Transferring money abroad... any ideas?

boogieman · October 2016

I need to transfer some money over to my bro in law in the US. What's the cheapest, safest way to do it?

Thank you muchly.

fretmeister · October 2016

Swallowed condoms?

Gassage · October 2016

Revolut app.

bingefeller · October 2016

Western Union probably. I transfer money to my mate "Uncle Bwambale" in Uganda all the time this way and it works great.

octatonic · October 2016

Have a look here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

bingefeller · October 2016

Seriously, I would just PayPal Gift it.

boogieman · October 2016

octatonic said:

Have a look here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

Ta @octatonic ;

boogieman · October 2016

bingefeller said:

Seriously, I would just PayPal Gift it.

Pretty sure he doesn't have a PayPal account but that's an interesting idea.

spark240 · October 2016

straight through your bank is easiest, I do it twice a year to Spain, might not be cheapest though.

Try foreign currency direct, look for Tom Holian.

boogieman · October 2016

spark240 said:

straight through your bank is easiest, I do it twice a year to Spain, might not be cheapest though.

Try foreign currency direct, look for Tom Holian.

I was working on the principle that my bank rape me for charges on most things, so presumably they'll do the same for foreign exchange.

webrthomson · October 2016

I've used these guys:

https://transferwise.com/

Worked like a dream

djspecialist · October 2016

+1 for TransferWise. Recently used it for transfers to Australia and Italy. In both cases it worked out cheaper than PPG, my bank and services like Currencies Direct.

ToneControl · October 2016

paypal has crap exchange rates

I used thecurrencyclub.co.uk 1 year or so ago to send cash to Sweden
I think I went via MSE advice
not sure on the best deals today

ThorpyFX · October 2016

Bank transfer, just get his IBAN code and BIC code and you are away

guitari · October 2016

Another vote for transferwise

gavin_axecaster · October 2016

(Why was my post from earlier held for moderation?)

Transferwise is certainly good - I've just used it a week ago to pay a Japanese supplier. Much better overall rate than I could get anywhere else.
For USD I still use Currency Fair - their transfer fee is capped at $4/£2.50 whereas Transferwise charge a percentage over a certain amount.
Both use mid-market rates (I believe) so compare the total cost/rates for both.
Not sure if it will be an issue but both CF and TW had to validate my accounts before my first transfer - that may have been due to the amounts involved or because they are both business accounts. Took less than 24hrs for both.

ToneControl · October 2016

ThorpyFX said:

Bank transfer, just get his IBAN code and BIC code and you are away

banks have crap exchange rates and charge large fees

earwighoney · October 2016

I've used Transferwise a fair few times which has always been great for low fees and exchange rate.

57Deluxe · October 2016

Bank of Isis - they have plenty of proven methods

benmurray85 · October 2016

ToneControl said:

ThorpyFX said:

Bank transfer, just get his IBAN code and BIC code and you are away

banks have crap exchange rates and charge large fees

Nonsense. On larger transfer amounts you may even get a "preferential" rate from the bank. Admittedly it will need to be a large amount but in general most banks will offer a sensible rate for the transfer. In my experience the high street banks often give a pretty decent rate considering they are without doubt the safest and easiest way of doing it.
Re. the fees obviously banks vary but in my experience I don't think they're "large" at all.

As With anything the best advice is to shop around but honestly I would say go with your bank. They will check everything before it goes and if there's errors it lies with them. Not you!

Guitar_Slinger · October 2016

The first time we transferred money to Italy was through our bank - never again.

Although the rate wasn't bad, it wasn't good either. They added a transfer fee and an unknown fee at the other end, which they didn't know and couldn't find out how much it would be.

The other times we went through a bureau and got a very good rate. Next time I'll have a look at Transferwise.

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Transferring money abroad... any ideas?

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