Author Topic: Best way to transfer money abroad ?  (Read 2354 times)

Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« on: 17 September, 2019, 08:52:00 am »
Hi - We're going to a wedding in Poland shortly, they've asked for money as a wedding present. Is the best way to do this a simple transfer to their account ?  (amount approx £500)

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #1 on: 17 September, 2019, 08:53:58 am »
Have a look at Transferwise.

rr

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #2 on: 17 September, 2019, 02:45:38 pm »
Try fairFX easy and better rates than banks

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


simonp

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #3 on: 17 September, 2019, 02:50:29 pm »
I use TransferWise borderless account.

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #4 on: 17 September, 2019, 03:45:47 pm »
Thanks folks.  Hadn’t heard of either, will look into these

Phil W

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #5 on: 17 September, 2019, 04:22:38 pm »
I use TransferWise borderless account.

Just requested one of those. Awaiting the verification step to complete before the card can be sent out.  The amouint you get compared to the live exchange rate seems very good for Australia.


simonp

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #6 on: 17 September, 2019, 04:42:19 pm »
I use TransferWise borderless account.

Just requested one of those. Awaiting the verification step to complete before the card can be sent out.  The amouint you get compared to the live exchange rate seems very good for Australia.

It’s because they don’t really do the exchange. They match people up going in the opposite direction.

I’ve started using them because of shares we get from work are in $ and 2% cut is significant. Also they were slow. Once I got $ into TransferWise it took just minutes to get to £ in my current account.

I used the borderless MasterCard on PBP which was very cost effective.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #7 on: 17 September, 2019, 04:44:23 pm »
The £200 a month limit on the borderless card might be a bit of a pain in some places where the Mastercard debit card only works in cash machines...

simonp

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #8 on: 17 September, 2019, 05:11:36 pm »
The £200 a month limit on the borderless card might be a bit of a pain in some places where the Mastercard debit card only works in cash machines...

The £200 limit is for free cash withdrawals. After that it’s a 2% fee. So according to TW it would cost £1.76 to withdraw £250/month. That still seems to be way cheaper than my bank but there might be better options in some countries.

FifeingEejit

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Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #9 on: 17 September, 2019, 05:29:07 pm »
The £200 a month limit on the borderless card might be a bit of a pain in some places where the Mastercard debit card only works in cash machines...

The £200 limit is for free cash withdrawals. After that it’s a 2% fee. So according to TW it would cost £1.76 to withdraw £250/month. That still seems to be way cheaper than my bank but there might be better options in some countries.

Yes, that'll still work out cheaper than my holiday money card when I think about their exchange rates now I think about it properly.
Though even that's nowhere near as bad as paypal rates...

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #10 on: 18 September, 2019, 06:56:13 am »
Is there anything to stop someone using a PayPal friends and family ( if both you and recipient have PayPal accounts obviously).

PS £500 wedding present! I think I’ll get married again! ( to current Mrs GP of course).


Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #11 on: 18 September, 2019, 08:22:53 am »
Is there anything to stop someone using a PayPal friends and family ( if both you and recipient have PayPal accounts obviously).

PS £500 wedding present! I think I’ll get married again! ( to current Mrs GP of course).

I am very much not in favour of asking for money for your wedding gift.  My wife and I both agreed that if we were to give money for the same value as a gift it'd look pretty insignificant toward the flat deposit they saving for, so getting money means you get a lot more.
On the other hand, we are very fond of them and would like to help them on their way if/while we can.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #12 on: 18 September, 2019, 10:07:17 am »
Is there anything to stop someone using a PayPal friends and family ( if both you and recipient have PayPal accounts obviously).

PS £500 wedding present! I think I’ll get married again! ( to current Mrs GP of course).

PayPals exchange rates are dire, when the pound popped past €1.10 mid-market the other week pay pal were offering €1.03
On the plus side it's easy enough to tell it to use your cards rate, which if you have commission and free usage is normally very close to mid-market.

Phil W

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #13 on: 20 September, 2019, 01:54:53 pm »
My Transferwise card has arrived and I've activated it. Right, off to use it chip and pin, so that contactless then becomes available.

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #14 on: 03 October, 2019, 10:07:39 am »
Get a Revolut account, transfer sterling in, convert to new currency (for free), then bank transfer... No fees!

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #15 on: 12 November, 2019, 09:52:46 pm »
Azimo is another FCA regulated transfer system, just used them in preference to making a bank transfer, which would have cost £100+ through crappy exchange rates, you can also pay with credit card.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #16 on: 27 November, 2019, 10:15:30 pm »
I just send my daughter her combined birthday and Christmas present. She no longer has a sterling account, having lived in Melbourne for the past 4 years, but she suggested sending an Amazon voucher. The total value was £100 but I have no idea whether she will get the full whack when she buys her stuff.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Best way to transfer money abroad ?
« Reply #17 on: 28 November, 2019, 07:21:01 am »
Azimo is another FCA regulated transfer system, just used them in preference to making a bank transfer, which would have cost £100+ through crappy exchange rates, you can also pay with credit card.

OK, update, I didn't.

Now the issue may have been that I tried to pay by Credit Card, which likely would have attracted a cash withdrawal charge for which there was no warning on Azimo. It was for a large amount, they claim they sent me a mail asking me to confirm stuff, which I did not receive, transfer was cancelled. When I called, I can confirm that the helpline was a line, that's about it. Azimo are OFF my christmas list, Transferwise worked fine for an additional cost of around £5 on 2.7K