Re: Money transfer:
 

I just signed up for currencyfair and will do some comparisons with transferwise. What I did find a bit unsettling is that they made absolutely no attempt to verify my identity - heaven knows how they comply with KYC regulations....

edit: they do require ID for transfers > 1000 EUR. Still somewhat surprised by that.

Re: Money transfer:
 

Interesting.

CurrencyFair are also a 'peer to peer' currency exchange company (the same principle as TransferWise - i.e. NOT a 'true' FOREX company).

However, they say the overall charge is 'on average' 0.38% of the amount transferred (so could be more, could be less), whereas TransferWise fix them at 0.25%.

TransferWise do the same thing regarding id for currency transfers, albeit I do not know what their threshold is. I had to submit a scan of my drivers licence for a transfer (in the region of £10k) and tell them both the source of the money and what it was going to be used for in Canada.

Re: Money transfer:
 

It's important to compare like with like: Currencyfair charge a small (3-euro or equivalent) fee for transfers. Transferwise charge a percentage. So the Currencyfair "0.38% figure" just tells us that the average amount exchanged by currencyfair users is 789 euros (or equivalent in other currencies) - not that Currencyfair is more expensive than Transferwise. If the exchange rates offered by both companies are the same, Currencyfair should be cheaper for transfers over 1200 euros (or equivalent in other currencies).

Re: Money transfer:
 

What do you mean by this? Why is one "true" and another not?

Re: Money transfer:
 

My terminology and my own definition!


A 'classic' FOREX company takes your GBP, exchanges this on the money markets into CAD (at a rate that gives them a margin) then pays it to your designated overseas account (often using SWIFT).


These new 'peer to peer' companies instead take 'your' GBP, banks it into a GBP ESCROW bank account. They then 'match' this to people wanting to come the other way (i.e. exchange CAD for GBP), which they do by paying Canadian dollars into a normal Canadian ESCROW bank account. They then pay you the agreed CAD from this Canadian account to your designated CAD bank account. So 'your' money is never actually directly converted to CAD. At the risk of labouring the point, think of it like you are I both know and trust each other and both want to convert roughly £GBP1000 - we agree on the exchange rate to use and I simply pay £1k into your British bank account while at the same time you pay $1740 into my Canadian bank account - happy days - no money is ever actually 'converted' via the money markets!

Re: Money transfer:
 

I'm late to this I know, but I've been using ClearFX (Send money overseas with ClearFX – Great exchange rates, no fees, trading in Canada as CanadianForex) (Get the best international wire transfer online. No transfer limit and often no fee. | CanForex | CAForex) for transfers between the UK, Canada and Australia for several years. They're very close to Transferwise in terms of value/rates (ClearFX's margin is built into the rate, so no additional fee) and way better than the banks! There is a recurring transfer facility so once you're set up, it can be set and forget. You do have to identify yourself and state the purpose of the transfer, but that's a one off process.

So another potential option.

Re: Money transfer:
 

A couple of years ago I used CanadianForex that was recommended to me by someone on here. Any thoughts if they are still competitive in exchange rate and service?

Re: Money transfer:
 

I also use TransferWise. Great service.

Re: Money transfer:
 

I did my latest on Thursday night at 8.15 my time (12.15am Fri UK).

My confirmatory email suggested it would be in my Canadian bank Friday evening. I didn't believe that and then Friday there was an email saying "taking a bit longer, now likely Monday".

This has happened every time - the second email about a delay, that is - but it's not a criticism because every time there hasn't been that delay.
I got up Saturday morning and there was the money in the account :thumbup:

Re: Money transfer:
 

Do you use TransferWise for big amounts?

Re: Money transfer:
 

Yes. I did £GBP100k a couple of weeks ago.

Re: Money transfer:
 

Funny!


I did a transfer Friday morning 07:30 UK time same day as you (sort of). They said it would be in the target Canadian account by COP Friday. I also later got a 'now likely Monday', which is what it turned out to be. Perfectly happy with either, but good that they let me know.

Re: Money transfer:
 

could it be that doing a Friday transfer to expect the funds Monday because of its just the weekend?

Or, what if you were to do the transfer on a Monday, would it be in your Canadian account Monday or Tuesday?

Re: Money transfer:
 

That! ;)

Re: Money transfer:
 

Dunno!


I was wondering if it was a time zone thing. As I finalised the transfer at the UK end by 08:00 UK time, which of course is several hours before banks are even open in Canada - so to me it wasn't impossible for the payment to go through at the Canadian end that day.


Either way, I was / am perfectly happy with next day arrival in the Canadian bank account. IIRC all of my previous transfers with TW have been next day.