TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Hi all, has anyone else been having issues with TransferWise and their “immediate” transfers over the last week?
I made some payments early last week From the UK and they still haven’t been received into my Sabadell account as yet because they were sent via SEPA instead.
When I queried it with TransferWise, they told me they had a technical issue but it’s now been resolved - but I’m not convinced. I’m a bit worried as I need the funds in Spain to complete my house purchase shortly

Can they be trusted?

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I have used them for years and all has been well. I had a couple of transfers that took a few days, rather than same day. I queried these at the time, and was advised not to do transfers to Spain on Mondays or Fridays. That seemed to have worked.

However, I rarely do direct transfers as I have a Borderless account with Transferwise. When the exchange rate is up, I transfer from my UK sterling account to my borderless euro account and that takes just seconds. When I need money in my Spanish account I transfer euros from my Borderless account, into my Spanish account, this transaction also takes just seconds. The borderless account is now set up for direct debits now too, another advantage.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Thanks Stevesainty,

Useful to know about the Monday/Friday issue Re transfers - I’m starting to learn about Spain and it’s bureaucracy!
I’ll look into the borderless account, it could be useful for me going forward.

cheers
Andy

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I use CurrencyFair and have recently experienced a delay of a couple of days

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

For the first time had a delay this week when transferring to my Transferwise card account . They pointed out the normal service is 48 hours ( it actually arrived after 24 hours ) maybe they are a victim of their own success.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

It might be something to do with Covid-19 and staff

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Never had a problem and last time it took under 10 seconds (once the transaction started) to move pounds to Euros in my Sabadell account. But that was a few months ago.

I have never heard of the Monday/Friday thing.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Transferwise, unlike most other currency services, use 'matched bargain' basis, i.e. matching members transferring in the other direction, so for example if you are moving sterling to euro, your transaction is matched to another member moving euro to sterling. Because of this, at certain times there is a slight delay in your transaction going through, for example when a lot more people want to move sterling to euro, but the delay is usually short.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I have a borderless transferwise account but have only used it to transfer funds to my Spanish (Caixa) bank.

I am very wary of Spanish banks. Their charges are high but they are not particularly helpful and closing an account might be more trouble than its worth.

​​​​​​i) If I set up direct debits for my utilities etc can I close my Spanish bank account?
ii) Was setting up your dd's straightforward?
Thanks in advance

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I have not used the DD service myself yet but I have heard from others who have had no problems. If you have a live Chat with Transferwise, or email or telephone their support service, they will give you chapter and verse. They are very friendly to talk to on the phone. I believe that you can give up your Spanish bank and use Transferwise, but I still bank with Sabadell as well.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I thought Spanish utilities could only be paid from a Spanish bank account.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I have a Belgian IBAN number on my Euro account with Transferwise, and this can be used to set up Direct Debits to Spain.

Here is one of the FAQ answers from Transferwise Borderless, https://transferwise.com/help/17/bor...r-bank-details

What if my EUR bank details aren't working?

We recently started giving users a new IBAN, starting with "BE". It lets users set up Direct Debits and get paid faster. But some people have had problems using these details. Here's what to do if something goes wrong.

A merchant is blocking my Direct Debit

Despite the Euro single market, some merchants won’t allow Direct Debits from Euro accounts in another country. For example, a Spanish gym might not accept your IBAN because it's based in Belgium.

Merchants are required by EU law to accept IBANs from other members of the European Economic Area (EEA). So, if someone doesn't accept your IBAN, please let us know using this form.

You can also report merchants who don't accept your IBAN to the relevant authority in your country.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I sent money to my Spanish flat's management account via Transferwise on 12th August and it arrived in less than a minute.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

In the past money sent to Ireland has taken a day and to Malaysia has taken 3-4 days.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Probably to do with the amount of traffic for the currency pair. Clearly there is more movement between sterling and euro than sterling and ringgit, so easier to pair up.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I often find that when I transfer a chunk of money to my Sabadell account it doesn't appear until I've sent them am email asking where it is. Then as if my magic my balance increases by 10,000euros...

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I've been using Transferwise for about 7 years and can't remember ever having a problem.

Transfers from Barclays bank in the UK to Sabadell bank using Transferwise service have got better recently and are only taking seconds to transfer. 100% happy!!

Steve

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I’m pleased to say that the money has now arrived - 1 week after sending it?!

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

I would be intrigued to know why they took a week! Like tebo53 the last time I used them it took seconds.

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

Agree with you 100% . When there was a delay and I queried it this is the reply I got :

Thanks for getting in touch.

The time it takes for deposits to your EUR balance depends on how the money was sent. Please note, that bank transfers in the SEPA zone usually take 1-2 working days to arrive. SWIFT transfers can take up to 5 working days because of time differences and intermediary banks. You can learn more about it by following the link below - Guide to EUR transfers

Re: TransferWise immediate transfer issues
 

My final update on this one.

the funds eventually arrived in my Sabadell account on 20th Aug having been sent on 11&12th Aug. The delay wasn’t with TransferWise apparently, it turns out that Sabadell had blocked my account for a week as it’s only been opened fairly recently and they had money laundering concerns about the amounts I was transferring to them.
A frustrating delay, but all resolved now (after a few calls to Sabadell call centre and then my local branch)