The World's #1 Russian, Ukrainian & Eastern European Discussion & Information Forum - RUA!

This Is the Premier Discussion Forum on the Net for Information and Discussion about Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Discuss Culture, Politics, Travelling, Language, International Relationships and More. Chat with Travellers, Locals, Residents and Expats. Ask and Answer Questions about Travel, Culture, Relationships, Applying for Visas, Translators, Interpreters, and More. Give Advice, Read Trip Reports, Share Experiences and Make Friends.

Author Topic: Banking - Transferwise  (Read 17490 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline SL0413

  • Member
  • Posts: 133
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Engaged
  • Trips: 1-5
Banking - Transferwise
« on: August 13, 2018, 06:53:41 PM »
Hello,

Has anyone here used Transferwise?  If so, do you have a borderless account with them or do you just use them to send money?




Online andrewfi

  • Supporting Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20730
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
    • Articles About Almost Anything!
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2018, 09:30:06 PM »
Yes, yes, yes. The purpose of Transferwise is to send money.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!

Offline SL0413

  • Member
  • Posts: 133
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Engaged
  • Trips: 1-5
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2018, 09:59:48 PM »
I was thinking of using Transferwise as a piggy bank.  I will be travelling to Greece later this month, and then back to Ukraine at the end of the year.

My bank charges ATM fees and foreign transaction fees.  I was thinking of setting up a borderless account and use their debit Mastercard while in Greece or other EU countries.  When in Ukraine I could transfer funds to my fiance's account or see about opening my own account there.

Any thoughts?  Or do you recommend opening a regular account at an international bank like Raiffeisen?





Offline msmoby

  • BANNED
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11242
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • BANNED
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2018, 11:05:50 PM »
I was thinking of using Transferwise as a piggy bank.  I will be travelling to Greece later this month, and then back to Ukraine at the end of the year.

My bank charges ATM fees and foreign transaction fees.  I was thinking of setting up a borderless account and use their debit Mastercard while in Greece or other EU countries.  When in Ukraine I could transfer funds to my fiance's account or see about opening my own account there.

Any thoughts?  Or do you recommend opening a regular account at an international bank like Raiffeisen?

They use a system akin to computers ( peer to peer exchange)

If you need to exchange USD for Euro - they match someone else doing the opposite.. Your USD don't leave your country and vice versa - hence cheaper

Started off by the Skype founders

IF you have time to order - get yourself one of their debit cards
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline msmoby

  • BANNED
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11242
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • BANNED
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2018, 11:08:02 PM »
Re the Raiffeisen - my personal experience of them is if a subsidiary of theirs makes a HUGE, costly mistake  - they do not give a ... but when you bring the banking ombudsman in - miracles happen - but they lost our biz,,, NOT to be trusted IMHO 
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Steveboy

  • Commercial Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5608
  • Country: ru
  • Gender: Male
  • Status: In The Business
  • Trips: Resident
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2018, 11:23:38 PM »
I think its best to just stick to a debit card.. me personally couldn't be bothered with all the hassle do a transfer here, transfer there, making sure it all worked and all that..

I would just rather pay the small fee at the ATM and get on with things..
I support no government anywhere, ever, never. No institution, No religion!!

Offline Wiz

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5131
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2018, 02:10:54 AM »
Where are you going in Greece?

Wherever you go there are plenty of ATM machines around and you can choose the English language to follow instructions. As Steve said... use your debit card and don't bother opening accounts etc..... even using cash you have to change to Euro anyway..... and pay the difference.

Small advice: Always have cash in your pocket as many restaurants or shops do not take cards... (will tell you that internet is not working to avoid paying tax. Very old Trick).

At the shops, they will take any currency in Cash.....to make a sale.
Wife had some Rubles left and not enough Euro.... so they accepted the difference in Rubles.

I was born in Greece so ask any questions.
Why the sun does not shine on the Ex- British Empire Anymore? Because God never trusted an Englishman in the dark!

Online Markje

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8552
  • Country: nl
  • Gender: Male
  • MCMLXXIV
    • Mark's unix pages
  • Spouses Country: Crimea
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2018, 02:31:44 AM »
No. Transferwise does not work here and within europe there are no fees with my bank

Transferwise is expensive as well. 10 euro for a 1000 euro transfer
OO===[][]===OO
My first trip to my wife: To Evpatoria!
My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

Offline msmoby

  • BANNED
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11242
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • BANNED
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2018, 02:36:53 AM »
No. Transferwise does not work here and within europe there are no fees with my bank

????  Transferwise  works everywhere - perhaps not in Crimea - but just change your IP address
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Steveboy

  • Commercial Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5608
  • Country: ru
  • Gender: Male
  • Status: In The Business
  • Trips: Resident
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2018, 02:50:39 AM »
Its really weird!! I have never made transfer in the last 15 years..  :eeekk:
I support no government anywhere, ever, never. No institution, No religion!!

