Janelle

We've been using xe.com to transfer monthly living expenses from the US ever since we came back to UK three years ago. They were excellent - prompt and efficient, never made a mistake, and if you were prepared to wait a week there was no fee.

During October they were bought by another company and are now HiFX-XE Money Transfer. In the past they would withdraw the $ from our bank in US, convert it to £ and deposit in our UK bank. I set it up online and it worked smoothly. Now I have to arrange to get the $ to them, and their bank is in the UK, which means I have to arrange an international wire, and pay the fee for that.

Looking around for an alternative company, I see that a lot of companies need you to get the $ to them, but at least World First has a bank in the US so it needs a domestic wire - less expensive than an international wire.

Pollyana

Try International Money Transfers - Low Fees, Great Rates - Send Money Overseas they work totally online, the money goes electronically into their account in the originating country and then they transfer it

Editha

I've switched to transferwise. I seem to be getting the best exchange rates with them, and I've had no problems making transfers from Canada.

J.JsOH

Thanks for raising the question, Janelle
I discovered the same changes in XE this past week.
I used them for a few years, and made payment to them by occasional Direct Debit. It used to work well.
When enquired about the reason for the change, XE did not provide an answer, just gabbled out some advertising blurb.
I am also looking elsewhere.
I am a bit surprised that you have been told you have to wire the $ to XE, my impression was it could just be an electronic transfer, just like any electronic bill payment. I will ask them myself to explain this.
But, given the changes they made and the recent rush of updates to Terms &Conditions, I shall still look around for some other provider.
John

BristolUK

Me too, well not switched, but using them and in the opposite direction. Good rate and only a 0.5% (min £2) fee. (the % may vary according to currency involved)
For larger sums than I do, a fixed rate fee may be better than the %.

J.JsOH

Additional communication today with XE produced a bland statement about all transfer must be done electronically (duh, my old Direct Debit was electronic), further options may be available in future.
XE has lost my confidence.

Janelle

I feel Xe has lost my confidence too. For the aggravation they caused me last week, I never want to hear their name again.

Davita

BristolUK introduced me to TransferWise recently on another BE country forum.
I tried this week and can say, once registered and verified with this company, I'm so far delighted with their exchange rates/fees and method of transfer.
It does take a couple of days to arrive in the recipient's bank but otherwise no problem... and a better rate than previous.

durham_lad

I switched to Transferwise in January because they are cheaper and faster than xe.com, who I have used for several years. I still get quotes from xe.com when I want to transfer some $ to the UK but Transferwise is always cheaper. I had not noticed any change and believe I can still transfer up to $10k using "Direct Debit" (ACH) from my US bank.

J.JsOH

FYI,
Following on from the earlier posts about loss of ACH service from XE.com I have received a notification from XE.com that suggests service has been restored to be able to transfer $$ by ACH from a US bank account to XE.

As a customer who has previously sent money to XE via ACH from a bank account in the US, we're writing to let you know that, due to local banking and regulatory rules, HiFX (our sister company and new XEMT provider) has created a second account so that you can continue to use ACH.
What you need to do:
Next time you wish to make a transfer and pay via your US bank account, simply log in using your existing XE credentials (email address and password) and choose the XEMT- US account we’ve added. To minimize any inconvenience caused, we’ve carried across all your beneficiary details, relevant banking information and transaction history to this second account. You’ll just need to accept our Terms & Conditions the first time you log in.

I am not proposing that members here use XE.com, I am not connected to them. Nor have I used this new process. I am just providing closure to a posted problem.

MidAtlantic

They have probably already lost too many customers and realize that they have messed up. So this is their corrective action.