Suddenly, we needed to transfer money internationally in order to pay rent. What?! How?! There are a few services which I will list below, but the one we used is Transferwise. I would appreciate if you check it out, to use my referral link.
Transferwise (https://transferwise.com/u/beths41 <--referral link) is very simple and works a lot like other money-sending apps. You enter name/address/account of the person you want to send to, along with the amount and which currencies.
Transferwise gives the day's exchange rate and charges a small processing fee. My fees have been in the ballpark of 1%. From the perspective of my bank, it is a USD transaction on my debit card. The currency exchange is handled by Transferwise.
The entire transaction is completed and funds received on the third banking day after I initiate it, in my limited experience. So far I have been extremely happy with this service.
Other international funds transfer services to consider:
Paypal. In my very limited experience with this, Paypal is not a great option, if only because it requires the recipient to also have Paypal. In the context of paypal, there is additional time padded in for the money to clear at all the various stages so it is a slower process to get it into the recipient's bank account.
Paypal also has a service called Xoom, which is intended more for international transfers, but more of a Western Union format, where the recipient has to physically go pick it up from a service location.
Isratransfer. This was endorsed to us, but the sign up process had several hurdles that I have not yet jumped. Transferwise was much easier and more straightforward. If I need to do frequent or large transfers to Israel, I will go through the process. It is said to have better rates than Transferwise.
Clearshift. Another service that was endorsed to us. This was said to be particularly good for big and/or business transactions. Another one to look into if/when...
Meanwhile, Transferwise was simple and quick. Check it out.
Transferwise (https://transferwise.com/u/beths41 <--referral link) is very simple and works a lot like other money-sending apps. You enter name/address/account of the person you want to send to, along with the amount and which currencies.
Transferwise gives the day's exchange rate and charges a small processing fee. My fees have been in the ballpark of 1%. From the perspective of my bank, it is a USD transaction on my debit card. The currency exchange is handled by Transferwise.
The entire transaction is completed and funds received on the third banking day after I initiate it, in my limited experience. So far I have been extremely happy with this service.
Other international funds transfer services to consider:
Paypal. In my very limited experience with this, Paypal is not a great option, if only because it requires the recipient to also have Paypal. In the context of paypal, there is additional time padded in for the money to clear at all the various stages so it is a slower process to get it into the recipient's bank account.
Paypal also has a service called Xoom, which is intended more for international transfers, but more of a Western Union format, where the recipient has to physically go pick it up from a service location.
Isratransfer. This was endorsed to us, but the sign up process had several hurdles that I have not yet jumped. Transferwise was much easier and more straightforward. If I need to do frequent or large transfers to Israel, I will go through the process. It is said to have better rates than Transferwise.
Clearshift. Another service that was endorsed to us. This was said to be particularly good for big and/or business transactions. Another one to look into if/when...
Meanwhile, Transferwise was simple and quick. Check it out.