Transferwise v Revolut

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.

With Revolut the rate constantly moves with the market…

Same with Wise and CF, just that my updates come at the times indicated

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

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Wise words :wink: :slightly_smiling_face:

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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.

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Can’t you do that with Revolut?

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.

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Spot on @graham, just an out-clause to cover any sepo, antipodean etc readers

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For large sums Midpoint are competitive - everything transparent what they make is stated separately. They also give avios-type air miles ( remember flying, anyone? :slight_smile: ).

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

Noticed this BBC news article that is not very cheering re Revolut.

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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.

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See also the environmental ranking in the climate/ecology thread - Wise is not good, but Revolut is the worst…

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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