Currency Exchange
 

I am giving up on Transferwise/Wise after losing a long term battle trying to get my account (Re-verified) after ten years as a customer.
Can anyone suggest a different company? I just want to transfer a modest (that means a tiny) pension from my UK account to my French one every four weeks. No big bucks transactions, nothing complicated and I am unable to guarantee a minimum amount in any account. In other words I don't have enough income to qualify for some of the big name exchange deals.

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Not to worry, peeps. I found one that seems to work. Slow and expensive but it works.

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Why accept "slow and expensive" when you could have "Quick and inexpensive"?
Try Atlantic Money.

Not a recommendation because I cannot register with them, being resident in the USA, but I hear good things about them.

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Thanks for the tip, a little late though. I just paid £15 for a transfer.
I had a look at Atlantic Money's site. All looking good until I get to the bottom "Get the App". I don't do smartphones so its a non-starter for us.

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I had a proper mare with Wise's verification thing too, but I got there in the end and everything's back to normal. It's worth persevering if you can bear to.

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Very pleased to hear you managed to get there in the end. Wise worked very well and saved me money doing my transfers for many years but having recently spent five days battling with their chat bots and supposed help staff that I suspect might also be "bots" of some kind I have given up. Next month I will try TorFX. Not as cheap as Wise but getting set up with an account was easy, and with help easily available from a live human.

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That's a shame. I used email not chat and they seemed human. My problem was getting the phpto clear enough because my phone was goving up the ghost, stockage too saturé to take a h res pic, but in the end I got someone to take a snap with a digital camera and sent them that and they approved it.

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After World First dumped it's private clients I just went back to using my bank.
£ 9.50 fee and not the best exchange rate but neither enough to be an issue - almost instant and no hassles.

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I guess the old saying "You get what you pay for" is appropriate here. My problem was that I am one of the dinosaurs that refuse to put my entire life on a smartphone so that was the first hurdle. They wanted a smartphone "selfie" of me holding my identity card. I don't have one. They said I could do it with a webcam. I didn't have one but managed to buy one for the purpose. I took dozens of images but their system rejected them because they say they were not clear enough. I asked if I could use my Nikon digital camera and send them by email. No was the answer. After dozens of emails and proposed solutions that amounted to nothing more than quotes from their FAQs I gave up and went with TorFX. I successfully got signed up without a smartphone or a webcam. My wife had also been using Transferwise/Wise for years and she had the same problem. She tried XE and also got signed up without jumping through any burning hoops and is happy with the service, which includes human to human assistance.

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Guys. I am seeing talk about Atlantic Money in this thread. They offer the market rate (like Wise does) and they don't charge a fee (unlike Wise). Ask yourself, how do they make money then?! Nothing is free. Either they are going to jack up prices in the future or they aren't going to make it. Either way their entire business model is based on signing up as many people as possible and then selling. I would urge caution when it comes to companies like this and go with a company that is clear about the amount it charges in fees or on rates.

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There are many FCA-regulated currency exchange services that offer personalised assistance without requiring large transfers. Most of these services have no fees, competitive rates, and extensive experience working with expats. In my experience (as someone in Financial Services), I’ve recommended several to clients over the years and have yet to encounter any complaints or issues. While saving a basis point here and there is always appealing, having access to a human representative who can assist when automated systems fall short can make a significant difference. Some firms also don't segregate client money from their own - a recipe for problems if the firm runs intro trouble.

If you’d like recommendations, feel free to reach out privately as I work with a few via personal introduction.

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Update. I have decided to play safe and stick with bank to bank transfers, although expensive, there is no middle man to worry about.
My tirade of complaints thrust upon Wise did finally get through to someone a bit higher up the food chain. They ticked me off for my abusive language (Believe me I had a lot more to give if provoked) but admitted their "help" staff had made some errors. They then paid me €42 as compensation for my wasted time.
I sent an email explaining my disgust to their CEO but given the difficulty of obtaining the correct address I don't think it has yet hit its target.

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They do charge a fee, just a much smaller one, and are very transparent about it, nothing is hidden. I've been using them for 2 years with no issues at all, I'd highly recommend them. They've just been bought by a US company, so clearly they must think they've got long term viability in the market.

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There is something hidden: their operating losses.
It is physically impossible to run a FX company on a flat £3 fee per transfer. You can send up to a million at just £3. They are burning investor capital to build a client book and then either list or sell. Either way, at some point, real fees are coming. Or they go broke.

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Quite possibly, but you said they didn't charge a fee and 'I would urge caution when it comes to companies like this and go with a company that is clear about the amount it charges in fees or on rate'. I was simply pointing out that they are clear on both, and that they do in fact charge a fee.

I will keep using them, if at some point their fees go up then I'll make a decision as to what I do then, but they're certainly very relevant and recommended for anybody that needs to transfer funds now.

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When I first heard of them they charged zero in fees. So they are rising. Milk these low fees while you can, just wouldn't have big balances sitting with them.

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What are the issues with Wise? I had a request this week to update my ID information, I sent whatever they requested and all was confirmed within 24 hours.

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A lot of banks use undeclared third party banks for FX - including major banks. It's often buried deep in terms and conditions. Sometimes using a regulated FX exchange is actually far more transparent (and usually cheaper).

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The answer to your question is explained in my post #9 above. Myself, my wife, and a several acquaintances have met this brick wall, many of us have been using Transferwise/Wise for years and are not happy about how we have been treated.

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Well that's the way it's going. I've had the same issue with other outfits, including my pension provider who would accept a photo of my passport, but not a scan. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Even got my new passport with a smartphone photo.