# Transferwise



## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

Hi. Has anyone used Transferwise - a foreign exchange company that matches up people selling and buying the same currency. The advantage seems to be that you get a very good exchange rate at very low cost.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

No but I have used CurrencyFair with a similar set up in Eire. They charge a flat fee of €3 and a small shaving off the interbank rate. At about £1 for £600 exchange. If started before 9.ooam is in Spanish bank account by 2.oopm.


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## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

stevesainty said:


> No but I have used CurrencyFair with a similar set up in Eire. They charge a flat fee of €3 and a small shaving off the interbank rate. At about £1 for £600 exchange. If started before 9.ooam is in Spanish bank account by 2.oopm.


Thanks for the info. We have heard of CurrencyFair and it does seem to be very similar to Transferwise. It looks like either company will be cheaper than using Moneycorp etc.


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## annfoto (Aug 19, 2012)

stevesainty said:


> No but I have used CurrencyFair with a similar set up in Eire. They charge a flat fee of €3 and a small shaving off the interbank rate. At about £1 for £600 exchange. If started before 9.ooam is in Spanish bank account by 2.oopm.


Completely agree. Currencyfair are excellent:clap2:


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

There are several, I use Smart Currency Exchange, far better rates than the banks, no commision charged over £3,000!!


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

Another vote for Currencyfait, I use them every month or so. Been using them for about 18 months


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## agua642 (May 24, 2009)

Anyone tried to get money back to UK from Spain with any of the above mentioned companies and what was there experience, reliability, service, etc


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

No, I just use Currencies Direct and of course thats the "normal" way of doing them. I will have a look at CurrencyFair though out of interest


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> No, I just use Currencies Direct and of course thats the "normal" way of doing them. I will have a look at CurrencyFair though out of interest


Actually, looking at it ........ you have to deposit the money BEFORE you know what rate of exchange you will get??????


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

On Smart you can set your own rate of exchange


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

And finally, the GBP / € rate on currency Fair is 1.2545 + £3 transfer fee, and on Currencies Direct they are showing 1.2589 no transfer fee, so where the real advantages here ... I guess there must be some


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## mazlester (Oct 30, 2010)

Take a look at FairFX you get the exchange rate that is shown on the screen NO commission rate. The rate us always better than most other companies. It takes minutes to make the transaction and if you pay for goods using the card there's no fee. If you do want the cash it is 1.50 euro per transaction. You can also use FairPay which is paid into your Spanish bank again no commission. Simples!


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

Stravinsky said:


> And finally, the GBP / € rate on currency Fair is 1.2545 + £3 transfer fee, and on Currencies Direct they are showing 1.2589 no transfer fee, so where the real advantages here ... I guess there must be some


The rate shown on Currenciesdirect is the indicative rate. It's usually the market rate for a large amount (£1m). When you actually come to transact, the rate you obtain will vary depending upon the amount. Typically (where there is no transfer charge) the rate will be between 1% and 1.5% below this rate. 

CurrencyFair is a very different type of transaction, it uses peer to peer matching i.e matches someone who wants to buy euros with someone who is selling. This is why you have to transfer the funds to your account with them before you deal, as you can only deal if you have the cash in your account. Once a deal is confirmed the funds are transferred to your CurrencyFair account immediately, and your matching account debited. You then transfer the funds from your CurrencyFair account when you want (the cost of transferring euros is €3).

They now accept Faster Payments in sterling, so once I decide to buy some euros I normally transfer the sterling in the morning, take a rate that's there, if I'm happy with it, and transfer to my Spanish account. As mentioned earlier, if you deal by 9am (UK time) the funds are generally in your account late afternoon. Sometimes I post the rate I am looking for, and wait for someone to match it, I might leave this all day if I think the rate is going to move my way. You can change the rate, or cancel your offer at any time. This is what I like about this system, I am in control of when I deal. Occasionaly I might leave it overninght, but generally I deal on the same day.



mazlester said:


> Take a look at FairFX you get the exchange rate that is shown on the screen NO commission rate. The rate us always better than most other companies. It takes minutes to make the transaction and if you pay for goods using the card there's no fee. You can also use FairPay which is paid into your Spanish bank again no commission. Simples!


Unfortunately Currencies direct do not have online trading so, I couldn't compare the actual rates, and I don't have an account with them for this reason. I do have an account with HIFX, which is very similar, so I compared the rates for £3,000 to euros when the interbank market was 1.2595-6. I used this amount as this is the value that HIFX transfer at no cost, with CurrencyFair the amount doesn't matter.
With Fairfx the Fairpay rate is the same as the card.

These are the comparable rates

HIFX - 1.2434, so for a £1,000 - €1243
Fairfx - 1.2350, so for a £1,000 - €1235
CurrencyFair 1.2526 so for a £1,000 (after €3 transfer charge) - €1252.6


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

CapnBilly said:


> The rate shown on Currenciesdirect is the indicative rate. It's usually the market rate for a large amount (£1m). When you actually come to transact, the rate you obtain will vary depending upon the amount. Typically (where there is no transfer charge) the rate will be between 1% and 1.5% below this rate.


Fortunately for me it IS the rate give or take, that I get for my monthly transfer ... I'm not knocking the others, I'm just saying in reality there is little difference


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

Stravinsky said:


> Fortunately for me it IS the rate give or take, that I get for my monthly transfer ...


That sounds a great deal, but just a little confused. The rate changes every 15 mins, as the market moves, so is it the rate on the day at a set time - say 12 or 1pm.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

CapnBilly said:


> That sounds a great deal, but just a little confused. The rate changes every 15 mins, as the market moves, so is it the rate on the day at a set time - say 12 or 1pm.


I have no idea when it is set
If you read again, I said give or take

The difference is that I have a standing order every month. I dont have to do anything, and consistently I have got competitive rates. As I said, I'm not knocking it, I'm just saying that the rates dont seem to differ that much (I have an account)


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## Th1rt3en (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm using Transferwise for half year and very happy with their service. This is probably the cheapest option for sending money:
- The using actual market exchange rate with no hidden fees
- The only fee is 0.5% from the amount your transfer or £1 flat fee for transfers below £200.
- Normally they process my transfers same/next day

I'm surprised nobody takes them seriously, just read this review to learn more about them.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Th1rt3en said:


> I'm using Transferwise for half year and very happy with their service. This is probably the cheapest option for sending money:
> - The using actual market exchange rate with no hidden fees
> - The only fee is 0.5% from the amount your transfer or £1 flat fee for transfers below £200.
> - Normally they process my transfers same/next day
> ...


I have no idea about the validity of this company, but I find it difficult to trust companies who don't have enough money or enough self pride to use a translator, proofreader, native speaker and end up with this kind of crap like this on their web pages
_
For example Alex have 1000 GBP and need to send these money to his  fried Francisco in Spain in Euros. With the current market exchange rate  that is 1 GBP to 1,185 EUR Francisco will receive around 1180 EUR. And he will probably get this money next day!_

Ouch!!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I have no idea about the validity of this company, but I find it difficult to trust companies who don't have enough money or enough self pride to use a translator, proofreader, native speaker and end up with this kind of crap like this on their web pages
> _
> For example Alex have 1000 GBP and need to send these money to his  fried Francisco in Spain in Euros. With the current market exchange rate  that is 1 GBP to 1,185 EUR Francisco will receive around 1180 EUR. And he will probably get this money next day!_
> 
> Ouch!!


... and the others 

Reading more of the reviews and quotes on the site, I would suspect that they have all been written by the same person. There are similar mistakes in most of them!


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## ptrclvd (May 26, 2012)

I use Central FX and have no complaints at all. I get a spot rate fractionally under the interbank rate. Forward contracts and stop /loss contracts can be used as well. I get a totally personal service with my own trader who rings me when the market is moving in a direction that indicates it is a good time to buy and the whole thing costs me absolutely nothing.


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

We have used Transferwise. In particular last year (but also since) when we transferred a 'lot' of money to pay off our mortgage here. They did exactly as they said they would - a very good service in days where no one else seems to do what they say they will.


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I have no idea about the validity of this company, but I find it difficult to trust companies who don't have enough money or enough self pride to use a translator, proofreader, native speaker and end up with this kind of crap like this on their web pages


Looks to me that the 'reviews' site is just some guy who's set something up to redirect to the real TransferWise site via a referral code so he can earn some money.


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## Th1rt3en (Apr 2, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> ... and the others
> 
> Reading more of the reviews and quotes on the site, I would suspect that they have all been written by the same person. There are similar mistakes in most of them!


This is just a random blog created by someone who recommends Transferwise. I didn't spot there are so many typos  In fact the company's website is www.transferwise.com or you can use this link to get your first payment for free.


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