Please can someone enlighten me. My daughter is in Aussie and periodically transfers Aussie $ back to her NZ bank account. She says she is not being charged a fee for this, which surprises me, but I am taking her at her word on that.
She is considering signing up to Western Union and sending money home that way instead, as she is adamant that every time she checks the Aussie/NZ exchange rate, it is always more at Western Union. I suggested that is more than likely just a timing thing, but she has been sitting on video chat, showing me what her bank and WU are showing - refreshing the calculators within seconds of each other - and she's not wrong. WU does appear to be consistently offering a slightly better rate.
If that is correct, everything I thought I knew about exchange rates, just flew out the window.
So what's the deal? And while I'm here, does anyone have any experience with WU?
Thanks in advance.
No experience with Western Union, but I just use Wise - easy to use/set-up and the spot rate with a small fee.
Snap, I was going to say Wise.
Wise is the way to go.
XE money worth a crack if Wise doesn't work .
Quote from: Untamed on Oct 20, 2024, 07:41 PMPlease can someone enlighten me. My daughter is in Aussie and periodically transfers Aussie $ back to her NZ bank account. She says she is not being charged a fee for this, which surprises me, but I am taking her at her word on that.
She is considering signing up to Western Union and sending money home that way instead, as she is adamant that every time she checks the Aussie/NZ exchange rate, it is always more at Western Union. I suggested that is more than likely just a timing thing, but she has been sitting on video chat, showing me what her bank and WU are showing - refreshing the calculators within seconds of each other - and she's not wrong. WU does appear to be consistently offering a slightly better rate.
If that is correct, everything I thought I knew about exchange rates, just flew out the window.
So what's the deal? And while I'm here, does anyone have any experience with WU?
Thanks in advance.
It depends on a lot of parameters which provider is the best for your(daughters) needs ...
https://www.monito.com/en/wiki/how-much-is-the-western-union-fee
Your house bank is safe, but normally one of the most expensive (and slower) options to transfer money overseas.
WU seems to be safe. Can't really comment on the service, but I hear people like to use them for money laundering (which may or may not be a concern).
Wise is often mentioned, but if there are any issues, then good luck to get hold of a human. Actually, I gave up on them.
I normally use OFX, (https://www.ofx.com/en-nz/) they are fast, offer a good exchange rate (well, better than the banks) and no fees for larger amounts (roughly >10k$), and they provide outstanding communication.
Your dissatisfaction with Wise surprises me. I have used them since they very first started as Transfer Wise and have never had any problems with them. I use their physical and virtual disposable Visa cards, use my foreign bank accounts they give you to receive some foreign dividends and payment for selling online, etc. The only time I have had to contact them I used their messaging service and receive helpful replies within 24 hours or so.
Quote from: Raven on Oct 21, 2024, 07:00 PMYour dissatisfaction with Wise surprises me. I have used them since they very first started as Transfer Wise and have never had any problems with them. I use their physical and virtual disposable Visa cards, use my foreign bank accounts they give you to receive some foreign dividends and payment for selling online, etc. The only time I have had to contact them I used their messaging service and receive helpful replies within 24 hours or so.
Maybe just one of their text bots with the wires wrongly crossed. I don't know. I was able to open an account with them, I was able to put money into it, and then they returned the money saying I didn't pass verification. No explanation, just a request to upload the same documents I did before. Nobody at Wise was able to tell me what the problem was, and to be honest - it didn't appear I ever managed to converse with a real human.
I don't know what the problem was, and they didn't tell me either. Maybe a problem with our postal address (NZ Post does not deliver letters to our house - i.e. we do have PO Box), maybe a problem with my surname (which includes a hyphen), maybe a problem with our street address (which on the power bill still includes the antics from an ancient plan change), but probably just not enough grey matter between the ears of whoever did set up Wises verification system. I don't know. Nothing of that was ever a problem for various (NZ and European) banks I hold accounts with, but Wise is not even telling me what their problem is. Clearly - they don't need me as a client.
Never mind. Plenty of other good money transfer companies around who still are able to front up with real humans to solve problems, if needed.