Has anyone used Transferwise?

It looks like a cheap way to transfer money. I want to use it for CAD to GBP transfers, but it doesn't deal with CAD yet.

Has anyone used it for any other currency?

Just to clarify. Currently, Transferwise does UK to Canada transfers but not vice versa.

We have never used Transferwise - but for more than a decade we've been transferring money via xe.com. We have (and continue to) transfer money in various currencies from the USA to the UK, UK to Singapore, Singapore to the US, UK to USA and the UK to Switzerland and we've found the rates to be better than what our banks offer.

We've never had a problem with Xe and I know that many posters here on BE have used the same company over the years - indeed it was recommended on BE which is why we initially used them for transfers. I'm sure you will find lots of (positive) posts about Xe if you go to the search facility here

It's always been seamless for us and you don't have bank charges at either end of the transaction (eg. before we used Xe.com I would go along to our local Chase bank branch....the bank clerks working in suburban branches (other than places like NYC/LA/Houston/Washington DC with a large international clientele) often didn't seem to have much (if any) experience in doing international transfers and often would have to get a colleague to help - which wasn't confidence-inspiring...

It would take a while at the bank too, I always had to go and sit at a desk whilst they worked out how to do it......then get charged at least $40 each time for the priviledge and still get a lousy exchange rate

It takes a few days to set up to begin with as you have to set up an account with them to transfer money online. I seem to recall that you need to provide a copy of your passport and obviously your bank account numbers. They need to check that you're not an international money launderer before being allowed to transfer money through them

XE Currency Transfers: personal & business money transfers

XE - The World's Favorite Currency and Foreign Exchange Site

Btw; I just went on to the USA section, and here is a current thread going on about transferring funds (from the UK to US). You will find positive comments about xe.com http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...uk-usa-847810/

I'm intending to open an XE account. I haven't got the right forms of ID at the moment. They turned me down because my passport had just expired. I'm renewing it, and then I'll try again.

Before we left Canada I always did a SWIFT transfer in CAD to my UK bank, FirstDirect. FirstDirect were actually cheaper than XE, even with the CAD$13.50 charge from my Canadian bank RBC.

But now that I have to do transfers online, RBC only allow transfers in GBP. RBC's conversion rate is poor and they not only charge $13.50, but another £10 gets taken by NatWest.

The reason I'm interested in Transferwise is that it is cheaper than XE.

I've used them to transfer GBP to USD. They are as good as the next man. For small amounts they may workout cheaper, but look carefully at the costs. They charge a fee, where others do not. Their rate looks better until the fee is deducted from it. Also they do not lock the rate in, it is what it is on the day of transfer, which is not the day you book the deal. It may go up or down.

You need to cost out for the amount you want to change and see who has the best deal, taking into account the rate of exchange and any fee charged. In practice there is not much difference between any of the currency brokers. The difference only comes into play if you have a large sum to transfer.

Thanks.