# Currency Transfer specialist?



## manuka

Hi. We are at the point of looking at/for currency transfer. We are based in the UK and moving to France. I'd appreciate any experiences members have on the currency transfer specialist they have used and feedback. I know there was a thread on this a couple of years back but cannot find it!


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## DrChips

Wise


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## manuka

DrChips said:


> Wise


?


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## DrChips

Used to be called Transferwise - now wise









Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features


Banks charge a lot for overseas transfers. We don't. Transfer money abroad easily and quickly with our low cost money transfers.




wise.com


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## BackinFrance

I use Wise.


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## manuka

manuka said:


> ?


ok thanks!


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## manuka

Thank you, much appreciated. So, why Transferwise as opposed to others? Is there anything between all the choices out there? My husband has been talking to TORFX and I have looked at Place in the Sun currency. How to differentiate? Anyone else used Transferwise, Torfx or Place in the sun currency or others?


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## papaia

Just leaving this here: sometimes it is better to leave the money where they are, and take advantage of certain other incentives. Some US credit cards, for example, have better exchange rates than wise, no transaction fees, and you earn points to double up their user for travel, for example, or just get cash back. YC(ountry)MMV


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## BackinFrance

Once set up Wise is easy to use and fast. They use mid-rate exchange rates each day, so you also have time to check against other companies - you can always set yourself up with more than one company and I was at one time switching between Wise, at the time they were Transfer wise, and XE but I had a bit of a problem once when I had to reconfirm my ID for XE's regular check and abandoned it. XE do seem to be more careful with that stuff though. Both deposit into my French account as a transfer from me and do not attract any additional bank charges at this end. 

I do not know either of those you refer to but I avoid everything related to place in the sun.


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## davegreen

We ended up just using a bank transfer. I called and spoke to a few agencies that I found online, but I felt as if I was talking to people who had an angle, I simply didn't trust them. Eventually we just used our banks. Probably took a hit on exchange rates, but we felt safer.


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## Befuddled

davegreen said:


> We ended up just using a bank transfer. I called and spoke to a few agencies that I found online, but I felt as if I was talking to people who had an angle, I simply didn't trust them. Eventually we just used our banks. Probably took a hit on exchange rates, but we felt safer.


Using a bank for any large transfer is a serious waste of money. Fees are extortionate, but hey, it's _your_ money.


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## manuka

papaia said:


> Just leaving this here: sometimes it is better to leave the money where they are, and take advantage of certain other incentives. Some US credit cards, for example, have better exchange rates than wise, no transaction fees, and your earn points to double up their user for travel, for example, or just get cash back. YC(ountry)MMV


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## manuka

BackinFrance said:


> Once set up Wise is easy to use and fast. They use mid-rate exchange rates each day, so you also have time to check against other companies - you can always set yourself up with more than one company and I was at one time switching between Wise, at the time they were Transfer wise, and XE but I had a bit of a problem once when I had to reconfirm my ID for XE's regular check and abandoned it. XE do seem to be more careful with that stuff though. Both deposit into my French account as a transfer from me and do not attract any additional bank charges at this end.
> 
> I do not know either of those you refer to but I avoid everything related to place in the sun.


I hear you. I just found this which looks useful: 






Best International Money Transfer Services ✔️Comparison


Discover the world best international money transfer services. 80+ money transfer company reviews with editorial scoring. Pros and cons of each money transfer service on the market.




moneytransfercomparison.com


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## BackinFrance

And that's a point, because some exchange companies are better for large amounts (eg house purchase) and some are better for small amounts such as pensions that cannot be transferred direct by the provider in question. Many overseas governments will transfer your pension directly to your French bank account and get a far better exchange rate than you could ever get yourself.


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## rynd2it

papaia said:


> Just leaving this here: sometimes it is better to leave the money where they are, and take advantage of certain other incentives. Some US credit cards, for example, have better exchange rates than wise, no transaction fees, and you earn points to double up their user for travel, for example, or just get cash back. YC(ountry)MMV


Just be aware that many US banks and credit card companies are closing accounts for non-residents of the USA. Caused me a lot of grief because I now have no way to (economically) process US dollar checks.


