How do YOU transfer money overseas?
We used to do it with a traditional wire transfer from our Canadian bank until we heard about Wise (formerly “Transferwise”).
Now we save about 3% per transfer and we get the money in our overseas account within seconds.
Our major issue before deciding to use Wise was trust. Who are these people? Are they going to steal my money?
Wise is listed on the London Stock Exchange and valued at 11 Billion US. It was started up by the same people who started up Skype and has investors such as Richard Branson and Fidelity Investments (I know Fidelity because I’ve had mutual funds with them for over 10 years through my bank). They have over 13 million customers around the world.
Once I knew all the above I decided to try a test using Wise.
Look at the difference (this test was done in September 2021 so don’t get shocked by the exchange rate. Look instead at the exchange rate difference and the difference in the money you receive)
A. A traditional bank transfer with my bank
Amount to transfer $2500 CAD
Exchange rate: .6487
Gross amount 1,621.75 Euros
Less transfer fee
(6 CAD *.6487) – 3.89 Euros
Net Euros received 1,617.86
Our Canadian bank has a daily transfer limit of $2500 and a transfer fee of $6 CAD per transaction. The money takes 2 days to reach our Spanish bank.
Biggest disadvantage – the padded exchange rate.
B. A transfer using Wise
Amount to transfer $2500 CAD
Fees: -13.70 CAD
Net 2,486.30 CAD
Exchange rate: .67064
Net Euros received 1,667.41
Above were the results of our 1st transfer with Wise. The fees with Wise are actually higher than fees on a bank transfer but the big difference is the exchange rate. The reason is that Wise uses mid-market rates (ie. real rates) set by the market, not padded rates like the banks. So they don’t make their money on the exchange rate, they make money on the commission.
Analysis – Transferring using Wise (vs the bank) we saved 49.55 Euros, the equivalent of $74 CAD on a $2500 CAD transfer. $74/2500 = 2.96% saving.
Not only do I save money, transfers are done almost instantaneously. After my 1st transfer above, I set up my Wise account so that all I have to do is click a few buttons. The average time it takes me to exchange/transfer my Canadian dollars – from my Canadian bank to my Spanish bank – is under 10 seconds. The first time Wise was telling me that the transfer was done in 7 seconds. I couldn’t believe it. I went to my Spanish account and the money was sitting there. 7 seconds!! That’s unbelievable.
3% might not seem like a huge saving. I transfer about $2500 Canadian from my Canadian bank about once a month so I save $75. It won’t change my life but it’s enough to cover my monthly electricity and internet bills.
But imagine if you need to transfer money to make a major purchase like house or a car. That 3% will result in big savings. That’s why you should chose Wise.
Want to use Wise? Register here. It’s easy.
Note: we get a small commission if you register using the link above. But we totally stand by it, we use Wise for ALL our transfers. 100% recommended, I swear by it!
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Brigitte, sounds good – thanks! And did your US bank charge you an outgoing wire fee? I’m with Chase and the charge $5 which is pretty reasonable. I recently transferred money into my Chase account form an EU account and Chase charged me $25, I think I’m going to start using Wise.
Thanks for the info. I have. question about fees for incoming transfers from a Wise account to a Spanish bank account (BBVA). Currently, BBVA charges me a hefty fee for an incoming wire transfer from the US. Would I still be subject to this fee if the transfer was from a Wise account? In other words, would BBVA consider the transfer from Wise to be a domestic (free) transfer or an international transfer? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Hi Karl,
I send myself transfers all the time from my Canadian account to my Sabadell account here in Spain. There are no charges.
I just looked up the details of my latest transfer and Sabadell has it as “TRANSFER PAYMENT FROM TransferWise” in the description and “FOREIGN OPERATIONS” as an “Item”.
Really, I can’t tell you in the case of BBVA. Maybe try it out? If you get charged, maybe change your account type? With Sabadell I pay a 40 Euro account fee every 3 months. But that’s it…
Frank
Hi Karl,
Any Spanish bank – including BBVA – will charge you a fee for receiving a transfer starting in a NON European country. I made the painful experience myself.
I opened a Wise account – and problem solved – The reason: Wise makes TWO transactions:
The first from your US-based bank to their bank in Belgium.
The second part from their Belgium bank to BBVA Spain – so no charge from Sabadell.
Only a few days ago, by using Wise, I transferred $1,200 dollars from my PNC Bank in Florida to my account in at Sabadell Bank in Spain. 1,195 euros posted on my bank account in Spain in …… 8 seconds.
Thank you very much Brigitte for explaining the mechanics of it. I didn’t know it myself…all I knew was that there were no charges in incomings.
It IS amazing. I first tried it last year and was amazed, especially seeing the little hourglasses showing the progress of payment. And as you say, having it literally land in your account 8 seconds later. Got my mom on it too and that’s now all she uses.
Very useful advice. Transparent; to the point. Targeting most important issues those of us planning to move to Spain will need to tackle first.. Thanks so much!
Thank you Carolina 🙂