Sending money abroad
Discussion
Just need a little advice regarding best way to send my daughter some money. She lives and works in Basel, Switzerland (since April). She obviously has a Swiss bank account (UBS) and has only had two months pay going in and now needs to pay quite a lot out all at once, setting up a new apartment with 3 month deposit etc. So we've decided to help out a bit by sending over £3k but not sure which way is best. I have done a small £100 transfer by Torfx.com but the rate wasn't great so wondered if going from bank transfer would be more favourable even if there is a charge. Any advice greatly appreciated as not done this kind of thing before.
Thanks, so I take it that sending direct from bank account to bank account is no better financially than using one of the money senders as mentioned (wise/western union/ Tirfx/Ofx). The ‘trial’ £t100 I sent with Torfx got me a transfer rate of chf 1.22 but bank rate was chf 1.27 so over 3 or 4k the difference would have been about 150 quid even if the bank charges for the service.
As you now know how TorFX work, ie, you've got them set up now as a beneficiary with your bank, they've done the KYC on you, your daughter received the trial funds ok etc, you may as well see what rate they would get you on the £3K. I'd imagine they would have told you that when you came back for a quote on the £3K they'd be able to improve.
I came here to ask exactly the same question. My Son lives in Sweden and has dual nationality. He has inherited a significant sum of money which we need to transfer to him. The solicitor is dealing with it but I need some understanding of the process to be comfortable with their method. I doubt they get asked to do this very often so may not be experts.
monty999 said:
Thanks, so I take it that sending direct from bank account to bank account is no better financially than using one of the money senders as mentioned (wise/western union/ Tirfx/Ofx). The ‘trial’ £t100 I sent with Torfx got me a transfer rate of chf 1.22 but bank rate was chf 1.27 so over 3 or 4k the difference would have been about 150 quid even if the bank charges for the service.
It's utterly crazy but you are correct. I have an account with a UK bank that has a £ account and a € account. It's utterly absurd but when I wanted to change £ to € it was far cheaper for me to use Wise than to convert within my own bank. So the monies left my £ account to arrive with Wise, who then paid in € to the same sodding bank at a far better rate.
monty999 said:
Thanks, so I take it that sending direct from bank account to bank account is no better financially than using one of the money senders as mentioned (wise/western union/ Tirfx/Ofx). The ‘trial’ £t100 I sent with Torfx got me a transfer rate of chf 1.22 but bank rate was chf 1.27 so over 3 or 4k the difference would have been about 150 quid even if the bank charges for the service.
I'm not sure when you made the transfer but that sounds like a poor rate. It's hard to look past transferwise for this kind of stuff. At the very least benchmark against them as they'll give a live quote on their homepage without the need to sign up etc.I’ve used Revolut for some fairly chunky sums.
Transfer mid week and the rates are very keen - a bit or a wider spread on the weekends, but still better than most.
In general, high st banks will have your pants down and I’d not be expecting most solicitors to have a clue either.
Transfer wise have a good reputation, but I’ve never used them.
Transfer mid week and the rates are very keen - a bit or a wider spread on the weekends, but still better than most.
In general, high st banks will have your pants down and I’d not be expecting most solicitors to have a clue either.
Transfer wise have a good reputation, but I’ve never used them.
TransferWise and Revolut are a good option. As someone said above the banks are still terrible at foreign exchange. I'm in the middle where my clients still want to talk to someone but also don't want to be quoted 3.5% by their bank for both a £45K property deposit then the same for the balance payment 
Just a quick update to this if anyone else looking to do the same and thanks for the advice. Used Wise, as recommenced, to send and all went great, landed in my daughters account in Switzerland within minutes of me transferring funds to Wise. Exactly the amount shown was received at the other end. Cost £12 to send, very happy and will definitely use again. Cheers.
I sent money to my elderly inlaws in South Africa quite regularly, id find £100 would turn into £75ish after everyone had there dips first. I ordered a Caxton prepaid credit card, I sent it over in a DHL package so wasn't detected by any of the light fingered brigade at the postoffice. The pin followed in a text, I normally stick £400-£500 every 6 weeks or so, the rate is just a few percent less than what my currency exchange app says. The Fil uses is it like a credit card or draws cash as and when. Only down side is they only have a 3 year life span on the card, so ill have to send another one next September.
monty999 said:
Just a quick update to this if anyone else looking to do the same and thanks for the advice. Used Wise, as recommenced, to send and all went great, landed in my daughters account in Switzerland within minutes of me transferring funds to Wise. Exactly the amount shown was received at the other end. Cost £12 to send, very happy and will definitely use again. Cheers.
Glad it went seamlessly. I use Wise every month as I have a property abroad and it’s been faultless. I also used it for the 6 figure sum required for the purchase and it was the most preferential rate. Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff