Transferwise Money Transfer Review
Online Platform
Email
Mobile App
Chat
Minimum transfer:
£1
€1
$1
CA$1
AU$1
UK
USA
Australia
Estonia
Ukraine
Hungary
Japan
Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
Pros and Cons
- Highest Level of Transparency – Clear Pricing
- Large Trading Volumes
- Very Safe and Credible
- Client On-Boarding Online
- Best Online Platform and App for 2017
- Innovative and Exciting
- High Client Satisfaction
- Applicable for All Transfer Sizes
- Transferwise Debit Card – Multi-Currency
- No Dedicated Dealer Guidance
- No Discounts For High Volumes
- No FX Options Offered
- Does Not Handle Checks
Full TransferWise Review:
|
Is TransferWise Reliable?
|
|
Do Clients Like TransferWise? TransferWise Reviews from Across The Web
|
|
Transferwise’s Exchange Rate & Fees, and Markups
|
|
Global Reach & Service
|
|
Additional Functionalities
|
|
The Overall
|
|
Comments
|
Is TransferWise Reliable?
Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
Transferwise is one of the hottest startups in the world right now, and it is considered a market leader in the Fintech sector, with a valuation of more than a billion dollars. It has grown at a staggering pace of more than 100% in sales each year for the past 4 years, and has recently reported that it is moving more than $500m every month for its clients. There are currently more than 700 employees working for Transferwise in 7 locations around the world.
Transferwise has definitely come a long way since its inception in 2010 (and launch in 2011).
It was established by two Estonian Fintech innovators, Taavet Hinrikus, (Skype’s first employee) and Kristo Käärmann, both of whom were working in the UK, and experiencing the high costs of bank-powered international money transfers. Quite early on in their journey to lower the costs of cross border remittances, they received a massive shot of encouragement in the form of two mega-investors who believed in the idea, and jumped on the Transferwise wagon. These two investors were PayPal’s co-founder, Peter Thiel, as well as Virgin’s founder Richard Branson.
Here is a complete overview of Transferwise’s investment rounds:
Series
|
Amount Invested
|
Investors
|
|---|---|---|
| Pre-speed … | $68,400 |
SeedCamp (VC) |
| Seed … | $1,300,000 |
Index Ventures (VC), IA Ventures (VC), The Accelerator Group (VC), Kima Ventures (BV), Seedcamp (VC), Max Levchin |
| Series A … | $6,000,000 |
SV Angel (VC), Valar Ventures (VC), Peter Thiel |
| Series B … | $25,000,000 |
Valar Ventures (VC), Peter Thiel, Richard Branson, Index Ventures (VC), IA Ventures (VC) |
| Series C … | $58,000,000 |
Anderson Horowitz (VC), Index Ventures (VC), IA Ventures (VC), Seedcamp (VC), Valar Ventures (VC) |
| Series D … | $26,000,000 |
Anderson Horowitz (VC), Valar Ventures (VC), Baillie Gifford (PLC Company) |
| Series E … | $280,000,000 |
Andreessen Horowitz and Mitsui & Co. |
| Total to date … | $396,368,400 |
Anderson Horowitz (VC), Index Ventures (VC), IA Ventures (VC), Seedcamp (VC), Valar Ventures (VC), Peter Thiel, Richard Branson, The Accelerator Group (VC), Kima Ventures (BV), Seedcamp (VC), Max Levchin, Mitsui & Co. |
Information from Angel.co
October 2017 update: Transferwise raised another $280,000,000 making it one of the most funded startups ever with a total of $440,000,000.
The concept behind Tranferwise is as follows – the platform tries to automatically match transfers from both ends of one currency pairing (for example: one client is buying Euros for Sterling, and another one is buying Sterling for his Euros). This approach enables the company to significantly drop remittances prices in many different corridors, and generally speaking, makes it one of the cheapest and most transparent payment providers in the world.
The entire process is performed below the surface, so transfers are executed instantaneously, and the margin is always fixed – whether Transferwise managed to match the trade using the peer-to-peer money transfer system, or whether it had to exchange the money itself. The user is completely unaware of what’s going on behind the scenes, and he honestly doesn’t mind as long as he is getting superior better rates than he would with other providers.
