Learn whether the Transferwise is a good option for making international money and currency transfers.
TransferWise is the new, brash kid on the block when it comes to money transfers. With a host of high-profile owners including Richard Branson, they recently landed in Australia, building from their European head office.
The Currency Shop says:
They are a technology-based company. As a result, the online experience is first class.
TransferWise exchange rates fees are competitive and transparent.
Use our comparison table to compare foreign exchange rates, fees and services of other providers.
We’re most interested in how safe TransferWise is, how they work and when you should use them. In this article, we’ll explore:
The History of TransferWise
TransferWise Fees and Charges
How to send or receive money overseas using TransferWise
The Pros and Cons of using TransferWise
It’s a personal story, with TransferWise’s founders, Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, coming up with the idea for an affordable money transfer service because of their own need to send money between accounts in their native Estonia and the UK.
TransferWise has since expanded across Europe as well as servicing clients in the US and Australia.
This is where they are different. TransferWise charge one fee which is a % of your transaction value.
The TransferWise promise? No hidden fees and charges. There’s a nominal flat fee of 0.7% for small amounts and 0.5% for larger amounts. For more information click here
TransferWise uses the mid-market exchange rate to offer competitive exchange rates for transferring money between countries. This rate is also knows as the interbank rate or spot rate - basically, the mid-point between the buy and sell rates on global currency markets.
TransferWise promises a ‘best rate’ guarantee to all customers and commits to price-match any exchange rate you find elsewhere.
Setting up a new TransferWise account profile only takes a few minutes of keying in some basic personal information. The account then needs to be verified and, depending on the type of transfer you’re doing, it may also require some proof of identity verification too. Warning - account profiles must be sent up in exactly the same name as the bank account details being used to pay funds.
Transferwise do not accept any payments via cash deposits or cheques are not accepted. Payments to TransferWise using credit cards or bank transfers must be made from accounts with exactly the same name as the holder of the Transfer Wise account.
The TransferWise bank transfer option is, unfortunately, not available for USD, CAD or JPY currencies.
TransferWise currently accepts credit card payments for sending money from GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, CHF, PLN, NOK, SEK and DKK.
The maximum amount for credit card payments to TransferWise from each available currency are listed here: 2000 GBP, 2500 EUR, 3500 AUD, 4000 NZD, 3500 CHF, 10,000 PLN, 20,000 NOK, 20,000 SEK and 20,000 DKK.
Be aware that, although it seems convenient, paying your funds to TransferWise using a credit card does carry an additional handling fee of 0.3% for GBP, DKK, NOK and SEK, 0.4% for EUR, 0.5% for PLN, as well as 2% for both AUD and NZD.
Check with your bank about any additional fees for using credit card payments as a cash withdrawal.
TransferWise do accept credit card payments via Visa and MasterCard.
Be aware that the name on your credit card must be identical to the name on your TransferWise account. If the name does not match, the transfer will be delayed and may even be cancelled.
AED, AUD, BGN, BRL, CAD, CHF, CLP, COP, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, GEL, HKD, HUF, IDR, INR, JPY, MAD, MXN, MYR, NGN, NOK, NZD, PHP, PKR, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, UAH, USD, ZAR
Offers a very clear and simple fee structure
Less risk - with certainty on what exchange rate you will receive
Online convenience
Ability to pay funds using various payment options (including payment via credit cards and debit cards in many cases)
It's new feature Transferwise Borderless Account
Cannot pay via cash or cheque
Because TransferWise is still a fairly new addition to the foreign exchange market, there are currently a number of global currencies they do not currently support. That may change in the future.