Online andrewfi

  • Supporting Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20730
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
    • Articles About Almost Anything!
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2018, 04:47:37 AM »
Mark, where doesn't Transferwise work?
Where do you send money with such a high fee? It isn't, for example Euro/Ruble. Also, when considering the fee one should look at the rate. When you use your bank for 'free' what is the margin on the conversion? For ease Transferwise uses the midmarket rate and that's a much better deal than most consumer level clients will get elsewhere.

For those unaware, the company sends money from one currency to another. They do so quite quickly and cheaply.

It is not for sending money within a single currency area, although in some cases it can be done.

If you want a debit card you can have one. Some ATM withdrawals are free but others have charges.

The ideal use case for the Borderless Account is probably a person, or business, receiving money in various currencies and wishing to be able to easily manage those balances and with low friction move the money to where it is needed, both denominationally and geographically.

As an ideal use case client I find the service to be very useful, cost-effective and convenient. I am certain that one could find aspects of the service done cheaper elsewhere but I have yet to see a competitor offering a better deal overall and, in most cases, those other options are likely not available to most readers of this thread for regulatory reasons. Transferwise have jumped through the hoops to allow most people to access the services they offer.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!

Offline msmoby

  • BANNED
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11242
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • BANNED
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2018, 05:06:53 AM »
You might try revolut

They do ever changing virtual debit cards and actual ones...

A friend I recommended to Transferwise got fed up when trying to open an account for his non EU wife and just opened an account with them

Too early to tell how he is fairing
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Online AvHdB

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14933
  • Country: nl
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine, Kiev
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2018, 07:05:29 AM »
For anyone with a foreign partner there are two (sometimes 3) banking regulation/laws that must be met.

The depositors countries laws as one and the recipients countries laws as two.

The easiest, fastest and in fact not expensive banking system is MoneyGram followed by Western Union. A while back I looked at TransferWise and both I and Julia had issues with it.

If there is a long term commitment to a partner than obtaining a debit card that works in the country of residency of said partner is the way to go. It stands to reason the remitter/sender has a enough contact with the bank to obtain such a debit card for the recipient.

The 3rd set of laws is if said party travels to a third country.
“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” T.S. Eliot

Offline SL0413

  • Member
  • Posts: 133
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Engaged
  • Trips: 1-5
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2018, 07:22:32 AM »
I found out about and used Transferwise to send money to a friend in Poland for a sailboat rental this month in Greece.  It had the lowest rate for money transfer that I found - less than 1% - along with a good conversion rate.

Perhaps for Greece I will take cash and convert to Euro or use my bank debit card. 

I am planning to stay in Ukraine for 2 months at the end of the year.  I am wondering whether I should open the transferwise borderless account or a local bank account in Ukraine with an international bank (or backed by an international bank).  I would still need to transfer money to the local account, so I thought to skip opening the local account and transfer money to my fiance's account.  My concern there is if she wises up and kicks me out.  :P

Wiz, I will send you a PM about my Greece trip. 




Offline msmoby

  • BANNED
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11242
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • BANNED
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2018, 07:25:37 AM »
AvHdB

Of you think MG or WU are faster and or cheaper than giving your loved one a debit card that us designed for foreign use you are VERY mistaken.

Please pay attention to the OPs Q and you will learn something to your benefit
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Steveboy

  • Commercial Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5608
  • Country: ru
  • Gender: Male
  • Status: In The Business
  • Trips: Resident
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #15 on: August 14, 2018, 07:29:55 AM »
I found out about and used Transferwise to send money to a friend in Poland for a sailboat rental this month in Greece.  It had the lowest rate for money transfer that I found - less than 1% - along with a good conversion rate.

Perhaps for Greece I will take cash and convert to Euro or use my bank debit card. 

I am planning to stay in Ukraine for 2 months at the end of the year.  I am wondering whether I should open the transferwise borderless account or a local bank account in Ukraine with an international bank (or backed by an international bank).  I would still need to transfer money to the local account, so I thought to skip opening the local account and transfer money to my fiance's account.  My concern there is if she wises up and kicks me out.  :P

Wiz, I will send you a PM about my Greece trip.


Here is the best advice you can possibly get! NEVER TRANSFER ANY MONEY INTO ANYONES BANK IN UKRAINE!! EVER EVER!

 tiphat




I support no government anywhere, ever, never. No institution, No religion!!

Online AvHdB

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14933
  • Country: nl
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine, Kiev
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2018, 07:32:55 AM »

Here is the best advice you can possibly get! NEVER TRANSFER ANY MONEY INTO ANYONES BANK IN UKRAINE!! EVER EVER!


I agree with Steve, DO NOT DO THIS, get your partner an American debit card.
“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” T.S. Eliot

Online AvHdB

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14933
  • Country: nl
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine, Kiev
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2018, 07:42:35 AM »
I found out about and used Transferwise to send money to a friend in Poland for a sailboat rental this month in Greece. 


What sort of vessel? Who has the license/tickets/certificate?

So you understand ASA is generally not accepted on the Adriatic/Aegean.
“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” T.S. Eliot

Online Markje

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8552
  • Country: nl
  • Gender: Male
  • MCMLXXIV
    • Mark's unix pages
  • Spouses Country: Crimea
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2018, 08:34:00 AM »
Mark, where doesn't Transferwise work?
Where do you send money with such a high fee?