There are other companies using Peer-to-Peer technology, most notably Currencyfair. You cab view the following Transferwise VS Currencyfair comparison to learn more about the difference between these companies.
The company is advertising heavily on billboards (including in the London underground), as well as on television and online. It is constantly covered by financial and technology journalists around the world, and managed to get into the mainstream quicker than any other company in this industry.
Its campaigns were so effective, and so memorable, that even large banks began noticing them. The old slogan “YOUR BANK IS SECRETLY OVERCHARGING YOU ON INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFER” was adjudicated by The Advertising Standard Authority, following complaints from these banks.
Update: Transferwise has suffered additional obstacles a result of its advertising campaigns. In May 2016, the advertising watchdog commanded Transferwise to be more specific about the savings it offers in each route, in comparison to banks, rather than saying that it helps clients save 90% of transfer costs. Transferwise has also been mocked by the AmericanBanker magazine, as the company is now seeking bank funding.
Our take on this? Transferwise is catching fire because it is growing in such a rapid pace. As a Branson-backed company, it appreciates any form of attention – positive or negative, and it works out perfectly.
WEF Tech Pioneer in 2015
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2015
FT’s Boldness in Business Award, 2014
Best European Startup, Europas European Tech Startup Awards, 2013
Transferwise is probably the sexiest name in the whole money transfer industry. Established by notable entrepreneurs who became aware of a significant problem and sought to fix it, the company is taking an entirely different approach from the entire remittances industry.
Its low rates, transparency, great on-boarding process, and mind-blowing advertising campaigns have gained it a status as one of the largest payment providers in the world, as early as 5 years from its launch. This is a “startup” that is already moving billions across the globe and fighting with industry giants like Western Union and Moneycorp.
Is Transferwise safe?
There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about when you use Transferwise to move money abroad. It has a sound financial structure, a solid business model, and it is the absolute epitome of client transparency. The company has moved more than $5bn this year alone, and serves thousands of clients from around the globe with an extremely high level of satisfaction. Transferwise is not a scam, although some people tend to think it is because of the ultra-friendly rates, while in fact, it is one of the most credible companies in this industry.
Do Clients Like TransferWise? TransferWise Reviews from Across The Web
There are 30,000+ Transferwise reviews (more than any other company in the foreign currency payments industry) available on TrustPilot, netting the company a 9.5 / 10 rating.
Less than 3% of these reviews are complaints, and 95% of them are glowingly positive.
A small amount of the reviews seem to be placed by marketers who are promoting the service (trying to push their discount codes), but the amount is rather insignificant. Seemingly, Transferwise’s superb advertising campaigns have paid off and gained it such serious recognition.
Clients love the Transferwise concept. Why wouldn’t they? Here are the features users liked most:
- Works “as expected” – no glitches
- Easier to on-board with than other companies
- Better rates than other companies and banks
- Accurate and timely
- Responsive and kind support
- Polite and non-pushy approach
We have located fewer than 100 Transferwise compalints on the Internet, including one negative experience by one of our readers who responded below. These are some of the complaints dealt with:
- Excessive requirements for documents in order to sign up
- Some Debit and Credit Cards were not approved for use
- Delayed transfers
- Rude customer service
- Some currencies are not available in the system
Clients are almost unanimously satisfied with every aspect of Transferwise’s service. Some students, expats, and immigrants have even said that this company has made a substantial change in their lives.
It appears that the main appeal of Transferwise for clients, even more than the superb exchange rates it offers, is the smoothness of the entire experience. An automated online on-boarding process is a huge advantage for the younger generation, and they have become avid users.
The relatively few complaints we have encountered don’t make much sense.
Those who are complaining about the rudeness of the customer service and making accusations are completely contradicting thousands of reviews that are glorifying how kind and respectful the support was. The same goes for the unpopular opinion that transfers are often delayed – this seems to be related to a specific problem at a specific time for a specific client, rather than an across-the-board problem.
Those complaining about excessive documentation appear to be unaware of the strict Anti-Money Laundering regulations that these sorts of companies must comply with. If additional documents were required, it is simply because the regulator (the FCA) demands that from the firm.
