Transferwise do cheap transfers but more important can provide US, UK and Aus bank accounts

[PNGMK]

I have no affiliation with them but use them for cheap transfers to Australia. I noticed they offer real bank accounts as part of their service and thought it might be of interest. At present they don't offer Singapore accounts but can offer UK, Australian, Euro and USA accounts. These are real accounts with a account number, swift code and routing information. Perfect if you need to open a US account for collecting contract payments for example. There don't seem to be any major restrictions but as a caveat I would not keep a lot of money in them but use them for transactional purposes. I assume they don't allow third party payments.

[Max Headroom]

Are you saying that the good people at Transerwise allow third parties to use their bank accounts to route incoming payments?

I first spotted Transferwise about 2 years ago; it occurred to me they fill a void traditionally monopolized by banks, remitting companies, PayPal and other highway robbery ilk.

I've since then seen a few Transferwise copy-cats pop up here and there. Hopefully, they can shake up this industry, because a lot of poor people especially are getting slaughtered by these incumbent monopolists.

[MikeJones]

I use transferwise as well to send money to Thailand, seems to work pretty well so far and has better exchange rates and lower fees than doing it direct from my bank. I've looked at their borderless account but don't have a need for it at the moment, as PNGMK says could come in handy if I ever need to receive EUR/USD/AUS. (https://transferwise.com/help/article/2 ... ss-account)

[PNGMK]

Are you saying that the good people at Transerwise allow third parties to use their bank accounts to route incoming payments?

I first spotted Transferwise about 2 years ago; it occurred to me they fill a void traditionally monopolized by banks, remitting companies, PayPal and other highway robbery ilk.

I've since then seen a few Transferwise copy-cats pop up here and there. Hopefully, they can shake up this industry, because a lot of poor people especially are getting slaughtered by these incumbent monopolists.

I'm not sure I understand your question but to give you an example I am considering is to now collect my Australian house rental into a transferwise "Australian" bank account. Transferwise have given me the account number, BSB (routing number) and the balance shows when I log onto transferwise. It's much cheaper than paying for a TT from the rental agent to Singapore.

[Max Headroom]

PNGMK, yes, that's something that would work for PayPal users, who, as it stands, have no choice but to at some point "send" their USD takings from their USD PayPal account to their non-US bank account. (Those that are non-US residents, that is)

PayPal applies a horrendous exchange rate to these transfers, that, effectively have become an added source of revenue for PayPal.

If these hapless PayPal users could open a US bank account with Transferwise, then PayPal has no choice but to send their users' money there, in which case no currency conversion is required. Well, until PayPal outlaws Transferwise bank accounts of course.

I'll have a read of MJ's link to learn a bit more. Thanks for that Mike.

[PNGMK]

Max - they might be better off invoicing or whatever using their new Transferwise USA bank account and skip paypal altogether if their customers will do ETF payments.

[Max Headroom]

I hate their guts for being a monopolist and for their gouging, but what PayPal does do well is lower the virtual transactions bar. Consumers and merchants are comfortable with PayPal. PayPal makes the online buying process quite a bit more painless than by invoice/bank/even credit card.

Those ridiculous currency conversion rates are a real pain in the arse though.

If PayPal merchants can really bypass that that currency exchange by using Transferwise, the system would be perfect.

[PNGMK]

We recently abandoned PayPal as an option for the local SPE chapter. The fees are killing us (more than 10% in some cases). What transferwise need to do is add on a paypal type feature (Transferwise button or a pay by email type feature).

[Max Headroom]

I think they work on a tier system; the more you sell, transfer, the lower their cut. And actually, taking a cut is fine, given that they're useful. Indispensable, in fact.

But yes, their cut is ever-pushing upwards, undoubtedly because there's no real alternative. They're sort of the Windows amongst online purchases.

Transferwise may be just as good and cheaper to boot, but they're going to have to reach critical mass before they become any kind of threat to PayPal. No easy feat, especially since I've already seen quite a few Transferwise clones pop up here and there.

[Max Headroom]

Hubris comes...

[archcherub]

i transfer frequently to USA, the rates are really good.
low fees and very transparent.
been comparing transferwise with other services, and DBS remit.

transferwise still win for my conversion

[archcherub]

but sharing my experience. i am using interactive brokers (since i have my USA bank and SG bank account linked to it) as a way of transfering cash back to USA.

its not designed to transfer money, so its a little tedious and lengthy, but the savings is good. just FYI

[sundaymorningstaple]

I just started using Transferwise this month and for the convenience and low cost I'm sold. I'd defo recommend giving it a try. (I hemmed and hawed for the better part of a year after initially inquiring about it and then after I retired I figured I'd need a way that wasn't too costly to transfer the odd amounts I'd find myself needing over here. Works like a champ. I started with only a couple of grand and found myself after deducting their fees, my exchange rate was better than anywhere around here @ 1.3685 net for the USD.

[PNGMK]

I just used it today to send some money to India. It was there in 4 hours and at a good rate.

[Max Headroom]

Be all that as it may, I have a huge bee under my bonnet for companies that bend over backwards to not display their phone number on their website. Since when is a "Helpdesk" just an FAQ? They say they're backed by MAS, but do they even have an office here?

So after searching the site high and low, I managed to find something resembling a phone feature, although they asked me to log in first before continuing, which I declined to do.

Ok, after drilling down hard, I eventually got this:

Arrange a call
Mon - Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm GMT +08
Currently unavailable
Sorry, we don’t take calls in Singapore at the moment. But if you leave your details, we can call you back during Singaporean working hours.

I know they're doing decent things out there, but this is plain pathetic. Even banks are open on Saturday!

Left my details.

To be continued...