Money transfer services can save you a lot of money when doing international transfers compared to the ATM or the bank. How do they work and are they worth the effort?
Recommended money transfer services:
*1st choice*
CurrencyFair
www.currencyfa...
[Referral link. Free transfer + 30€ bonus if you transfer 2000€ or equivalent]
Usually the least expensive, but also the smallest list of supported currencies/countries.
Use CurrencyFair first if your money comes from Europe, UK, Australia or any country where CurrencyFair has a local bank account.
List of supported currencies to ‘send in’: app.currencyfa...
Check if they have a local account to ‘send in’ your currency: www.currencyfa...
(For example, they do not have local accounts in the US, Canada and New Zealand even if they accept the respective currencies.)
*2nd Choice*
**Wise** (formerly named TransferWise)
Get your first Wise transfer free! (up to £500 or equivalent) by signing up using my affiliate link:
wise.prf.hn/l/...
Use TransferWise first if your money comes from the US, Canada, New Zealand or any supported country with a local account.
List of supported countries here:
bit.ly/creative...
List of supported currencies here:
bit.ly/creative...
Transferwise Borderless Account and Debit MasterCard here:
bit.ly/creative...
How to make a transfer step-by-step here:
• TransferWise in detail
*3rd Choice*
XE.com
www.xe.com/xemo...
Use XE.com if you need to transfer from a currency/country that is not supported by CurrencyFair or TransferWise, like sending money from Mexico.
List of supported currencies here: www.xe.com/xemo...
*EXTRA INFO*
Good post comparing various money transfer services:
www.currencyfa...
Excellent website that compares various services including spread and fees for a given trade:
moneytis.com/
Tips:
** You need a bank account at both ends of the transaction. The receiving account usually doesn't have to be yours, so you can use a (trusted!) friend's account if your are in a pinch.
** Compare your particular trade between services, pricing varies a lot depending on countries and currencies.
** Money transfer services are usually slow. The delay can be from a few hours to a few business days to more than a week in some cases. Plan ahead.
** Always test a new transfer service with a smaller amount first (a few hundred dollars or equivalent) to make sure everything is working as expected.
** Break down very big transfers into smaller chunks. It minimizes risk if anything goes wrong and it avoids getting flagged by government checks (usually around 10000US$, varies by country). It also evens out variations in the exchange rate if you do multiple transfers over a few weeks instead of all on the same day.
8 сен 2024