The part dealing with unsupported currencies is somewhat justified, as Transferwise doesn’t support as many currencies as some of its competitors like Currencies Direct, but we can’t downgrade Transferwise’s score based on that, as it’s very clearly stated on their website which currencies are handled and which ones are not. Clients who are complain about this have simply failed to read the information that is readily available.
Transferwise’s Exchange Rate & Fees, and Markups
Fees: There are no fees with TransferWise from the UK now (previously, there was a £2 fee under £200, but that has now been rescinded).
Transferring money from elsewhere on the world incurs variable fees but they are as low as under 1 Euro for most destinations from Europe, and less than $2 for anywhere from USA.
Exchange Rates: Here is the complete fee structure:
Destination
|
Transferwise Fee 2017
|
|---|---|
Australia
|
0.7% Of Amount Transferred |
UAE
|
1.5% Of Amount Transferred (Min. 11 AED) |
Brasil
|
2% Of Amount Transferred |
Canada
|
0.5% Of Amount Transferred+ CA$10 |
Switzerland
|
0.5% Of Amount Transferred |
China
|
1.5% Of Amount Transferred |
Columbia
|
2.5% Of Amount Transferred |
Czech Republic
|
0.7% Of Amount Transferred |
Georgia
|
1% Of Amount Transferred |
Denmark
|
0.5% Of Amount Transferred |
Eurozone
|
0.5% Of Amount Transferred |
Japan
|
1.5% Of Amount Transferred |
India
|
0.7% Of Amount Transferred |
New Zealand
|
0.7% Of Amount Transferred |
Russia
|
1.5% Of Amount Transferred (Min. RUB 200) |
South Africa
|
0.7% Of Amount Transferred (+ ZAR 293) |
Turkey
|
1% Of Amount Transferred |
USA
|
0.5% Of Amount Transferred Above $500 |
As Transferwise is a completely “online” platform that enables people to send money abroad, it is often compared to Paypal, one the world’s largest online payment providers.
|
Destination
|
Real Exchange Rate
|
Amount Received for £1,000:
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||
|
Australia
|
1 Pound is $AU1.73 AUD |
1,707.33 AUD |
1,650.30 AUD |
|
UAE
|
1 Pound is 4.87 AED |
4,793.55 AED |
4,647.56 AED |
|
Canada
|
1 Pound is $CA1.71 CAD |
1,682.04 CAD |
1,630.82 CAD |
|
Switzerland
|
1 Pound is CHF1.33 CHF |
1,323.19 CHF |
1,270.00 CHF |
|
Eurozone
|
1 Pound is €1.14 EUR |
€1,135.16 EUR |
€1,089.53 EUR |
Please note these are simulated prices and not the real rates and mistakes can occur in calculation or in our foreign currency exchange rate feed
Transferwise now offers new improved rates for Euro transfers! Have a look at the recent update they have made to their Euro fees:
|
From Euro to
|
Before June 27, 2018
|
After June 27, 2018
|
Impact (5000 Euro)
|
|---|---|---|---|
GBR, £
|
0.5% + 2 Euro Fixed Fees |
0.3% + 0.8 Euro Fixed Fees |
-37% |
|
USA, $
|
0.5% + 2 Euro Fixed Fees |
0.35% + 0.7 Euro Fixed Fees |
-27% |
|
INR, ₹
|
0.7% + 1.64 Euro Fixed Fees |
0.45% + 0.7 Euro Fixed Fees |
-34% |
|
AUD, Au$
|
0.7% + 1.29 Euro Fixed Fees |
0.35% + 0.6 Euro Fixed Fees |
-48% |
|
CHF, ₣
|
0.5% + 2 Euro Fixed Fees |
.3% + 1.3 Euro Fixed Fees |
-35% |
The exchange rates offered by the Transferwise currency transfer are among the best in the business, and in no way comparable to other remittances companies (i.e., companies with low minimum transfers used by overseas workers to transfer money abroad to facilities). For instance Ria Money Transfer and Transfast’s margins are at around the 2-3% mark!
