Posted: Thu Jun 4, 2020 12:04pm
@Pat44 - Unlike the other posters, I have not used Transferwise but they clearly come highly recommended.
I have also been recommended Revolut which appears to operate in a similar way. What I would point out is that Transferwise ARE regulated by the FCA, which gives you a little more comfort that your money is safe. I don't believe Revolut is.
All that said, you have not indicated how much you are looking to transfer?
You may be wondering about Transferwise v a Broker, if you are looking at moving a large amount of money across, say from the sale of a property, so I have just done some calculations.
What I get is an exchange rate which is 15 pips being the live market rate, refreshed every 10 seconds. There is a difference between mid-market rates (such as XE.com that most currency exchanges on the street use) and live rates, such as that which Transferwise is also using.
For example, if you were transferring say £ 100,000 with Transferwise (current rate = 1.12064) you would receive €111,650.60
With a broker, running 15 pips behind the live market rate, you would receive (1.12064-0.0015= 1.11914) you would receive €111,914
That means you would be €264 better off with a broker.
For smaller amounts, I have quickly calculated that a broker would gain you around 20€ per transaction.
In summary, Transferwise get a big thumbs up from respected forum members but it will be down to you to work out whether those small amounts add up enough for you to contact a broker?
Hope it helps
(rate calculations were from last nights rate... I forgot to post!)