Currency Fair $4 Foreign Currency Transfer Fees and Much Better Exchange Rates Than Banks

[Deactivated] on 18/09/2013 - 14:36

Moved to Forum: Original Link

I've been lazy and used my bank to handle telegraphic transfers overseas on some machinery items I have been importing. The typical bank fee for an exchange is $30 and the exchange rates are woeful. I searched online and found Currency Fair which seems to tick all the boxes.

The pricing on my most recent transfer of USD $1540 saw me about $70 better off than using my bank (NAB).

If it helps anyone, please enjoy. If anyone thinks there is something of concern, please explain.

All the best.

Financial

Related Stores

CurrencyFair
CurrencyFair

Comments

  • dasher86 on 18/09/2013 - 14:52
    +2

    tranzfers and ozforex (same company) do the same thing. Depending on how much you transfer it can be fee free.
    I've used them before and always called up and usually had the fee waived. They also match against other currency sites such as currenciesdirect.
    It's always a good idea to shop around online with all the companies.

    • oz-dxer on 18/09/2013 - 15:03
      +1

      i also use ozforex, excellent service and rates.
      dont worry about cheap fees it is the rate offered that is really important.

      • [Deactivated] on 18/09/2013 - 15:58
        +1

        I looked at Ozforex but I seem to recall that it required a minimum amount of AUD $2000.

    • illumination on 23/09/2013 - 22:45

      Hey dasher. Tranzfers seems to be more for small amounts?
      I'm actually using Ozforex with my ING and there seems to be a separate login for ING Ozforex.
      I wonder if there are different rates for using the ING portal and the normal Ozforex portal.

      • Bronica on 09/06/2016 - 19:31

        OFX (prev OzForex) provides the international transfer service for ING aka whitelabelling. It will be the same rates.

        • illumination on 09/06/2016 - 19:52

          Haha thanks for the reply.. After 3 years :P HAHA

        • Bronica on 09/06/2016 - 19:54

          @illumination: Haha sorry, didn't notice date! Just saw thread at front page :D

  • excite on 18/09/2013 - 15:05

    just I notice Currency Fair does not have a branch at Melbourne, last time I used http://www.kvbkunlun.com/en/, their rate was better than the bank.

    • Turd on 18/09/2013 - 15:13

      How was the wait times? Last time we had to wait 1-2hrs

  • dak52 on 18/09/2013 - 15:10

    Are these rates better than xe.com?

    • excite on 18/09/2013 - 15:13

      no way, the rate at xe.com should be the real-time trading rate

      • plowry1977 on 20/09/2013 - 13:25

        I have been using currencyfair for few years and have on couple of occastions for better than the rate on XE.com
        As you trade against someone (a real person) wanting exchange, so the rate on currencyfair can sometimes be a few hours different to the actual moving currency rate on XE.

  • bonezAU on 18/09/2013 - 15:14
    +7

    Citibank Plus Transaction account has $0 foreign currency transfers to any bank in the world 365 days of the year. The rates are some of the best you'll ever get. There's no need to pay a fee to any kind of forex service, let alone paying the ridiculous $30 fee that most of the major banks charge.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/09/2013 - 16:17

      Is there a way to see their current exchange rate quotations?

      • youness935 on 18/09/2013 - 17:05

        I don't think you can, but very close to interbank exchange rates ie what you see in XE

        • [Deactivated] on 19/09/2013 - 13:41

          Not bad really.
          Current USD price is 0.9397 on Citibank
          I just transacted on Currency Fair at 0.9463.
          I was $7 better off with Currency Fair after the transaction fee but nothing to write home about I suppose.

      • oz-dxer on 18/09/2013 - 17:28

        with ozforex you can get a "quote" price for the exchange.

    • youness935 on 18/09/2013 - 17:03
      +3

      I already use the account, and I sent my debit card to my brother overseas, so whenever I want to send him money, I just transfer the amount from my nab to citibank plus acc…he rocks up to any atm there and withdraw the cash….no fees, no minimum and one of the best exchange rates…

      • BrisbaneBargainer on 18/09/2013 - 17:16

        Does he Use a Citibank ATM or can he use any other ATM to save on ATM fees?