In some particular countries, Transferwise is cheaper (for example, the UK), while in Australia and NZ, it is great, but not as cheap as in other countries. Transferwise is particularly cheap for Brazil with a flat fee of 1.3% that also includes the 0.38% tax rate. Sending from Brazil with Transferwise will cost a flat fee of 2.42%, and there are strict minimum and maximum amounts based on Brazilian regulation.
In some countries, like Russia or Columbia, it seems that Transferwise isn’t particularly competitive. These are currencies that are usually more expensive to transfer money to (“exotic”) but at 2.5% the offering is still sub-par.
Is it possible to beat Transferwise’s rates with popular currencies like Euro, USD, AUD?
The fact that Transferwise is transparent and straightforward is generally very positive, but it is the company’s disadvantage when it comes to high volume transfers. Due to the fact that other companies like Currencies Direct have flexible pricing models, if the transfer is over GBP 25,000 (or equivalent in another currency), it is likely that they could offer cheaper rates than Transferwise. However. it’s always recommended to use Transferwise as a benchmark before you approach other recommended companies and negotiate your price.
Also, newcomer Lebara Money Transfer has been beating Transferwise on the GBPEUR route for remittances – have a look at our review of Lebara Money Transfer.
Transferwise First Trade Free
Transferwise offers new clients the chance to conduct their first trade for free up to a certain cap (the purpose of this is to check how the system works rather than moving tens of thousands abroad without paying a dime).
Booking a Trade? Pay Attention Rate Limit
In order to secure the rate you see you’ll have to declare a rate limit. If you don’t the rate will be determined by the time the money arrives to Transferwise, and not when the transfer was initiated. That means that due to fluctuations you’ll possibly pay upwards of 1.5%, instead of the fixed 0.5% margin applied. Worse than that, payments could end up lower than the agreed sum, which will require a second transfer or cause a payment to be void.
Declaring a rate limit requires depositing additional 3% of the transfer amount via credit card. Then, you must set up the lowest possible rate at which you’d agree to transfer. The 3% deposit is sort of a cushion that allows Transferwise to end up sending the exact amount you requested; If a portion of it or all of it has not been consumed, then you will be refunded that amount on your card. If the limit is not hit within 5 days, money will be refunded. This is not recommended for urgent payments.
Limits: TransferWise has variable limits for each currency route.
|
Currency
|
Limitation
|
|---|---|
|
NZD
|
NZD 85,000 |
|
AUD
|
AUD 1,500,000 |
|
USD
|
USD 1,500,000 |
|
EUR
|
EUR 1,200,000 |
RON
|
RON 5,300,000 |
SEK
|
SEK 1,000,000,000 |
|
CAD
|
CAD 70,000 |
Transferwise is cheaper than almost any competitor when it comes to small or medium-sized transfers inside Europe. Its 0.5-0.6% margin with up to GBP 3 in fees represents an average saving of approximately 0.5%-1% against the average quote from other companies for small transfers.
With some destinations, it is not necessarily the cheapest even for smaller transfers, but as long as the margin is at 1% or less, it will be around what other companies are offering.
For large transfers their pricing system is definitely beatable by traditional FX institutions, such as Moneycorp. Furthermore, some destinations like Canada, Australia or New Zealand have transfer limitations that prevent sending large amounts with Transferwise (or sending it in several instalments).
To summarise, this is a very good choice for remittances and small transfers. The company specialises in European corridors.
Global Reach & Service
UK(2 Offices)
USA
Australia
Estonia
Ukraine
Hungary
Japan
Ways to approach: Email, Chat or Telephone
Translations: Italian, French, Russian, German and Spanish.
Accepts Clients: Listed Below.
Currencies Handled: 38
Client Reviews: Love the support team.
The OFX brand is truly a service oriented company.
-
Transferwise has a great localised version of its website, and it’s truly refreshing to see the quality of their product, the FAQ’s they have, and of course the positive user experiences.
On the other hand, we are firm believers that large transactions should be executed with the help of a dedicated dealer who can provide assistance throughout the process.
