 Poster: A snowHead
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Have to pay my hotel in wagrain a deposit, and the coach transfer company the full fare in advance. My bank wants to charge me silly money to transfer the money and I've have seen a peer-to-peer company, transferwise, mentioned as a possible alternative. Has anyone used them? Can anyone suggest any other alternatives?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nickH, They have worked very well for us both sending and receiving...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Do they not accept Credit Cards?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanksunder a new name, are they reasonably fast & are their exchange rates reasonable?
NoCorduroy, regrettably not which seems a common problem with Austrian hotels
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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nickH, used them without issue (think it took a couple days) - exchange rate seemed good as well.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks all, giving them a go
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Hey guys,
I am from Austria and studied in the UK. I have transferred my money (EUR-GBP) for 4 years without any problems.
After graduation, I started working there. I can now refer other clients which get their first transfer for up to 3000 pounds for free.
Just register with the following link and you will have this unique free transfer:
https://transferwise.com/u/1f417d
Happy to help you,
Klemens
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Thu 19-10-17 20:13; edited 1 time in total
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I use them too and have posted my link up here and on face book. When three people used it they sent me 50 quid. A very good company and great rates.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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As an alternative I used to have to transfer quite often for holiday flat rentals and I found Global Web Pay to be good and reliable, and a lot cheaper than High St Banks.
www.globalwebpay.com
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I usually use Transferwise to make payments to Euroland but, at the moment, they aren't accepting payments to ADAC for some undisclosed reason.
Any good alternatives these days?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I used to use Transferwise, who were great but now I use these guys:
https://www.revolut.com
You get true mid-market rates, and transfers have no bank fees to most European countries. You also get a pay-as-you-go debit card, multiple currency accounts, and there are many other benefits.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@nickH, Another vote for Transferwise. I use them for multiple currencies and like the fact that I can hold currency in Euro, US and a few other bank accounts. Worth adding a few Euros for spending money when the exchange rates are good. My link for the £50 introduction https://transferwise.com/invite/u/simont6
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@RedandWhiteFlachau, thanks for that, but my original post was dec '13 and I did indeed end up using them.
It is @altis, that has reopened the post seemingly looking for an alternative
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You know it makes sense.
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@altis, Revoult Card
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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+1 Revolut. Brilliant. Think it is now better than TW, who may well have been the standard bearer a few years ago.
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Poster: A snowHead
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+1 for Revolut.
However, note that from September the maximum free transfer on the basic (free) account drops to £1000 per month.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Totally understand that organisations like Revolut and Transferwise offer better exchange rates. But am I right in thinking that they are neither banks nor credit cards, so you don't get either chargeback or S75 protection if something goes wrong?
ISTR reading that they typically receive instructions, then match opposite movements, then pay out later in the day. So IF there comes a day when they run out of money / go into liquidation in the middle of the day, the onward payments will simply not be made. And there will be no comeback - customers simply become creditors and only get a proportion (which could be zero) of their money back.
(That doesn't mean there won't be circumstances where they are useful - just need to be careful).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@ecureuil, from transferwise website. They are regulated by the FCA
We safeguard your money
When you use TransferWise, we safeguard your money in established financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank. Safeguarding means that, by law, we have to keep all of your money in accounts that are completely separate from the ones we use to run our business. So, if anything were to happen to TransferWise, your money would be safe.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@holidayloverxx, they would say that! But actually they don't. They are authorised by the FCA, not regulated - and there is a big difference. Authorisation just means that they are permitted to make electronic money transfers, and is no guarantee of suffiicent reserves. Dozens of FCA-authorised firms cease trading every year, many with debts - and in those circumstances I don't think anyone is covered by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme).
True FCA-regulated entities, like banks and insurance companies, have to hold sufficient reserves that they can meet most adverse events, and if things go really wrong the FSCS kicks in to protect most people.
I still think Transferwise and others operate like I said. They first match payment in opposite directions where possible. So then only have to exchange any unmatched balances. It sometimes take 24 hours before the recipient gets the payment, and until that happens the payer is at risk of something going wrong. Probably low, perhaps very low, risk. But not as low as a bank - which is one reason why they are cheaper.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I'm living in Belgium but am paid in the UK and use Transferwise.
