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General impressions of Transferwise
Thread poster: lcavalcanti
lcavalcanti
lcavalcanti  Identity Verified
Ireland
Local time: 12:45
Dec 2, 2014

Has anyone used transferwise services? I am thinking about using it instead of paypal, however, I don't know anyone who used their service before.

 
Seiriol Dafy (X)
Seiriol Dafy (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
German to English
+ ...
Highly recommended Dec 2, 2014

I've used it and it's very good. Very easy to use and the rates are much better than normal bank rates (as they so fondly state in the adverts).

 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:45
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Withdrawing? Dec 2, 2014

Hi folks,

how do you withdraw money received through Transferwise?

Thank you,
José Ruivo


 
Seiriol Dafy (X)
Seiriol Dafy (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
German to English
+ ...
No need to withdraw Dec 2, 2014

The money goes directly into the recipient's bank account. It's essentially just a bank transfer, no need to withdraw it from anywhere.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
Member (2008)
Italian to English
So....? Dec 2, 2014

Seiriol Dafydd wrote:

The money goes directly into the recipient's bank account. It's essentially just a bank transfer, no need to withdraw it from anywhere.


So (obvious question): why not just do a direct bank-to-bank transfer?


 
Seiriol Dafy (X)
Seiriol Dafy (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
German to English
+ ...
Cheaper Dec 2, 2014

Because the rates are much better ... and no, I'm not affiliated with them

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Hmm Dec 2, 2014

Seiriol Dafydd wrote:

Because the rates are much better ... and no, I'm not affiliated with them


So if their exchange rate is better than the exchange rate applied by my bank, how do they make money? (Reading intently at this website http://www.money.co.uk/money-transfers/money-transfer-companies/TransferWise-Money-Transfers.htm )

[Edited at 2014-12-02 15:07 GMT]


 
lcavalcanti
lcavalcanti  Identity Verified
Ireland
Local time: 12:45
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Dec 2, 2014

The investors behind transferwise are the same of skype and paypal, I guess they wouldn't risk their money in something that wouldn't give them return of capital.
I am going give it a try.

Thanks everyone!


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:45
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Comissions Dec 2, 2014

Hello,

Tom in London wrote:

So if their exchange rate is better than the exchange rate applied by my bank, how do they make money?


They charge an average comission of 0,5%, (while paypal charges an average of 3,5%). It's in their website.

Regards,
José Ruivo


 
Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 22:45
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
I am not sure it works for all currencies Dec 3, 2014

I have a bank in Sweden, and when I need to transfer money to my Australian account, I actually need to wait for somebody who needs to convert their AUD into SEK for the exact same amount. I am doubting it is that easy.

 
Woodstock (X)
Woodstock (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:45
German to English
+ ...
I've used it once Dec 3, 2014

A UK client sent me money (in Euros) via Transferwise once, and it worked perfectly. The full amount of my invoice was in my German business account the next day. What more can you ask for? I would definitely use it again, but I rarely work for clients outside of Germany, so I don't really need it regularly or often.

 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:45
Member (2005)
Chinese to English
Hum Dec 3, 2014

It is not a matter of your using it or not. It depends on if your client or vendor use it. I guess this is the bottom line.

If this bottom line is not there, why should we even bother to talk about it?


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:45
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Sugest..- Dec 3, 2014

Hello,

jyuan_us wrote:
If this bottom line is not there, why should we even bother to talk about it?


You can always suggest it to your client, hoping he is driven to investigate and use.

Besides, if you don't first say you have it, your client may just keep sending your payments via Paypal, like he's done for sometime.

Regards,
José Ruivo


 
Marc-Olivier Duc
Marc-Olivier Duc
France
Local time: 13:45
English to French
+ ...
Same process as a bank transfer... Dec 5, 2014

The client/vendor does not need to use TransferWise for you to receive payments through that service, that's the point. They act as an intermediate, whereby your client makes a standard bank transfer to TransferWise in their own currency (which is where their really good rates kick in) and then the amount the latter have converted into GBP is then transferred automatically to your nominated account (the recipient).

The only 2 things that change from your usual bank transfer are the
... See more
The client/vendor does not need to use TransferWise for you to receive payments through that service, that's the point. They act as an intermediate, whereby your client makes a standard bank transfer to TransferWise in their own currency (which is where their really good rates kick in) and then the amount the latter have converted into GBP is then transferred automatically to your nominated account (the recipient).

The only 2 things that change from your usual bank transfer are the bank details and the reference (essential) that your client will use for the transfer, which is generated by TransferWise when you create the request for payment.

I am in the process of switching all my non-UK clients to this service, after being shell-shocked when I looked at a recent transfer into my business account with HSBC: the rate they used was over 5% greater than the rate shown on XE.com on the day (before, it fluctuated between 1.7 and 2.5%, which is already a nice little take on their part). On that occasion, it represented a difference of over GBP160.00 (which I intend to investigate)!!! Sadly, I still need an account to manage that cash flow, but the day I can get rid of the standard 'high street' bank, I will!

I just received the first payment using TransferWise, and it all went smoothly, no trouble on the client's side, and the rate cannot be faulted.

Same here: I don't have any shares or affiliation with the company, just sharing the word for those who are done with banks ripping you off after your hard work....

All the best!

Marc

[Edited at 2014-12-05 17:54 GMT]
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Eugenia Morris
Eugenia Morris
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
English to Russian
+ ...
works better than anything else Dec 5, 2014

Once I had to transfer quite a large amount of money from Lloyds UK (GBP) to Europe (EUR), that's why I thought I would spend some time looking for the cheapest option as it would save me 100s of pounds. Indeed, Transferwise was the best. The problem about making a similar transfer from Lloyds is hidden charges. They say you only need to pay 17 pounds per transfer. But if you look at their exchange rate - it is ridiculous! About 3-4% lower than real rates and rates used by TransferWise. I highly... See more
Once I had to transfer quite a large amount of money from Lloyds UK (GBP) to Europe (EUR), that's why I thought I would spend some time looking for the cheapest option as it would save me 100s of pounds. Indeed, Transferwise was the best. The problem about making a similar transfer from Lloyds is hidden charges. They say you only need to pay 17 pounds per transfer. But if you look at their exchange rate - it is ridiculous! About 3-4% lower than real rates and rates used by TransferWise. I highly recommend TransferWise, especially for large amounts.

[Edited at 2014-12-05 17:19 GMT]
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General impressions of Transferwise







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