Best way to wire money to Europe?

[Ann]

We have to send a large amount of money to Europe, and I've always used xe.com in the past. Does anyone know a better (ie, cheaper) way to wire money?

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Ann,
I've explored this issue ad nauseum. I don't think there is any perfect way to send money overseas from a personal account. Is there a particular reason you don't want to use .xe?

I also had to send a small fortune overseas to secure a long term rental. I'm uncomfortable using a 3rd party such as .xe. My linited understanding is that your bank wires them the $$ from your account(after you've set up an acct with .xe) and then they send it to the local bank. Just seems too many steps. But it's probably as good as any other system. I don't think Western Union is great for larger sums. There is also Forfex. It sounded ok and won't accept anything under $2000.

The folks I am sending $$$$ to also have a US account so I ended up converting GBP to US$ and got a bank draft and sent the initial payment that way. As I live in Canada, the worse time to convert from CDN to US but what can you do?
I am going to think about how to send the final and larger payment. So if you find out anything, please post.

 

[Pauline]

We have to transfer money regularly from the US to the UK, and Steve set up a wire transfer between our US bank and UK bank. You have to look at the fees charged and the exchange rate they give you (which is never as good as you hope).

Lisa, we were able to set up a UK bank account before we were living here. We did not need a UK address. We showed our US passports for ID. It was handy to be able to transfer over an amount for the trip and then use ATM/Debit cards to get cash or pay for things.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Mmm very interesting. We're only going to be in the UK for 3 months so may not be feasible to set up an account. I find the banks are quite reluctant to do wire transfers. They charge a fair chunk and want tons of info. Then it takes several days. We bank at a credit union, but I don't think it's different than the main financial institutions.

I'm surprised that you could set up an account so easily as I've heard it is very difficult. You set it up from the US. How
were you able to do that? Your bank must have had some kind of reciprocity with a UK bank such as Barclays.

We're thinking of paying our rent in advance before we arrive s then, we just have everyday costs. Ron will get some of it back as a travel advance if we do it about 2 months before the actual trip. Do you think it makes sense to set up n account for such a short period? I know the ATMs have a limit for withdrawls.

 

[Pauline]

We walked into an HSBC branch on a UK trip and set up an account giving our US address. We were going to use a UK friend's address but did not need to. This was in 2005. We moved here in 2010.

For US bank wires we bank with Wells Fargo and had to go into our US branch and fill out some forms. Now Steve does the bank wire by phone and it all goes quickly because it was set up as a repetitive transfer.

 

[Ann]

It's not that I don't want to use xe.com -- just that I wonder if there's anything cheaper. Now it looks like you can use xe.com to do an EFT rather than a wire transfer and it's less expensive. I think I'll try that to see if it works.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Ann,
Please let us know how this goes. It is my understanding that international EFTs are used for regular transfers of funds. It is not meant for a 1x vacation rental for example. But I could be wrong, of course. I think if I was going to spend a prolonged period overseas, it would definitely make sense to set up a account in that country and do wire or efts.

 

[Ann]

ETFs can be used here for a one-time transfer of funds, but things could be different internationally. Will let you know.

 

[Ann]

Just completed the ETF/ACH one-time transfer from the U.S. to Italy, using xe.com. Got an exhange rate of US$1.37 versus the best rate of $1.35, with no fees or other charges.

 

[Steve]

Hi Ann,
I had a quick look at the xe.com site today. If they provide an exchange rate close to the one they show on their currency converter, they compare favorably to what I can get - it looks a few cents better (significant) for a transfer to GB pounds from US dollars. How did you transfer the funds to xe.com?

 

[Ann]

Hi Steve! You transfer the funds to xe.com by wire or by ETF. Here is a complete summary.