They are very good...dead easy to use the app, quick transfers, cheap cost and good exchange rates.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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+1 for Transferwise.
Use regularly to send money to France, the app is superb. Also recently used to send money to a niece in Ireland for a birthday present by just sending money to her email address, not sure it worked her end but all so easy.
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As long as you can afford to lose it ... 
I am comfortable using Transferwise or similar for relatively small amounts, where I won't have a big problem if I lose it. But no-one has yet provided any evidence that there is any form of protection in the (small but not zero) chance that things go wrong. So for larger amounts I think I am more comfortable paying a bit more to have the protection.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Straight from Transferwise website.
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Is my money covered by a financial protection scheme?
TransferWise doesn’t protect your money in financial protection schemes like the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Traditional banks are required to put customers' money in a financial protection scheme. This is because they make profit by lending and risking customers' money, and need to insure it up to a certain amount in case something goes wrong.
TransferWise isn't a bank. We don't lend your money or make high-risk investments with it. So, we don't insure it in a financial protection scheme.
Instead, we use safeguarding to protect 100% of your money.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means that, by law, we have to keep all of your money in accounts that are completely separate from the ones we use to run our business. So, if anything were to happen to TransferWise, your money would be safe.
Where is my money stored?
TransferWise keeps your money in established financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase and Barclays. Where your money is depends on which country your TransferWise account address is in — if your account address in the UK, for example, we keep your money in Barclays, or other financial institutions in the EEA.
What would happen if TransferWise became insolvent?
Because your money is always kept separately from the accounts we use to run TransferWise, it wouldn’t be affected if we were to become insolvent. We’d return all of your money to you.
If something were to happen to one of the banks we store your money in (like Barclays or JP Morgan Chase), then your money wouldn’t be protected. We wouldn’t be able to give your money back in that situation.
Who regulates TransferWise?
TransferWise follows strict rules set by regulators in every country we operate in. These include the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and EEA, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the US, the National Bank of Belgium in Belgium, and many other regulators around the world. The address on your TransferWise account determines which regulator you’re covered by.
These agencies are there to protect you. And they make sure that we’re always acting honestly and fairly. |
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As I said before, they would say that...
Having dug a bit further, from the FCA website:
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Safeguarding
APIs and EMIs protect your money through an internal process known as safeguarding. ...
APIs and EMIs must either keep your money separate from their own money, or protect it with an insurance policy or comparable guarantee. This should mean that, if that company becomes insolvent, you get most of your money back.
But it could take longer to be refunded than if your money was in a bank, and some costs are likely to be deducted by the administrator or liquidator of the insolvent company. For that reason, you may not get all your money back.
Once an API or EMI is authorised, the FCA expects that they safeguard correctly. To check whether an API or EMI is authorised, use the FS Register. If the EMI or API is not safeguarding properly, you could get nothing back at all. |
(My bold)
TransferWise Limited (although not TransferWise Ltd) is an authorised EMI, but using them is totally dependent on them 'safeguarding properly' - something that the FCA 'expects' them to do. But I doubt they are going to publicise the fact if they are not, so the first someone would know about it is if they fail ...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The problem with Revolute is actually contacting someone when you have an issue. Their customer server is probably the worse I've ever encountered.
I have found Transferwise have been much better in this respect and you can usually get through to someone who can help. They are my go to service for business Euro transfers. I'd never trust Revolute to the any degree now and have moved to Starling for small Euro transactions.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| AndAnotherThing.. wrote: |
| The problem with Revolute is actually contacting someone when you have an issue. Their customer server is probably the worse I've ever encountered. |
I did have a problem a while back with a card purchase and tried to contact them and did not have much success, as noted on the Revolut. Thread, which was compounded by their undoubted use of “customer service “ bot agents (possibly the most annoying technological development on the internet).
I don’t know about worse ever as I’m sure there would be a fair bit of competition in that category.
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FAQ
