I get a lot of questions on my Facebook group about the best ways to transfer money abroad, so I thought it was about time I shared a bit more info for you here.
Firstly, transferring money internationally can get reaaaallllly expensive and I’ve been ripped off more times than I can count. I look at xe.com and it tells me one thing, then my bank statement inflates it by 50 million percent. Slight exaggeration but you know what I’m talking about.
There are loads of different websites that can transfer money abroad and save you a lot on fees. The one I use the most (and actually the one that is most recommended from other London New Girls in the group) is Transferwise.
I’ve used them a few times over the last year and I find them to be incredibly easy to use, reliable, fast and most importantly – really cheap!
Earlier this week I had to transfer a €120 deposit for some holiday accommodation. My bank was going to charge over £120 to transfer, which is just ridiculous when £1 should buy me €1.17. Then I remembered to try Transferwise and ended up wiring it over for £104. It made me so unreasonably happy and smug, knowing I just salvaged £16 worth of fees from the hands of a greedy bank.
Anyway, with some smart website wizardry (seriously, it took me 3 days and a lot of tech-y forums to work out how the hell to do this), you can use the calculator below to get an idea of what you can transfer…
Of course these guys aren’t the only ones around, I’d just rather recommend one that I’ve tried and tested. Here’s a few others to check out if you want to shop around:
Since we’re talking about converting currency, if you’re travelling abroad I can’t recommend a Monzo card enough. Really though, I already had a massive rant to you a few weeks ago. You just top it up directly from your bank card, the exchange rates are really good and there are ZERO fees. When you get back to the UK, there’s even a nice (/terrifying) notification that sums up how much you spent on your holiday.
Anyway, that’s it from me. If you know of any other great money transfer websites that you’ve used and would recommend, let me know in the comments.
Kamila x
LNG