-
Very few people would transfer tens of thousands, or hundreds or thousands, online, without speaking to a real person. In addition, a great amount of savings can be enjoyed when you have a currency expert recommending you on when to make the trade (especially with larger sums).
Transferwise operates with a different model in mind, and it absolutely rocks at what it does, but we cannot give them a perfect score without dedicated dealers.
New:
- Transferwise is now supporting the USD / MXN Corridor
- Transferwise is now accepting Canadian clients
- Transferwise has a new office in Australia (Sydney)
Clients accepted from:
| Continent | Countries |
| Europe | Euro Zone, UK, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Northern Cyprus |
| America | USA, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico |
| Australia and Oceania | Australia, New Zealand |
| Asia | Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand, UAE, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan |
| Africa | Morocco, South Africa |
Additional Functionalities
None.
Spot contracts (instant currency exchange) only.
Transferwise has just launched its multi-currency debit card that enables you to take money abroad with you, loaded with a certain currency with Transferwise’s amazing exchange rates.
“Request Money” functionality – an option to send a payment request through Transferwise system that auto-generates a link enabling the person/company sending the payment to move money via Transferwise easily, similar to the Payoneer’s receive money system.
Incredible, attractive app, which receives a 4.5 / 5 rating from over 4,000 users on Google Play. The app focuses on the actual functionality of sending money, and does so well, with very few bug reports.
The app is definitely ideal for immigrants and expats who are sending money constantly. However, using hedging tools such as forward contracts, and limit orders, is really problematic if you want to use Transferwise for a large transfer (or for your business).
There’s very little offered by Transferwise besides sending money using credit cards, or bank transfers.
The Overall
Review Summary
Bottom Line
Conclusion: 86.8%
Transferwise is the new way to move money abroad. A simple on-boarding process, transparent fee structure, and sublime online platform make it the fastest growing company in this sector. With more than $116m invested into it by some of the world's most famous investors, constant media coverage and FCA authorization, your money is safe with Transferwise.
I’ve used this service and have saved a fair amount of money doing so. It is designed by the people who created Skype. I’ve transferred $8000 from the USA to the UK and the speed was about the same as an international wire transfer, but I saved $185 compared to what my bank was going to charge.
You can also get your first wire transfer for FREE , up to $4500 or £3000.
Looks like this group (Transferwise) has taken idea from a Patent filed the USA.
There is a lot of talk in the FX community that they will be hit with a major law suit that will shut them down in the USA.
Citing Patent Filing date Publication date Applicant Title
US8121923 Mar 10, 2011 Feb 21, 2012 Automated fulfilling of currency exchange requests over a computer network
US8301533 Feb 15, 2012 Oct 30, 2012 Automated fulfilling of currency exchange requests over a computer network
At the bottom of TransferWise.com home page there is a video called “How TransferWise Works” yet the video does not explain anything how actually TW works… Also, can I or can I not send money by email (like Paypal does) using TW? More clarity would be useful?
Send money abroad with TRANSFERWISE,they charge only a small fee compared to the banks,the exchange rate is excellent and you can get your first transfer for free(no fee charged)
I’ve been using TransferWise to send money abroad. Really easy and a lot cheaper than the bank! Sign up now and get your first transfer up to £3000 for free.
I made 2 transfers so far and very good service overall
Really easy, secure and super fast.
I’ve been using TransferWise to send money abroad. Really easy and a lot cheaper than the bank! Sign up now and get your first transfer up to £3000 for free. I’ve made three transfers so far and it’s very easy, super fast and secure
Saw the advert in Facebook. A bit anxious to transfer £1,000 to Republic of Ireland. On my first attempt it didn’t went through because my bank block the transfer. I email them, have a reply the next day. Really helpful. So I try again and it went through. Only take a day to transfer through to Ireland. Really please with the service and its rate. Only regards is not knowing it earlier. Will definitely used it again in the future. Will update the next transfer if it’s as good as the first. So far I’m upsolutelymover the moon.