        • bonezAU on 18/09/2013 - 17:40
          +2

          You don't have to use a Citibank ATM just to get it fee free.

          The Citibank account itself does not charge any foreign ATM fees, however like banks in Australia, some ATM operators charge a fee to use a foreign card in their ATM.

          So far, I've not come across an ATM that charges a withdrawal fee in either Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia. Some European countries charge ATM fees, but for the most part, you can usually track down an ATM somewhere that does not impose a fee.

      • bonezAU on 18/09/2013 - 17:39
        +2

        My missus's family overseas does the same thing. Whenever she wants to send money to her mum or whatever, she just transfers money from our Bankwest account to the Citibank account, then her brother has my Citibank card takes it and pulls cash out of the hole in the wall. It's fantastic.

        We have a joint account, which means her card remains here in Australia for us to use it when needed.

        I rang Citibank and told them that I would be regularly traveling overseas "in the near future" and to put a note on my account so it didn't look dodgy.

    • Peck on 22/09/2013 - 17:25

      Please excuse me for my lack of knowledge, but do you just do it online like a normal transfer from your Citibank account to the receipient's bank account? Sounds too easy!

  • grovesy15 on 18/09/2013 - 15:48
    • 1 for XE!
    • [Deactivated] on 18/09/2013 - 16:15

      XE looks good (I think). There way of making money is descibed as follows:
      We do not charge any commissions or transaction fees. The only possible "extra charge" you could incur from us is if you choose to have your funds delivered by Wire Transfer, instead of by EFT or Draft (which are both free). However, unlike with the banks, XE Trade Wire Transfers from us are done as close to "cost" as possible, and any fees for an outgoing Wire Transfer from us are always stated up front before you confirm your transaction.
      We make our money on what is known as the "spread". This is the small difference between the price we quote you for a transaction and our actual cost of completing the transaction for you. Since foreign exchange is our specialty, we can do this extremely efficiently. In addition, our volumes allow us to make the spread as low as possible. The result is a much lower transaction cost than other providers, and without any extra per-transaction "commissions" or "fees" that are common elsewhere.
      Important: The mid-market rates shown in our free information tools and services are the midpoint between the buy rates and the sell rates prevailing in the market. No trades ever occur at these rates. For more information on mid-market rates

      I guess it comes down the final price!

  • johnliew on 18/09/2013 - 16:10
    +2

    +1 for Citibank Plus everyday account! I'm going to apply one now, much better than the HSBC one which you can only get fee free IMT if you have HSBC accounts in both countries.

    • spendinghacker on 19/09/2013 - 13:28

      If you plan on applying, I'd like to refer you to this promotion they currently have in place.

      You can get paid just for opening what is, in our judgement, currently the BEST transaction account available in Australia.

      Another option is this one if you work for a partner employer.

  • spendinghacker on 19/09/2013 - 13:29
    +1

    Is this a 'bargain' though? Maybe belongs in forums…just saying ;)

  • illumination on 23/09/2013 - 22:43

    I've just signed up for Ozforex and glad to see that people here have had positive experiences. Having money sent over from HK soon.

  • yoyo6 on 22/03/2016 - 14:32

    Anyone have a referral for me for Currency Fair?

  • saffers on 09/06/2016 - 08:49
    Merged from Forex - Anyone Looking to Exchange Forex Have a Look at CurrencyFair

    CurrencyFair is a peer to peer Forex platform, I have found that they have excellent rates compared to banks and other forex providers.

    MOD: Referral link removed. Use user-submitted referral system.

    • geek001 on 09/06/2016 - 09:23

      how does it work? Is the rate displayed locked in when you submit the transaction, or when you transfer the money? Where do you transfer the money to? A local account like Ozforex or an overseas account? Since it is peer to peer, what is the risk of losing your money?

      • saffers on 09/06/2016 - 14:01

        Easy to create an account and you can then see how it works. There are local accounts and they have an office in Aus. I do not think there is any risk as they act as a middle man and skim a little for making the transaction.

    • fruit on 09/06/2016 - 12:36

      lol nice spam

  • anna10 on 13/02/2017 - 18:50

    Reading here and wondering cheapest way to get GBP from the UK to me in Aus. I have a Citibank Plus card and just started a Currencyfair account. Any advice plse.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join