Crimea of course. Trying to send 1000 euro to rouble. Arrival 980 euro with a 76 rub to 1 euro conversion rate.

Then after accept some sort of technical issue occured (sure  (:))
OO===[][]===OO
My first trip to my wife: To Evpatoria!
My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

Offline SL0413

  • Member
  • Posts: 133
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Engaged
  • Trips: 1-5
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2018, 09:40:01 AM »


What sort of vessel? Who has the license/tickets/certificate?

So you understand ASA is generally not accepted on the Adriatic/Aegean.


The Polish friend who organized the trip has a Polish and Royal Yachting license (PZZ JSM and VHF RYA) and one of his friends has a Polish license (PZZ ZJ)

Last time they went on the trip (I didn't go) it was a 14 meter monohull with 4 cabins.  I didn't ask for specifics but I think it's the same or similar again.


Offline Manny

  • Moderator
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19719
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #20 on: August 14, 2018, 10:27:59 AM »
I didn't have much luck with Transferwise trying to send money into China. There seem to be many restrictions as to what you can and can't do with dollars (I assume they must be US registered) and which currencies you can go to and from in as well. It seems everything I wanted to do had hurdles attached or wasn't possible.

I use HIFX to send money overseas now. Never any problems with them. Rates seem decent enough and the service is good.

I use an EU based bank account denominated in Euros for anything within the Eurozone. And a Russian one if in Russia. If I didn't have access to a local currency account, I'd generally take £ cash and change it there.

Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline SL0413

  • Member
  • Posts: 133
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Engaged
  • Trips: 1-5
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #21 on: August 14, 2018, 01:06:35 PM »
Thank you for the information and advise.

I think I'll open a second account here in the States, one that has no foreign transaction fees.  I think Capital One 360 or Schwab, and transfer money into that account as needed.


Online andrewfi

  • Supporting Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20730
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
    • Articles About Almost Anything!
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #22 on: August 15, 2018, 06:34:36 AM »

Crimea of course. Trying to send 1000 euro to rouble. Arrival 980 euro with a 76 rub to 1 euro conversion rate.

Then after accept some sort of technical issue occured (sure  (:))

It was almost certainly an error because the charges of Transferwise into Rubles are not as you suggest. As you know, you see the charges and exchange rate before you make the transfer so if it the output was different to that shown when you made the transfer something was wrong and the charges shown on the site are not as you originally said. As I recall, Russia is slightly more costly than some corridors though.

Manny, when you tried to pay Chinese suppliers were you using the Borderless account service or just the normal Transfer service? For the normal transfer service there are limitations on transferring in funds that are not local to your country but with the Borderless account you maintain a balance in dollars (or whatever), or add funds and convert and then pay using your Transferwise provided US bank account details. So, for example, I can't use the basic service to pay a recipient in Euros from a UK account denominated in Sterling but I can add Sterling to my Borderless account, change it to Euros and send it anywhere.

You can also use your Borderless debit card to make purchases online or in person with the currency conversion handled from your balances and, where necessary converted on the fly. So, if paying a Chinese supplier in dollars you'd do it as with any debit card with conversions handled transparently.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!

Offline Manny

  • Moderator
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19719
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouses Country: Russia
  • Status: Married
  • Trips: 20+
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #23 on: August 15, 2018, 07:27:31 AM »
Manny, when you tried to pay Chinese suppliers were you using the Borderless account service or just the normal Transfer service? For the normal transfer service there are limitations on transferring in funds that are not local to your country but with the Borderless account you maintain a balance in dollars (or whatever), or add funds and convert and then pay using your Transferwise provided US bank account details. So, for example, I can't use the basic service to pay a recipient in Euros from a UK account denominated in Sterling but I can add Sterling to my Borderless account, change it to Euros and send it anywhere.

You can also use your Borderless debit card to make purchases online or in person with the currency conversion handled from your balances and, where necessary converted on the fly. So, if paying a Chinese supplier in dollars you'd do it as with any debit card with conversions handled transparently.

I opened whatever the basic account is. It didn't do what I wanted it to do, so I wasn't inclined to delve into it and find out why not and open other types of account hoping it might do what I wanted it to do.

Indeed I wanted to send Yuan funded by Euros - no. Another time I wanted to send dollars to China - no. I was going to send some Euros to Estonia but HIFX offered a better deal. I looked at sending to Russia and there was some issue there too - maybe not even on the list, I forget now. At which point I decided it didn't suit my purpose because HIFX does all those things with no hoop jumping.
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Online andrewfi

  • Supporting Member
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20730
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
    • Articles About Almost Anything!
Re: Banking - Transferwise
« Reply #24 on: August 15, 2018, 09:53:44 AM »
It takes a moment to open the borderless account and I bet you will find it convenient for all your cross currency transactions due to the way that it handles balsnces and, in effect, gives you several bank accounts in several countries.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!


 

 

Registration