Is there not a way to transfer a large sum of money from Monzo (UK) to a USA bank account without paying a fee or using some kind of intermediary like TransferWise? I thought moving money from my own account into my own account in another country would be easier/free but whenever I try to do it from Monzo it seems to be pushing me towards using a fee service like TransferWise…
Monzo don’t support international transfers so you’d need to use transferwise or similar
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Not sure what other banks charge here but I’d never assume it would be free. I’ve never had need to do this so it’s all theory from my perspective.
The accounts on either end may be mine but the infrastructure is be using to transfer the money definitely isn’t mine so I’d assume I’d be charged for it.
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There’s always a fee as there is currency conversion to consider. Personally, I’ve found Transferwise to be very reasonably priced for transfers to the US and into Europe. Legacy banks tend to charge much higher fees (service fees and currency conversion fees) to move money internationally. For example I have HSBC accounts in UK and US and while its much simpler to just do an internal transfer with HSBC it’s much more expensive so I have always used Transferwise.
Thanks all; I have looked into TransferWise but this is a pretty big inheritance transfer so looking for something with the lowest charge (hopefully lower than TransferWise). Might transfer from Monzo to my Santander account and then do a bank transfer from there; their fees are pretty low (£25 per I think?).
That is the actual fee your quoting.
What is the exchange rate?
I’d suspect that your bank won’t beat Transferwise if it’s a large amount.
Even a few cents per pound could wipe out any perceived savings.
You need to factor in the exchange rate not just the fee, here’s a good overview of the cost of making international transfers through various banks - https://builtformars.co.uk/banks/international/
I doubt you’ll find any large banks standard offering cheaper than Transferwise, but if it’s a large transfer you can call your bank directly and ask for a fixed exchange rate for your specific transfer. I still don’t know if it will be cheaper than Transferwise, but it might feel safer going directly for a large transfer if the cost is comparable.
I use Transferwise a lot, it’s a great product. Cheaper but also much faster than regular international transfers.
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You should try calling OFX (or XE )and check the price compared to Transferwise. Transferwise will show you the final rate on their website so you don’t have to call them or download the app. CurrencyFair has slightly better rates than Transferwise and works similarly Also, as mentioned before if it’s a large amount your bank will probably give you a preferential rate so check with them after you’ve called OFX,
Disclosure:I personally have a big problem with Transferwise since they are holding my money in my Borderless account for 60 days after they deactivated my account. I complained to the Financial Ombudsman a few weeks ago but haven’t heard back from them yet .
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