There’s something I’m still not clear. I understood TransferWise will match 2 people in 2 different countries, each wanting to send money to the other country. I understood too that TransferWise only operates in USA and Europe. I noticed that it seems to be possible to transfer / exchange EUR in MYR (or, at least, this pair of currencies is available to match in TransferWise). How does this work then? If this service is not available in Malaysia how can money be transferred / exchanged into MYR? Isn’t it needed a customer with a bank account in Malaysia and willing… Read more »
I am trying to use transferwise from Jamaica to send to India and I’m unbale to do so. Could you please explain how do I go about using transferwise because I am very interested.
I sent a not really big amount of money to test how the service works and do some transfers with it and for my surprise they lost my money or it what seems.It was already few days ago and noone of the parts has recived nothing.They said is bank fault and bank says I must speak with them….
I have used Transferwise for moths and have done it many times and I can say that I am so happy with this company Sometimes the money gets into my account in the same day. Never problems. I will continue using Transferwise. Very good rate and simple to use. So happy.
I wish I have discovered this company earlier. I would have safe hundred of pounds. Thank you. So happy honestly.
Just adding onto the question from Filipe above
How does transferwise match p2p payments to Malaysia if they are not present in Malaysia and cannot accept Malaysian currency
Best
Hi, I have used the service to transfer to Russia from UK, and I should say that I am completely dissatisfied. The transfer gets delayed without any explanation (except standard security checks) for over 2 days. I know there is always the a “reason” behind it, but you are never informed beforehand about such delays, even more, the initial screen says you that you will receive within a day but it has been more than 2 days the money has not even left transferwise and afterwards it will take extra 3 days to arrive. Very dissatisfied, Unistream or the banks… Read more »
Just wondering if you can use TW to send money from Australia to the US?
No comments seen up to now for expats living in Spain. At the present time my pension is paid direct to my Spanish bank. My main concern is the exchange rate, never knowing what it is at the time of payment. If I instructed the Pension service to pay in to my UK bank then transferred to me by yourselves, would I be much better.
Do you think it safe to send a large amount, over £100,000, from the UK to New Zealand using Transferwise?
Also. In the help section they mention a limit of $85,000 nzd (£38500 gbp) per transaction when sending to a New Zealand account.
This would mean making 3 separate transactions. Is this true and also is this the case when sending from my own UK bank.
Thanks.
EDIT FROM EDITOR: THIS IS A FAKE REVIEW FROM SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO PUSH HIS AFFILIATE CODE FOR TRANSFERWISE.
A GOOD EXAMPLE HOW SOME CLIENT REVIEWS FOUND ONLINE COULD BE DISHONEST.
“Great Rates and First Transfer Free
TransferWise has the best exchange rates and lowest fees I have seen for both personal and business transfers. I have already saved so much money by using TransferWise, and I have never had any problems with them. Transfers are secure and fast.
Get your first transfer completely free up to $4500/£3000/4000 Euro by using this link”
Bad experience. I signed up and transfer $3,000 from us to my sister in Scotland. they wouldn’t deduct money asking me to send photo of my id beside my face. i did but the computer will not accept, before i came back from 4 days business trip to Canada my TW account has been closed. that was too fast and not too accurate of TW
TransferWise works fine. However I have discovered there is very little difference in the exchange rates between the overseas funds withdrawn from my Chase bank and Capital One debit card accounts, and having the funds sent direct to my overseas banks through Transferwise. I think they overestimate the projected savings quite a bit. For me the savings have been miniscule.
Hi, My name is Phillip Victor Mills from Australia. I deposited AUD 1400 yesterday to send it to India but I see my account is deactivated. Why did you deactivate my account and when will my recipient get that fund? I just saw your mail that you received my money and since then, I couldn’t access to my account. Is that how you guys work? I was using Orbit Remit and thought to give you a try seeing your great currency conversion rate. I want you to give me a valid reason for my account deactivation and status about my… Read more »
I used TransferWise for the first time last week. Personally, I have only positive things to say. I wanted to test it out first, just to ensure that my money doesn’t get lost anywhere. So I decided to transfer £36.90 (which was equivalent to $50) to an indonesian bank account and was charged £2. The money was sent on the 2nd business working day. I then sent £591.73 (which was equivalent to $850) and was charged £8.74. I’m new to transferring money abroad and I wouldn’t know if I was getting a fair deal or not but to me it… Read more »
Hello,
I gone through most of the reviews and their respective replies.
