Payments in other currencies विषय पोस्ट करनेवाला व्यक्ति: Eduard Urgell
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Hello everyone,
I have recently been charged an outrageous amount of money by my (soon to be former) bank after receiving a wire transfer from the USA in USD and having it converted into EUR. Do you have any experience in dealing with such situations? I understand there is no way to circumvent these fees, but how do you minimize them and keep them within a reasonable limit? I have heard of Wise and Revolut, but I would be grateful if any of you could give me some additional informat... See more Hello everyone,
I have recently been charged an outrageous amount of money by my (soon to be former) bank after receiving a wire transfer from the USA in USD and having it converted into EUR. Do you have any experience in dealing with such situations? I understand there is no way to circumvent these fees, but how do you minimize them and keep them within a reasonable limit? I have heard of Wise and Revolut, but I would be grateful if any of you could give me some additional information.
Thank you and Happy Easter everyone! ▲ Collapse
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That's why more and more use Wise: you can get local bank account numbers in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and other countries, so clients in such countries can pay locally. You don't pay any transaction fee (if you stick to the types of local transfers that are free, e.g. ACH in the US, not wire). The spread on the interbank exchange rate is only about 0.5%, where PayPal and some banks take 3% or more.
Veem can also be configured to forward everything to your Wise ... See more That's why more and more use Wise: you can get local bank account numbers in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and other countries, so clients in such countries can pay locally. You don't pay any transaction fee (if you stick to the types of local transfers that are free, e.g. ACH in the US, not wire). The spread on the interbank exchange rate is only about 0.5%, where PayPal and some banks take 3% or more.
Veem can also be configured to forward everything to your Wise USD account automatically without any fee.
I would give Revolut a wide berth. It seems to be a dubious company according to what I've read about them in the press. ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
Local time: 03:29
सदस्य (2008)
इतालवी से अंग्रेजी
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
That's why more and more use Wise: you can get local bank account numbers in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and other countries, so clients in such countries can pay locally. You don't pay any transaction fee (if you stick to the types of local transfers that are free, e.g. ACH in the US, not wire). The spread on the interbank exchange rate is only about 0.5%, where PayPal and some banks take 3% or more.
Veem can also be configured to forward everything to your Wise USD account automatically without any fee.
I would give Revolut a wide berth. It seems to be a dubious company according to what I've read about them in the press.
I use Wise but it can be slightly inconvenient when they delay a payment and ask you to confirm the name and address of the person who is paying you. But this usually only takes a few minutes. I think the law requires them to do these checks, to prevent money laundering.
The big advantage is that your client pays nothing for the transaction and neither do you - although the Wise exchange rate can be a little less favourable than what you would get with a bank transfer.
PayPal is quick but the exchange rate (as Thomas said) is not too good.
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Wenke Geddert
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
Local time: 03:29
सदस्य (2004)
अंग्रेजी से जर्मन
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I have been using Revolut for my transactions. Happy with the service and the exchange rates (which I find slightly more favourable compared to Wise). Revolut offers additional benefits. However, if you go for the free plan, you can only exchange up to GBP 1.000 per month.
Check out the comparison -
https://www.revolut.com/our-pricing-plans/
It might be worth c... See more I have been using Revolut for my transactions. Happy with the service and the exchange rates (which I find slightly more favourable compared to Wise). Revolut offers additional benefits. However, if you go for the free plan, you can only exchange up to GBP 1.000 per month.
Check out the comparison -
https://www.revolut.com/our-pricing-plans/
It might be worth checking out a comparison between Wise and Revolut -
https://exiap.co.uk/compare/wise-vs-revolut
[Edited at 2023-04-07 14:27 GMT]
(PS - I posted this on 7 April but my post is still pending on 8 April - overall conversation thread has moved on.)
[Edited at 2023-04-08 13:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Exchange rate | Apr 7, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote:
the Wise exchange rate can be a little less favourable than what you would get with a bank transfer.
PayPal is quick but the exchange rate (as Thomas said) is not too good.
That depends entirely on the bank. UK banks typically take a spread of 3%, but some are more reasonable. When I still had a Danish bank account, the spread was about 0.2%. As I mentioned, Wise typically takes about 0.5%, which I consider reasonable. Some Continental banks don't take much, but then you sometimes lose an intermediary bank fee for transfers from outside the EU, and some banks also charge you simply for the privilege of having your own money credited to your own account.
But with a bank account, you don't get to choose when to exchange foreign currency. You get whatever the rate happens to be when the bank makes the exchange. With Wise, you can not only choose when to make the exchange, you can also ask it to wait until the live rate reaches a threshold you set. That way, you can benefit from spikes in the live rate (when they are in your favour).
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You may be able to open a separate USD account with the same bank to avoid currency exchange fees.
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Eduard Urgell 
स्पेन
Local time: 04:29
अंग्रेजी से स्पेनी
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विषय आरंभकर्ता | Thank you for your help! | Apr 8, 2023 |
Let me address you messages one by one:
- Thomas T. Frost: Wise was indeed my first option to begin with. I wouldn't worry at all about a 0.5% currency exchange fee. My bank applied a magnificent fee of 3.5%. I seriously don't understand why traditional banks don't have an even worse reputation... I'll take good note of the option to choose the moment to convert the received amount depending on the actual rates.
- Tom in London: I've compared Wise to other similar servi... See more Let me address you messages one by one:
- Thomas T. Frost: Wise was indeed my first option to begin with. I wouldn't worry at all about a 0.5% currency exchange fee. My bank applied a magnificent fee of 3.5%. I seriously don't understand why traditional banks don't have an even worse reputation... I'll take good note of the option to choose the moment to convert the received amount depending on the actual rates.
- Tom in London: I've compared Wise to other similar services and they seem to apply the most favourable rate for the receiver.
- Arabic & More: The only problem with this is that I need the money in EUR because I don't think I would benefit from having them in USD indefinitely.
- Marijke Singer: I've compared XE to the interbank rate and they would apparently keep quite the same as I lost in my last transfer...
- Tomoki Minohara: This is the first step which made me lose money, but it was the smallest part by a long shot. However, I will surely ask my client to assume all bank expenses. ▲ Collapse
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Eduard Urgell wrote:
- Arabic & More: The only problem with this is that I need the money in EUR because I don't think I would benefit from having them in USD indefinitely.
Usually you would be able to withdraw the money and convert it to EUR on your own for a more favorable rate...maybe even at your own bank.
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Arabic & More wrote:
Eduard Urgell wrote:
- Arabic & More: The only problem with this is that I need the money in EUR because I don't think I would benefit from having them in USD indefinitely.
Usually you would be able to withdraw the money and convert it to EUR on your own for a more favorable rate...maybe even at your own bank.
If you exchange cash, you usually get a very poor rate. And all this is not necessary when modern low-cost solutions such as Wise are available.
With Wise, you also get a multi-currency debit card, so if you keep some USD in your Wise USD balance, you can pay suppliers such a Proz and Payment Practices directly in USD without any fee or currency spread (but the exchange rate could go either way while the money is sitting there, so you could gain or lose on a foreign-currency balance).
I have also noticed that my Portuguese bank blocks many card transactions online, even in euro, whereas they sail through with my Wise card. Banks are still a necessary evil, but I don't let them near my currency transactions.
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In my own experience, it has not been cumbersome, and the rate has not been poor. But this may vary depending on the specific bank and country. I am not saying that one should not use Wise, but opening a USD account may also be a solution for those who cannot use Wise for whatever reason.
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