What is the best way to transfer money overseas?
I've spoken about this before but it's a question that comes up on a regular basis.
Ok put simply theres 2 ways to transfer money:
Use your bank or,
Use a third party foreign exchange company
Here’s the bad news. The interbank rate or the rate you see on xe.com, you’re not gonna get that, but the goal is to get as close to it as possible.
If you use your bank, they add a much larger spread to the exchange rate, yes they may not charge you a fixed transaction fee when sending from one currency to another but they are charging you quite a hefty commission. You’re always much better off using a third party exchange company. Yes, even if you are HSBC Premier.
So here’s how it works.
You set up an account with a third party FX company, they’ll need proof of ID and residence for this, ie Passport and Emirates ID for the UAE
You tell them how much you want to transfer for example 30000aed into GBP. They will then give you a rate
You send the money to their client account and give them your receiving bank details, they will do the conversion for you and in 2-3 days the money will be in your account.
You’ll always get better rates than what the bank will give you and it’s a relatively simple and stress free process, and who wants to pay the banks more than they need to!
However
Make sure the company you use are regulated somewhere, such as the UK, so you’ve got additional protection AND make sure they will cover any bank fees your bank will charge to transfer money to a third party or it could end up costing you just as much and be a wasted exercise.
Thanks for reading.
Comments