency re charges, 0.5% on all transactions, good rates, fast service. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending TransferWise. I previously used TorFX and would not now recommend them to anyone!
Hi Dawn
I have accounts with several currency brokers and consistently the best rates are from XE.com. They are based in Canada and are very fats and charge no fees. They also operate a unique "bid" system which allows you to set the rate you want to buy at and as soon as the price matches your bid (even for a few seconds) it will get filled. The differences are not large on a small transfer but its fun to be able to deal the same way George Soros does and even on £1,000 transfer it can give you enough extra to buy lunch!
For day to day purchasing I use a Halifax Clarity Mastercard which again gives excellent rates and no fees. Be careful getting cash form an ATM with it as to avoid interest charges you need to understand the quite complex way they calculate balances. Using this you can leave most of your funds in sterling and take advantage of rates as they move. You will need to keep a modest balance in your French bank to meet SOs and DDs for utilities etc.
Good luck and welcome to France.
Transfer Wise and they have a great App for the Tablet once you have an account. Great rates and fast too.
Hi Dawn,
I transfer money to a number of countries, and, where they do exchanges, I find 'Transfer Wise' via the internet cheap, safe and simple to use. Compared to High Street Banks, other banks, Hargreaves Lansdown's Currency Exchange and using Moneycorp, I've saved a small fortune!
We have had great service from Transferwise with smaller, regular amounts, but.....after a huge cock-up over a larger amount that was crucial to a property deal, they let us down badly, over service, communication, time-scale, lack of apology, etc.....so we continue to use them for small amounts only, and only because we've already jumped thru' all the ID hoops with them that, believe me, tested the patience of a saint in the end!
I have a brokerage account which charges the mid-market rate (see xe.com to see mid-market foreign exchange rates). I use then ING to receive the funds since they do not charge for intra-European transfers. Or find a dimiliar financial institution. I do not use standard banks since they charge fees and they have a huge spread on exchange rates.
TorFX for greater sums but for day to day needs we use a Caxton Currency Card (fuel, shopping etc) and when necessary, pull (a maximum) 500€ from the hole in the wall and either use the cash or poke it into our Bank account.
Dawn, we recommend TORFX or Transferwise for smaller sums.
Will Hewitson is SFN's contact there, he can advise you and assign you an account manager.
Hi Dawn, we use Moneycorp, never a problem and great rates. Call Roger Armstrong on +44 20 7828 9000. Always helpful
Depends on how much you are transferring. I use Transferwise for everyday transfers but would shop around if transferring larger amounts.
HIFX..excellant service and very good rate at the moment.
Transferwise. Great rates, low charges fast service
TORFX - ask for Dominic
I have recently started using......Transferwise............
very impressive.( don`t use High street )
do not use a uk high street bank, use one of the specialised companies that give you a very good rat eg forex etc.
Transferwise is OK. BUt, very slow me, send me a message for faster version.