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## manuka

BackinFrance said:


> And that's a point, because some exchange companies are better for large amounts e.g. house purchase . and some are better for small amounts such as pensions that cannot be transferred direct by the provider in question. Many overseas governments will transfer your pension directly to your French bank account and get a far better exchange rate than you could ever get yourself.


Yes ours is for the funds from our house sale. It looks like it is best to do the whole transfer and not split it. On the link Best International Money Transfer: Foreign Currency 2021 Torfx comes up for large and transferwise medium to small- I guess what is large to us may be small to others, but it is for a house sale


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## papaia

rynd2it said:


> Just be aware that many US banks and credit card companies are closing accounts for non-residents of the USA. Caused me a lot of grief because I now have no way to (economically) process US dollar checks.


So far, so good. I'm of the opinion that it works while it works and better take advantage until it doesn't. Part of the dynamics of global financial mechanisms. We'll adjust when things change.


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## davegreen

Befuddled said:


> Using a bank for any large transfer is a serious waste of money. Fees are extortionate, but hey, it's _your_ money.


It wasn't really, this was a uk bank to our fr bank and while we may have got a better exchange rate going with wise or the like, we just felt for efficiency and peace of mind that was the best option. Actually don't recall being charged at all, or at least a minimal fee, but of course that was hidden by the less competitive exchange rate.

Worked for us.


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## Yours truly confused

We used Caxton when we moved money to buy the house, had it sent direct to the notaire, OH spoke to the trader and negotiated the rate. That was in 2007, we have since used them when we moved from Switzerland to our house here permanently in 2018 and had to close our Swiss account, again OH spoke to the trader and negotiated the rate.
We use Wise now for shifting smaller amounts, I did an exchange on Saturday and within 2 minutes of sending it from my U.K. bank to Wise it was showing up in my French bank. Can’t get better than that.


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## Bevdeforges

The "market" for money transfers is an area that is changing dramatically with all the available online options these days. That moneytransfercomparison site that Manuka gave you is very helpful. (I was going to give you that one myself, but Manuka beat me to it!)

Different companies offer different services and are more or less efficient for different sorts of transfers. So you should give some thought to what sorts of transfers you'll be making as you consider the options.

A couple examples: Wise offers their "borderless accounts" which may enable you to have your pension source directly transfer your pension proceeds into your Wise account (in the original currency), which you can then transfer to your French - or other - account in local currency as you need it. However, the Wise accounts give you the appropriate bank account numbers, but the accounts pay no interest and may actually require you to pay fees if you park large sums in the accounts (one in each currency) for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the Wise accounts give you a single debit card you can use to make purchases in whatever currency so that the charges will come out of the appropriate currency balance. (I also use the Wise card to "test" new online vendors as it's fairly simple to get a new card and card number if you find someone is using it without authorization.)

If you have to transfer a hundred thousand pounds, dollars or whatever, you probably want to look at a traditional FX transfer agent - though I've seen some information saying that Wise is setting itself up to do larger transfers.

There is also the consideration of how the transfer works. Many French banks will charge a fee to receive a wire transfer from outside the EU, It may be percentage based, or it may have a cap of 20, 50 or 100€. Some FX companies (and most definitely Wise) structure their transfer so as to come from within the same country as the bank to which the funds are being transferred - so no fee. All sorts of "little" things to consider - and maybe it's best to have a couple different services lined up for different sorts of transfers.


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## Froggie06

Yours truly confused said:


> We used Caxton when we moved money to buy the house, had it sent direct to the notaire, OH spoke to the trader and negotiated the rate. That was in 2007, we have since used them when we moved from Switzerland to our house here permanently in 2018 and had to close our Swiss account, again OH spoke to the trader and negotiated the rate.
> We use Wise now for shifting smaller amounts, I did an exchange on Saturday and within 2 minutes of sending it from my U.K. bank to Wise it was showing up in my French bank. Can’t get better than that.


What OH means


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## Yours truly confused

Other half, husband.


