Transferring Funds Overseas

[Bushmiller]

I am seeking recommendations for transferring funds overseas. Fees and conversion rates can be ludicrous for the unwary (me). In the past, to the US and Europe, I have used PayPal as a fairly easy and painless way of doing this, but I suspect it may not be the best method. What else is available?

I would be interested to hear people's experiences in this regard.

Regards
Paul

[rwbuild]

I do this regularly every month via international transfer through my bank to the recipients bank account and there are no fees involved, all you need is the recipients account name and address, a/c number and their banks swift code (the international standard for identifying the bank) and you can look up the swift code for the bank on the internet. When you click the accept exchange rate/transfer button it is calculated on the exchange rate of AU $ with recipients currency at that instant. Depending on your bank and the country and bank your sending to it can be almost instant or up to a max of 3 days, in my case its next day that the recipient has access to the funds.

[Bushmiller]

Thank you Ray

That's most interesting. I shall look into it. One thought. Is there any restriction on amounts involved?

Regards
Paul

[Chris Parks]

If I am setting up a new international money transfer I confirm the details by sending the minimum amount on the first transaction.

[Bushmiller]

Chris

Good move. Noted.

Thanks

Regards
Paul

[apple8]

If I am setting up a new international money transfer I confirm the details by sending the minimum amount on the first transaction.

I do this as well to confirm I got the account details right but it can raise a red flag with the bank. I had a second payment not go through after the first $2 and then received calls from the bank wanting to know if I had authorised the payment.

[Mobyturns]

It certainly pays to check. As the recipient of funds from the UK as payment for articles in UK Woodturning mag I got hammered when their admin team split one article payment into 3 transactions.

Three lots of imo unreasonable fees, ouch! The then editor Mark Baker was very understanding and agreed to aggregate future payments for a number of articles into one payment. I still had to wear the hit but I wasn't getting hit a second time!

[Chris Parks]

I do this as well to confirm I got the account details right but it can raise a red flag with the bank. I had a second payment not go through after the first $2 and then received calls from the bank wanting to know if I had authorised the payment.

I used to do it commercially and never had a problem. I learned the hard way that one number wrong can lead to quite a long period to get the money back from a transfer gone wrong. The bank I was using in Oz had a set minimum limit of $10 IIRC.

[Tonyz]

I regularly send money to friends/family in both Uganda & Phillipines.
I use world remit and if they have phone banking they get it within 5 minutes of me posting. $1.99 transaction fee.
Worldremit also does bank acc transfers and something they call cash pickup.

Have used the mobile money for over 5 years and never a problem

[Huon pine fan]

I have used OFX several times to transfer money to my son in the UK. The rates are much better than that published by my bank and almost if not totally fee free (something else banks don't understand). A very simple process, you book the transaction with them and they give you a Bpay account to make the payment. Funds have been in my son's bank account in around 24 hours.
So yes, very happy.

[rwbuild]

$10000-00 is the limit before being red flagged to the relevant govt dept for OS transactions

[Warb]

Just remember that banks and financial institutions don't do anything for "free". When an international transaction carries no specific fee, they make their money from the conversion rate they use between currencies. For example, if you check the rate they're giving you and compare it to the market rate (or rate stated on RBA, or xe.com etc.) you'll find they're different.

Also the exchange rate each institution offers differs between sending and receiving money, so as of right now Commbank quote AU$1 as US$0.6414 if you're sending, and US$0.6975 if you're receiving. The RBA and xe.com are both quoting the rate at 0.66xx, which means that Commbank are basically taking around a 2% "fee", regardless of any charges they might levy.

I have found that for larger transfers you sometimes get a better outcome if you use an institution where you pay a "fee" but get a better rate. The reverse is true for smaller amounts, obviously.

[Chris Parks]

As Warb says you need to check the rates quoted, just because the daily exchange rate quoted on the market is .65cAUD against 1.00USD doesn't mean you will get that. PP used to do large amounts and life was simple but they stopped doing that many years ago. I have never used it but I have heard good reports on Western Union which can be done via Australia Post.

[Fuzzie]

Check out Wise: the international account | Money without borders

I first started using transferwise many years ago to pay for an overseas holiday. They have evolved over the years to a really good bank alternative.

You even have a degree of control of the exchange rate as you can set up triggers for conversions. You can also maintain balances in multiple currencies.


I note they have recently started advertising on tv but they have been around for a long time.

[pippin88]

I have used Wise (prev known as transferwise)

I can't see myself using a bank again for international transfers. Most banks charge a transaction fee and sting you hugely on exchange rate (often they hide this, don't call it a fee but just give a crap exchange rate). Sometimes the fee is taken out along the way (you have to be sure about this or receiving end might be short changed).

Wise and other similar mobs are much better. They maintain accounts in multiple countries. Essentially you pay them here in Aus, and they pay out of their account in other country. They charge an upfront fee.
Fast and easy.