SgtTroy

"an account with CGD" could easily be for minimal bank services and the statutory annual fee of no more than €4 😎

Alan PT

You like CGD, it works for you, all good, I'm not having a go, I just think that Wise works better for most people, most of the time

But OP has all the options now and can make their own decision

Jim San

Appreciating all of your thoughts and input as this is such a huge investment for us small amounts will leading big savings or costs.

peterfc

To get the best rate and then use Wise
Put this into Google Gbpeuryahoo This gives the Interbank rate that is the live rate if you want the best exchange from Wise. Its the top of the Google search list.

Pulaski

So you find the rate shown by Yahoo per <gbpeuryahoo>, then tell Wise that's the rate you want?

I am pretty sure that that is not how Wise operates - Wise tells you the rate they're willing to deal at, and you take it, or leave it.

flatlndr

I've been using Wise for ~5 years now (back when it used to be TransferWise), without any troubles. They've consistently had the best rates whenever I've checked, and were definitely the best we found when we did a couple large transfers 4 and 5 years ago.
Online transfers are easy, and the multi-currency debit card has been great. I use it mostly for GBP, USD and EUR, but it also worked flawlessly for Croatian Kuna on a holiday there some years back.
I don't use the account as my primary account for Portugal, but I have been thinking about it.

Alan PT

It's certainly feasible as a primary account in Portugal (and I did do that for a while), but there's a few minor downsides
1) Medis absolutely refused to accept any non-Portuguese bank for expense reimbursements, even when questioned and threatened with EU competition rules
2) Some smaller places (cheap local restaurants for instance) will only accept cash or multibanco, not any visa/mastercard payments
3) Multibanco can also be very useful for making secure online payments or paying bills

So for permanent residents it probably makes sense to have a Portuguese account for convenience, even if it's only a secondary account

peterfc

GBPEURYAHOO is where i watch the exchange rate .

WHERE DID I SAY I THEN TELL WISE

Please don't Quote me again unless you Quote FACT.

Alan PT

Wise also has a handy rate tracker and rate alert function, I use it to alert me (via email) when rates go a bit higher:
https://wise.com/tools/exchange-rate-alerts/

I think they also now have a feature which auto converts currency for you when the rate goes to a certain level (that you set) but I haven't tried this myself

Pulaski

As you can only accept the rate that Wise offers (or decline to proceed with your intended exchange), please can you clarify how consulting the Yahoo page, that you provided a referance for, helps you "get the best rate", and give your experience of how much better the rate you get is over someone who simultaneous to you, just goes straight to Wise's web site and makes an exchange without previously consulting Yahoo?

RichardHenshall

Traditionally, Wise would simply quote a rate but wouldn't provide any context. By doing as Peter suggests you can assess what the rate quoted by Wise is compared with the recent past to help inform your decision to act then or wait in hope of a better rate.

I suspect those of us who are fans of Wise (and similar) would agree that Peter's suggestion, if used when dealing with high street banks, would soon lead to the realisation that better rates are available from Wise (and similar) than from high street banks (and many currency brokers).

Cliffo

New kid on the block. Fluidfi.ch
For now, only on laptop but app to be released soon. Similar to Revolut and Wise. (I have been using Revolut, Wise and Activo for years. All excellent. ( I find Activo is needed in Portugal for smaller shops etc and it's MB-WAY is very useful.)
Fluidfi account USD,EUR,GBP,CHF with built in exchange and, I believe, insured Iike bank account.
For those interested in crypto,the account permits fiat/crypto switching in seconds. I mention this because crypto savings can earn 5 to 10 percent and, thus far in Portugal, are tax free. It's a bit of a learning curve but can be worth it. Also, self custody crypto savings accounts can't be frozen or seized.
I have a fluidfi account but I have no other connection with them and none of this is financial advice. Hope it's helpful.

Alan PT

Just going to add a little caution in here - anyone tempted by crypto should start by reading the FCA guidance: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/cryptoassets

In particular "if you invest in cryptoassets, you should be prepared to lose all your money"

I can find no evidence that fluidfi.ch is "insured Iike bank account". It does not have a banking licence, though it claims to be in the process of obtaining one (in Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU deposit protection scheme, but does have a similar version of it's own). In any case, any deposit protection scheme would only cover deposits in conventional currencies, any crypto is not insured in any way

Pulaski

Currencies used to be backed by bullion, the so called "gold standard", though some, such as the US had currency backed by silver. That all fell out of fashion in the early 20th century (US in 1931, UK in 1933), and since then currencies have had value "because the issuing government (central bank) says so". These are called "fiat currencies".

Up until the 1970's it was common for central banks to try to set the value (exchange rate), but Mrs Thatcher ended that for pound sterling very soon after entering office in 1979 and allowed the pound to float (the FX markets determine the exchange rate), though later the UK and European countries tried to manage their exchange rates using "the exchange rate mechanism", but the markets could still cause huge problems - hence Black Wednesday when the Bank of England threw in the towel and withdrew pound sterling from the exchange rate mechanism..

So what does that have to do with cryptocurrencies? Well quite obviously they aren't backed by gold, or silver, or any commodity, but unilike fiat currencies, there is no central bank standing behind them either! The value of crypto currency is entirely illusory - there is no substance to a crypto currency at all, it has value only because someone else believes it has value and is willing to pay for it, and so one day, if everyone stops believing in a crypto currency it will become worthless. So where does the value of a crypto currency come from? Probably the same place that caused the Dutch in the 17th century to think that a tulip bulb could be worth more than 10 times a skilled artisan's income.

Pulaski

Well it would unless you asked your bank for a "dealing desk rate".

(Yes, I know, that only applies to large transactions. )