Has anyone transferred a large amount of money abroad?

[Iwantmorechocolate]

What’s the safest/cheapest way? I can’t bear the thought of losing £££ to the bank.

What happens if you start the process, then the pound crashes?

Yes I transferred money from a property sale in Euros to GBP. I used a currency transfer firm, think it was currencies direct, long time ago though so not sure of the details. I checked with them every day for a few weeks until I got a rate that I was happy with. Much cheaper than using the bank!

Yes I did when buying a house abroad, i used a money transfer service that locks into the exchange rate in on the day you agree to move the money so if the pound crashes the rate stays the same. I can’t remember the name of the company, sorry! But it was very easy. It was in 2015 when the Euro exchange was 1.43. Halcyon days.

Yes, I used transferwise.

I used a currency house called HiFX. You secure the rate with them and they act as a middle man. All went through fine.

Is your money safe with these companies? My understanding is that banks are safe, but very very expensive. Companies are cheaper, but there are so many and how do you guarantee safety?

Yes, I've done it for a property purchase. I used World First, who were great, and had lower fees than the others/better rate at that point. I wouldn't use a bank, the rates are much worse, although the bank will likely make you go into a branch to actually make the transfer.

Have used them multiple times since and it's all been very smooth. Even when I'd booked the funds at a particular rate and stated I'd pay that day, then discovered that it wasn't possible to send the money until the following day, they were fine with it. Also you get given your own account manager you could contact directly, which I found very helpful.

I use transferwise for borderless business banking quite large amounts and have also used moneycorp for euro to pound for a house purchase. Transferwise is great, is under German banking law and I’ve been with them 3 years without a hitch.

I use my bank. They tell me the exchange rate before I finalise it, so I can see what exchange rate I am getting & how much it will be. Fees are cheap. I am happy with them.

There are some comparisons here: moneytransfercomparison.com/

When sending a large chunk of money to Australia for their share of inheritance it actually worked out cheaper to use the bank. They let us do a test transfer first too.

We looked at all the online transfer companies first too. It depends how much you're sending what the tipping point for cheapest is.

We used transferwise regularly when we were in Belgium; worked very well for us.

I do this once a year and I use my bank. The fees and exchange rate are ok.

I do this regularly. I used to use TransferWise, but Revolut is now cheaper & better. Both are very safe.

I regular send money via Transfer Wise and have done for over five years

Done with both the bank and with Revolut. Bank was cheaper than any exchange service. Revolut now simpler, but haven't used it with a house sale amount of money.

Re rates, when you book the money, the rate refreshes live on screen, and the rate you get us the rate you lock in at that point.

I use my bank's transfer function. I compare it to transfer companies my friends use (eg Transferwise, Currencies Direct) and it's about the same, maybe a tiny bit more expensive - but after a transfer company messed up a transfer for me years ago, I feel safer going through my bank, rather than to a third party.

Open an account with World First (are you UK resident?). I used them for a few years but they don't support the country we are now resident in so had to close the account. The good thing is you can transfer the funds to them and then book FX transfer later. They will advice on rates based on external factors which are likely to affect rates. It's a much better option than using your bank. Double check what their compensation cap is just in case but it could well be the same as a UK bank.

I see Revolut has already been suggested, but there's also Starling and Monzo.

According to my banking app, it looks like the full official bank rate, plus a fee of around 0.4% for a same day transfer. Not sure how this compares with the other options, but I would have thought that was about as low a risk as you can get and should be protected by the bank guarantee up to £85k (although make your own checks obviously).

Monzo use TransferWise, so I'm not sure if you'd getting a better or worse deal going direct.

It's a good point about the advance booking, it was good to have the money ready and waiting in Euros at a good rate for when the notaire needed the money.