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Best money transfer methods?

rbob99
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I see all of the positive comments about Transferwise. I used it only once and it was a nightmare. Maybe I had bad luck or maybe there is an inherent problem transferring to certain countries, I don't know. In my case, I was transferring about USD 5K from my account in the US to Thailand. It took about three weeks for the money to go through, and only was resolved after I spent a long time on the phone, on several occasions with Transferwise and my bank, on three-way calls set up by me. I would hesitate to use them again.
 
Gasman
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I have just sold my Seamaster to the Czech Republic and was paid by Transferwise. It was a fast and easy transaction.
 
Mods
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Revolut effectively gives you an account in whatever currency you convert into.
You then use that account to make the payment.
No fees.
You can also receive funds directly into that account.
As mentioned the exchange rates are very good as they match clients buy and sale requests and manage the net difference in the mkts.
 
cchen
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Revolut first, as exchange is done at interbank or close
Transferwise second, given they do have a small exchange fee
Paypal - never
 
DaveK
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In Canada (maybe elsewhere?) most banks and credit unions allow e-transfers. This is usually just called “emailing” the money. It only makes sense to use it with a trusted friend, but depending on your bank account’s package, e-transfers are either free to send or maybe just $1.50. No charge to receive. I’ve never worried about currency conversions because no one outside of Canada seems to have access to it. You basically just email the money from your banking app, and both parties agree on a password. Easy peasy.

“Only in Canada eh? Pity” who remembers that advertising slogan?
 
Enzo
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+1 for Revolut, I have used on multiple occasions and always pleased with the rate and speed.

I just used Paypal this morning (probably for the last time) to pay for a speedy caseback opener...
Was charged GBP 93.06 for USD 110.00, effective rate of 1.1820 (including the GBP 2.99 fee), where GBP/USD is 1.2725
 
Syrte
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Many thanks everyone for the suggestion, well, I have just followed the seller’s suggestion to use Azimo - whose app seems to have pretty good review and for an unspecified reason the test payment was rejected. They said they could not do it.

Can someone who’s got experience transferring funds to the UK clarify what «account number » the recipient should be providing?
How many digits should that be?
What does the « sort code » mean?

I’m familiar with IBAN which is a routing number encompassing codes for country/ bank/ branch and account.

Many thanks and best regards
 
Archer
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DaveK DaveK
In Canada (maybe elsewhere?) most banks and credit unions allow e-transfers. This is usually just called “emailing” the money. It only makes sense to use it with a trusted friend, but depending on your bank account’s package, e-transfers are either free to send or maybe just $1.50. No charge to receive. I’ve never worried about currency conversions because no one outside of Canada seems to have access to it. You basically just email the money from your banking app, and both parties agree on a password. Easy peasy.

“Only in Canada eh? Pity” who remembers that advertising slogan?

I use Interac E-Transfers for all Canadian payments to me. It works great.

As for that slogan, yes I remember it well. Are you old enough to remember the small porcelain miniature animals that used to come in the pack? I collected those at one time...a very long time ago. Apparently they have done it more recently as well...
 
Enzo
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Syrte Syrte
Many thanks everyone for the suggestion, well, I have just followed the seller’s suggestion to use Azimo - whose app seems to have pretty good review and for an unspecified reason the test payment was rejected. They said they could not do it.

Can someone who’s got experience transferring funds to the UK clarify what «account number » the recipient should be providing?
How many digits should that be?
What does the « sort code » mean?

I’m familiar with IBAN which is a routing number encompassing codes for country/ bank/ branch and account.

Many thanks and best regards
Uk bank account number is usually 8 digits, ie 12345678, sort code is 6 digits in the form of 12-34-56
 
NT931
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Syrte Syrte
Not sure whether you have all noticed how high Paypal’s exchange rates are, at least when sending Paypal friends. If there’s any currency exchange differentials to your benefit, I noticed Paypal usually erases them.
Articles I found in the Guardian say that essentially Paypal is one of the worst exchange rates and most expensive ways to transfer money. Banks are also very bad.

So I’m in the process of completing a transaction with someone in the UK and he suggested we try Azimo. We’ll see how it goes.

Apparently Transferwise was one of the best rated methods for small and medium size payments.

Had anyone tried any of those and does anyone have any feedback?

I've been using Transferwise for my watch purchases regularly to various countries and no issues so far. Good rates, and the money gets over quite quickly:
a) within 6h for the UK
b) 36-48h for the US
c) 12-72h for Europe
So I like them for sending money.

Another option: I should add that you can still use paypal and not get clobbered by PP's exchange rate. You can use transferwise's debit card instead:
https://www.thecurrencyshop.com.au/reviews/transferwise-debit-card

Say I buy an item off ebay for EUR50. Normally, I'd convert this to my local currency, and pay using my credit card, and get sharked.

Now I still pay using my Transferwise credit card, which is linked to Paypal, but ask them to bill me in EUR and not local currency. The Transferwise card converts my local currency to EUR at a much better rate than Paypal (saving me 4%). So I have the benefits of Paypal, but without the PP markup.
 
NT931
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Syrte Syrte
Many thanks everyone for the suggestion, well, I have just followed the seller’s suggestion to use Azimo - whose app seems to have pretty good review and for an unspecified reason the test payment was rejected. They said they could not do it.

Can someone who’s got experience transferring funds to the UK clarify what «account number » the recipient should be providing?
How many digits should that be?
What does the « sort code » mean?

I’m familiar with IBAN which is a routing number encompassing codes for country/ bank/ branch and account.

Many thanks and best regards

Wow, seems complicated w Azimo. For Transferwise, you just need type of account (personal / business), person's name and the IBAN. That;s it.
 
DaveK
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Archer Archer
I use Interac E-Transfers for all Canadian payments to me. It works great.

As for that slogan, yes I remember it well. Are you old enough to remember the small porcelain miniature animals that used to come in the pack? I collected those at one time...a very long time ago. Apparently they have done it more recently as well...
Ah yes, the figurines. I’m not sure what they cost to give those away in every box of tea. Clearly they weren’t spending too much money on them. Always fun to get one though!
 
rcs914
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
My credit union offers Zelle. I've never used it but perhaps I will start.

Zelle is great - could not be easier, and it essentially uses the same backbone infrastructure that banks use to transfer money amongst themselves. This does limit it to the US only though, so if looking to pay someone overseas, you can't use Zelle.

One transfer service used by many that I just can't stand is Venmo, and that's only because they try to make paying people a social thing. Literally unless you specifically opt out, all your payments to other people are public to your friends. It's beyond stupid in my opinion.
 
Archer
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rcs914 rcs914
One transfer service used by many that I just can't stand is Venmo, and that's only because they try to make paying people a social thing. Literally unless you specifically opt out, all your payments to other people are public to your friends. It's beyond stupid in my opinion.

Yikes. I would think there would be some privacy law preventing this...crazy!
 
Archer
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rbob99 rbob99
I see all of the positive comments about Transferwise. I used it only once and it was a nightmare. Maybe I had bad luck or maybe there is an inherent problem transferring to certain countries, I don't know. In my case, I was transferring about USD 5K from my account in the US to Thailand. It took about three weeks for the money to go through, and only was resolved after I spent a long time on the phone, on several occasions with Transferwise and my bank, on three-way calls set up by me. I would hesitate to use them again.

Did you find out what the issue really was?
 
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