My mate is sending A$30k from Europe. He's got USD and EUR bank accounts. I am concerned if he sends funds to my bank account, CBA might hit me with big charges. What's the best way to receive the funds to get best rate and lowest charges. This might be a one off thing.
Best & Cheapest Way to Receive USD or EUR?
Sam J on 30/06/2019 - 09:17
Comments
So he is sending them as USD/EUR to your AUD account?
Could CurrencyFair or TransferWise hit the spot?
Low fees, decent rate.
Yes. He can send USD or EUR whichever is better for me to my AUD account.
Haven’t checked CurrencyFair/Transferwise yet.
Can't speak specifically for CBA but Westpac only applies a fixed fee for an international transfer ($12), but not always - I receive monthly payments and only about one in 20 seems to attract the extra charge. I've never chased it up as I suspect it's meant to apply to every payment…
The transfer rate is usually about 3c below current xe rates.
Cross border currency transfers sent and received in different names can attract attention, some organisations won't do it. Worth giving them a call to confirm before you start. Usually you get the best rate if you convert to AUD before it arrives in your AUD account. 30K is tracked by our friendly government, a one off can be a gift it's all perfectly legal. But I wouldn't be receiving money from a friend overseas and then transferring it out of your AUD account into someone else's in a rush.
XE took over HiFx and they were always easy to talk to.
Moneycorp also worth a call, but I think they might not do different name transfers.
Bank transfer is the cheapest (at least from India). Takes 1-2 days though.