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## Froggie06

BackinFrance said:


> Once set up Wise is easy to use and fast. They use mid-rate exchange rates each day, so you also have time to check against other companies - you can always set yourself up with more than one company and I was at one time switching between Wise, at the time they were Transfer wise, and XE but I had a bit of a problem once when I had to reconfirm my ID for XE's regular check and abandoned it. XE do seem to be more careful with that stuff though. Both deposit into my French account as a transfer from me and do not attract any additional bank charges at this end.
> 
> I do not know either of those you refer to but I avoid everything related to place in the sun.


So if i understand when transfering from your us account to your french bank account you only paid Wise fees and nothing from the bank? Was it an ACH transfer?I just read on Wise that my banks may charge a fee but there is no way for them to know.


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## conky2

Yours truly confused said:


> Other half, husband.


Or other husband....


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## Bevdeforges

Froggie06 said:


> So if i understand when transfering from your us account to your french bank account you only paid Wise fees and nothing from the bank? Was it an ACH transfer?I just read on Wise that my banks may charge a fee but there is no way for them to know.


With the Wise account, you transfer money to Wise using an ACH from your US account to Wise. And then when Wise transfers it to your French account, it appears to your bank in France as a SEPA transfer (i.e. a transfer from within the EU, which is not subject to bank fees).


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## Froggie06

Bevdeforges said:


> With the Wise account, you transfer money to Wise using an ACH from your US account to Wise. And then when Wise transfers it to your French account, it appears to your bank in France as a SEPA transfer (i.e. a transfer from within the EU, which is not subject to bank fees).


Thank you Bev and no bank fees from us account?


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## Bevdeforges

Froggie06 said:


> Thank you Bev and no bank fees from us account?


The ACH is seen as a regular "payment" taken by a vendor. I certainly never had any fees from the US bank when I was doing this regularly.


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## Greenfoot

Hi Manuka

We're pretty new to this ourselves - also in UK & moving to France - we've started using Smart Currency Exchange and have had a good experience so far. My parents - Brits living in Cyprus - have used them for years and really rate them.

Good luck with everything


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## Froggie06

manuka said:


> Yes ours is for the funds from our house sale. It looks like it is best to do the whole transfer and not split it. On the link Best International Money Transfer: Foreign Currency 2021 Torfx comes up for large and transferwise medium to small- I guess what is large to us may be small to others, but it is for a house sale


I used ofx last july for transfer funds to buy my house. It was the best rate at the time. Use Wise for small transfer


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## LFBEUSTON

manuka said:


> Thank you, much appreciated. So, why Transferwise as opposed to others? Is there anything between all the choices out there? My husband has been talking to TORFX and I have looked at Place in the Sun currency. How to differentiate? Anyone else used Transferwise, Torfx or Place in the sun currency or others?


For what it's worth I use TORFX. No hassle and they give you the rate there and then when you speak to them, as in fact most do! It's really a question of 'empathy'! I found the TORFX adviser extremely helpful and pleasant. The exchange rate between all of them, and there are a lot, doesn't seem to change very much at all.


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## jweihl

Another vote for Wise. All situations are different, so you need to find one that works well for yours. We're from the US and use Wise to move funds from our US credit union to our French bank. Once you set it up, it's quite easy, and nearly automatic. Here's how it works for us:

1. US dollars are sent via ACH transfer from credit union to Wise using my Wise US bank details. My credit union doesn't charge for this transfer. Wise doesn't charge to receive it.
2. US dollars in Wise account are converted to Euros. Wise uses the actual mid-market rate. My bank (and credit cards) surely do not. Wise charges a fee for this conversion of roughly 0.4%.
3. Euros are sent from Wise Euro account to my French bank using my French bank IBAN. Wise charges less than €1 for this transfer. I have heard that this fee was recently eliminated.

It's fast, easy, inexpensive and you get a fair exchange rate.


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## Bevdeforges

Just one further comment to the process jweihl describes. You can maintain a small stash of US $ in your Wise account for use in making purchases from the US (or otherwise denominated in US$ online). Comes in handy for those of us who have given up on the US banking system or been turned out by the various banks that don't want "foreign" customers these days. The Wise card they give you functions in all the various currencies they deal in - but having a US$ fund available comes in handy sometimes if you still make purchases from "the old country." Would work, too, for those of you from the UK receiving funds in sterling.


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