Far from academic, Graham, although of course I agree that the final cost to you or me is what is most important. The reason the spread is important is that the cost is usually hidden there, so what looks like a low cost may not be. Although it is an exaggerated example because they offer rubbish rates, next time you pass a bureau de change check out the difference between the “We buy” and “We sell” rates.
It is very difficult to do a direct comparison, because these rates move up and down all the time, so when comparing between two different services, in order to get a realistic comparison you need to do them both at the same time.
Well, obviously you are an expert in the field but for the ordinary man on the Clapham Omnibus it is academic. At the end of the day it’s how one currency translates to the other and the amount you get in your account that matters.
In my experience when you take out a forward contract, you don’t lock in the current rate - it’s usually lower as the broker/bank has to hedge for rate movements over the period of time of the forward contract - the longer the contract, the lower the rate. I’m not convinced this is the best way. I have tended to follow the rate movements and convert when I think it’s right for me. With TW you can also lock in the rate for 24 hours which can be very useful if you need to move large sums and start incurring compliance checks.
I get daily rate updates from TW and Currencyfair and Wise is always better. Wise comes at midnight and CF at 9 a.m. That couldn’t be the reason, could it?
Just FYI, I got an email from Transferwise at the end of February announcing a name change to “Wise” and that are a real bank now. I presume all clients did.
I moved a large sum 18 months ago and compared TransferWise ( who I have an account with) to foreign currency direct. FCD turned out to offer a better rate / fee than TransferWise at the time and I had an account manager who I could talk to and deal with in terms of proof of source of funds etc - all done under money laundering regulations. For large sums I will use them ( or competitor) again and just use TransferWise ( now called Wise) for smaller transfers
This trick might have been mentioned before in the previous replies, but tl:dr
At my UK bank I hold both GBP and EUR denominated accounts. I can convert money between them with no additional load and a near optimal rate. I then do any IBAN transfer for EUR to my Revolut account for no additional fees.
Myself and friends (who used to travel) use Revolut, no complaints. Admittedly it was a smart-phone only service originally, but they’ve since included a website.
Revolut, like other institutions, has many variables, e.g.
which Plan you have ; Basic, Premium etc. e.g fee goes up when a GBP user on a Basic plan transfers above £1,000.
which country you opened your Revolut account in ; e.g. if your Other Half has a Revolut account in a different country (as transfers are free between Revolut users globally),
a 1% FX fee for weekends/UK bank holidays for UK account holders
As @Carti946 suggested, change GBP to EUR within UK accounts and then send EUR to French account - no fee from Revolut (but it depends if your French bank charges).
I may be a financial nerd, but I don’t just stick to ‘one tried & true’ method, I always compare FX quotes when transferring; sometimes an FX company got my business, othertimes Revolut, on a rare occasion my bank actually gave me the best rate (I think it was a glitch but they honoured it).
if its a SEPA transfer, there should be no charge. If you have transferred the sterling to Euro in your Revolut Euro wallet, the funds are effectivel held in Lithuania and thus qualify under SEPA.
We haven’t ever been charged a fee by our French bank for incoming Euro funds from Revolut.
IIRC that might not be the case if accidentally, you transferred Sterling from Revolut to your French bank.
For large sums Midpoint are competitive - everything transparent what they make is stated separately. They also give avios-type air miles ( remember flying, anyone? ).
The issue with Revolut is multiple reports of freezes of accounts and transactions with money in them. To resolve money tied up for months. They can be a nightmare to deal with and even communicate with.
Never heard a negative word about Wise (formerly Transferwise) and their rates usually amongst the best.
Fairfx gets some good comments but seen them more for loadable currency cards
I think it’s fascinating the way people are using Revolut and Transferwise and I think it can be a rude shock for them when they find that neither is what I would consider a “proper” bank and therefore don’t offer the same levels of protection for the customer - even with their fancy IBAN numbers.
I stick to traditional banks and am only too happy to use Transferwise to move my money across borders - no more than that - and I certainly would not leave (even modest amounts of) money in their account longer than the couple of minutes or so it takes me to move it out again.
Authorised Push Payment Fraud is a growing menace and the scammers know it which is why, whilst they are on the phone to their victims, they tell them not to go to their bank nor answer the phone to anyone else (who might persuade them otherwise). They even claim to be calling the victim from Police organisations such as the National Crime Agency and that they are investigating major crime in the ranks of the bank at branch level!
I previously posted a video from Jim Browning about the NCA scam link here and his scam busting efforts. His list of videos id here.
This happens as much in High Street Bricks and Mortar banks too 0 not only on-line banks.
The point is - if someone asks you to download software on to your computer which will allow them to take control of it - don’t!
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