Thanks to Scott, as he found out more cheaper way to transfer $ to INR. (under special circumstances)
My question is I want to transfer £ to INR, would still TW is the best option you suggest or I need to do more surfing to get the best deals.
Regards
Kushal
Hi guys, great job on this review & the comments have helped a lot. I haven’t tried out this service yet but I intend to. I need it primarily to send money to the UK from India. Does TW handle those transactions? I’m sure my bank charges me a bomb & hence if I could use this service, it’d be really helpful since I can always transfer anytime, anywhere. Do give your inputs. Thanks!
Hello, i want to join transferwise, but since i’ve found that i need to be a European client, i have a doubt:
I’m european, but i have money in Brazil which is under my wifes account (shes brazilian).
On the site it says that i can transfer money from BRL reals to Euros. Is it possible to make this transfer from my wifes acccount in brazil to my account (in portugal) using transferwise?
Thats good one
DO NOT TRUST TRANSFERWISE! I tried to use them and was given a “guaranteed” exchange rate… After I deposited money for the transfer, they did not give the recipient the option to accept and then decided to change the exchange rate they had just “guaranteed” for the transaction. Instead of honouring our “guaranteed” agreement and keeping up their end of the transfer, TransferWise then tried to cancel my initial transfer and charge me a significantly higher amount than the one promised. Still in shock that they would “guarantee” an exchange rate and change their mind/ charge me much more for… Read more »
I signed up with TransferWise and tried to send money from my CAD account to my EUR account. To set up direct debit in my CAD account, TransferWise asked for my internet banking login and password. That is, they asked me for full, unrestricted access to my bank account. Every bank in the world has a clause in their contract that forbids the customer to reveal their password to anyone. Providing my password to TranserWise would immediately void the protection I get from my bank against fraud. I’ve set up direct debit with several businesses in the past, and no… Read more »
Hi,
I like this comparison. Thanks a lot!
Hi!
I recently send £500 to my account in the Philippines and expected to receive today 29 July but until now has not been credited to my account as I have an online account from the Phils in which I am updated. Kindly assist. Thank you!
I recently done a years working holiday in Australia I used TransferWise to send my Australian Dollars back to the UK twice whilst I was there and once when I arrived back just to get the last bits of my cash. The process was very very simple to do using the app for my iPhone I never had any issues which great as this can be scary to put your trust into a company and not just use banks. They also stayed in contact with me via email throughout which was reassuring. I’m glad I used TransferWise and saved a… Read more »
Transferwise Is a Scam in terms of time since they claim that their given time is an “estimate”, I gave them a test run with 5 dolars from Canada to Mexico, took them 2 days to get the money from my bank account to theirs (in 2016 when an electronic transfer would take tops 2 hours and a payment with my debit card would be instantaeous), then, contrary to what I would have expected told me that the transfer in order to be completed would take 6 days (natural days of course, because in their own words, they do work… Read more »
They kept my money for 16 days, and they still owe me. I live temporarily in another country, and use to transfer money at least twice per month. I found Transferwise a great solution to do that, but my experience was totally different. I paid the max amount allowed to transfer, after few days I received an email form the Transferwise regarding some problem in my transaction, I did the adjusts to continue and they didn’t. Immediately I canceled the process and asked for refund, then all my nightmare started. Everytime that I started to talk with “support”, nobody recognised… Read more »
Hi there,
The system seems to be great, but I would need to transfer Euros from a Spanish account to USDs in a Zambian account. Is this feasible? The geographical coverage of the service is not quite clear to me.
Thanks in advance for your explanations!
very good company analysis!
I have been using Transferwise now for over a year now, I have done many transactions to My own account in Spain, and to other private individuals and businesses in Spain.
Every single time, it has been a fast, efficient service, the process has been smooth and simple, the funds have always arrived on time.
Once you have the details of your recipients set up, along with whatever different payment sources you wish to use, it literally takes a few clicks and less than a minute to send money to a regular recipient.
This review seems disproportionately positive. For a British company a 5% or even a 3% complaint rate is quite high.
