Edo

Hi all

I need to transfer a relatively large sum to UK to pay off my mortgage. I have never used banks before as I heard that they charge obnoxious fees on transfers. I have used CanadianForex and Transferwise in the past but those were for relatively smaller sums (>$25k). I am sure there are new entrants to the market since then that I don't know of but does anyone have any recommendations? Timeline is important but not crucial. Transfer fee on the other hand would be the biggest determining factor.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hurlabrick

I used TW to move all my UK house proceeds from the UK to Canada.

Edo

Thanks Hurlabrick . Seems like their fees have increased but I will give them a shout to see if they can compensate that with a better rate.

Any pointers on how to negotiate with the savvy FX traders would be helpful

DigitalGhost

Maybe talk to these people. https://www.globalreachgroup.ca/contact

They offer a service whereby if you know the amount you want to move then they will use monitoring and data science to exchange it at the exact point when you are likely to get the best rate. I was going to use them last year but my needs were pretty basic and simple tbh and they were asking for a bit more personal info than I was really comfortable with sharing.

Edo

Thank you!

DigitalGhost

No problem. They seemed very professional when I dealt with them. I just wasn't prepared to hand over everything they wanted but the UK and EU have such ridiculous anti-money laundering laws these days that it can make financial institutions a real pain to deal with at times. If you're dealing with an office based in Canada then the process may be easier.

Mordko

I used Skrill a few times. Worked very well. Midpoint exchange rate and the transfer to our British bank account was instantaneous.

Edo

Thanks. Do you know if there are any transfer limits on Skrill?

Siouxie

It's in their Money Transfer terms and conditions, but doesn't give specifics.
https://www.skrill.com/en/footer/ter...nd-conditions/
and under section 9 of their Account terms of use https://www.skrill.com/en/footer/ter...unttermsofuse/

Edo

Thank you. I was looking for this information but I couldn't find it on their website so I appreciate your help.

Siouxie

Very welcome
You may find these 2 review sites of use too (they mention limits and some of the downfalls - such as money being transferred to US and then to CAD)
https://www.finder.com/ca/skrill
(pan down for review)

https://transumo.com/skrill-review/
https://transumo.com/money-transfer-services/

Mordko

The “finder” review does not match my experience of moving money from CAD to our UK bank account. In particular, the rate was mid-market or “interbank”. But it may have changed. Was the cheapest of the options available at the time (last time ~6 months ago).

Also, Finder claims that it takes 2 to 5 business days before recipient gets the money. Every time I used Skrill, the money appeared in our UK account instantly.

Possible issue is that Skrill offers two services:

1. Skrill Money Transfer and
2. Skrill to Skrill

The latter is not recommended. The “finder” review does not seem to specify which money transfer service they are talking about, but the fee structure appears to suggest Skrill to Skrill.

This review matches my experience: https://www.monito.com/en/send-money-with/skrill

The maximum you can move from CAD to GBP is just over $18,000 per transfer.