 

[Steve]

We may give this a try. A 2% improvement on the exchange rate translates into a $20 saving for each $1000 transferred. For significant amounts, the saving can pay for filling a car's tank once or twice or cover a nice restaurant meal or two. Lisa, however you decide to pay for your rental, it is probably feasible to manage the day to day living expenses without having a bank account. Pauline and I have done trips to Europe from the US for as long as 2 1/2 months without local bank accounts. You can get cash from ATM's (maybe a good idea to have more than one card you can use in case you need more than the daily limit) and you can use you Canadian or US credit card. The major credit/debit cards seem to provide pretty decent exchange rates, so the only reason you might need a local account is if you plan some major purchase while you are in the UK.

I would add that if you might be in the UK for much longer than 3 months or if you might do it again in the future, it can be very handy having the local bank account and a debit card to go with it. That is something you can decide after you arrive.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Thanks, Steve and Ann
Ann, when you transferred money from your bank to .xe, could you tell if they charged. I think that the banks nick in the wiring at both ends. Ex. wiring $$ to.xe. I could be wrong. Transferring from Canada may be diferent. I will check befre we make our big deposit.
Steve I agree. For 3 months will just go with ATM and CC. It's never been a problem before.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I just read the info from.xe which I had already read. They are very clear that one's bank will charge to trnsfer to .xe and that you may not save anything but it's quicker. Also you must send it in the currency you are selling..I'm really not a banker. I find this caveat a little confusing....

 

[Ann]

Your bank may charge for a wire to xe.com - depends on the bank - but not for an ETF/ACH transfer to xe. My credit union will transfer dollars to xe, and xe will send euros to the bank in Italy. The transfer is free but slower with an ETF transfer TO Europe -- faster but with a charge if xe wires the money to Europe. It's really pretty straight-forward, Lisa. Will be glad to answer other questions to help clarify things for you.

 

[Ann]

To finish the story, the recipient in Venice emailed me yesterday that his bank had received the money -- so 8 days after I placed the order.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

We just had the most bizarre experience with xe.com. Ron registered and provided tons of documentation and they refused his request!! We just wanted to send $$ to the UK as previously posted. They wouldn't say why the request was refused. We are pretty stunned!!!

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

We just had the most bizarre experience with xe.com. Ron registered and provided tons of documentation and they refused his request!! We just wanted to send $$ to the UK as previously posted. They wouldn't say why the request was refused. We are pretty stunned!!!

I HAVE TO ADD TO THIS CRAZY EXPERIENCE. RON FILLED OUT THE REGISTRATION FORM AND SENT BANKING INFO AS WAS REQUIRED. THEN HE RECIEVED AN EMAIL INDICATING HE WAS REFUSED BUT NO REASON GIVEN. SO NOW THEY HAVE ALL THIS PERSONAL INFO BUT WE CAN'T DO THE TRANSFER. SUBSEQUENT PHONE CALLS HAVE NOT YIELDED A SATIFACTORY EXPLANATION. BUT WHILE ON HOLD, THEY PLAYED ADS FOR WESTERN UNION. THIS COMPANY IS OWNED BY WU. NEG REVIEWS. I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS HAS HAPPENED BUT IT IS PRETTY WEIRD. ALL WE WANTED TO DO WAS TRANSFER MONEY FOR OUR LONG OXFORD STAY AND SAVE SOME $$

 

[Ann]

Completely unlike our experieces, Lisa. We used xe.com several times now, and when I screwed up once, Customer Service was very helpful. It really is weird! Steve, did you go forward with xe.com?

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Completely unlike our experieces, Lisa. We used xe.com several times now, and when I screwed up once, Customer Service was very helpful. It really is weird! Steve, did you go forward with xe.com?

Ann, I found it rather freaky. And the customer service rep would not provide any clarification. I wonder if it has something to do with Canadian regulations. But if that's the case, they should make it clear on their website. xe.com used to be a Canadian company. I filed an online complaint with BB and am going to send money the old fashioned way and just eat the extra charges.
I'm moving on to travel plans and just hope there is no identity or banking theft.