Further many of the complaints made are quite substantial. I found them to be intrusive, rude and quite arrogant.
They also cancelled my transfer with no explanation whatsoever.
Personally I think that any problems that people have experienced, have been self inflicted, due to the user either not reading Transferwise ‘s terms and policy, or not understanding how international monetary transactions, can be affected by where the money is going from and to. Every financial institution has a responsibility and obligations to limit and prevent the possibility of money laundering. Many countries around the world, are associated with money laundering, fraud, or the funding of terrorism, and therefore will be subject to either extended controls, partial-sanctions or even full sanctions. So, if for example, you want to suddenly… Read more »
Hi so you might be aware that recently in India 500 and 1000 INR notes are no longer legal tender and because of the backlash of this change, a lot of ATMs are running out of money really fast. Aquiring cash is extremely difficult at the moment and causing a lot of problems for tourists such as myself… I am from the US and have a Chase Bank account. I am staying at a hotel that doesn’t normally accept credit card payments but due to the difficulties with getting cash right now they said I can try and transfer money… Read more »
I woke up this morning to a message from TransferWise that my transfer to my Philippine bank account has been completed. I logged in to find out that THERE IS NO MONEY THERE. I used the service before and am extremely disappointed. How can they mark a transfer completed when it is NOT? Plus, they changed the rate when I do not know whose fault it is that “The transfer took longer than expected.” Now I have been waiting for 2 hours for their customer support line to open. SO SO SO SO SO DISTRESSING. I am not sure I… Read more »
Firtsly first, I have good experience with TransferWise account before. They prompt in business. Since then, after we receive thousands of EUR payment from our clients for month, they start holding the payment. Decline client payment, and start asking ID card for our customers. They have reason, that we must make “BUSINESS ACCOUNT” to receive payment for business purpose. BUT, we already contact Their customer service, and they said “You no need make any business account, if you receive average under EUR 1000 per payment”. And yes, our average sale under EUR 300 per customers. We already prepare all the… Read more »
Just used transfer wise for first time ,every thing ok with transfer,after reading your reviews you have not asked me for photo I’d,will this be a problem in the future
Thanks, you do a great job. It’s been very illuminating reading through all the reviews.
I want to leave a very positive review about them. I have used Transferwise now over 10 times in the last month to make money transfers to Mexico. All I can say is that they have been flawless in their execution from customer service to the speed of the transfer. When I ran into some problems at the beginning for not being able to verify my account, they were always able to help me along the way by using the chat function with direct and live customer support. After that initial hiccup all my transfers have been completed in a… Read more »
I was wondering if I could get some more details about how to would work sending money from my Canadian bank account to my Dutch bank account. What fees will be taken? Do I just give them my Canadian and Dutch bank info and they handle everything? Thank you!
Just to say thanks for the very good comments and responses, its great to have this when using a new application or system and nervous. Been using ozforex for a few years now and very happy with their service but curious if can get better rates. I just created an account with transferwise, id authenticated within minutes and made a transfer $100 AUD->NZD. Deposited funds to TW and waiting now on the payment to go through. The only thing I don’t really like is that I can’t ‘lock in’ the exchange rate as with all other dedicated fx traders who… Read more »
The transfer was made 7 business days ago and still hasn’t arrived. The recipient’s bank in Russia is saying they are unaware of any funds coming into the account or pending to be cleared and Transferwise support team was very unhelpful saying there is nothing they can do. They haven’t even tried to investigate what happened with the money.
Transferwise is not reliable or trustworthy. They are holding $10K Australian of mine or JPY Y829443 for more than 2 weeks now. The money has not arrived even 1 week later after they said transfer completed. Probably be very lucky if I don’t lose the lot with another failed Forex broker. Reminds me of MX Global.
Can safely say one of the worse FX companies that I have come across. Will be using DailyFX from now. Customer service standards are shambolic. After spending an hour to them on the phone they completely ignored the problem. The matter is now being raised to the FCA, ICO and Financial Ombudsman.
Paid lesser than they guaranteed.
I used TransferWise and they have paid me lesser amount than they have promised. Liars !!
I am never coming back here again.