TransferWise

[zow]

Has anyone used this app-based money transfer service? Seems that it allows international transfers, much cheaper than wire transfer?  Any personal experience to share before I do so for my daughter's rent in Israel (until she can get her own Israeli account)?

[Yo ssi]

Has anyone used this app-based money transfer service? Seems that it allows international transfers, much cheaper than wire transfer?  Any personal experience to share before I do so for my daughter's rent in Israel (until she can get her own Israeli account)?

I've used it no problems. (BTW it works perfectly on a computer)
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=80376.msg1755601

[iambarry]

I use it also.  It works great.  I've had no problems with their service, and their fees are much lower than the other services I've tried.  I'm using it to transfer from USD to ILS, they give you the interbank rate, and add fees of a little over .8% (.8% plus $10.94 fee, plus ACH fee).

That being said, I just got a Revolut card   ( referal link: https://revolut.com/referral/barry8ofh ).

Revolut has free and paid plans.  For ~$100/year you get unlimited currency exchange transfers at the interbank rate.  On paper, Revolut is even better than Transferwise.  However intermediaries may charge fees for IBAN transfers.  I did one test USD to 100ILS transfer.  I ended up receiving 80ILS in my bank.  I'm not sure if that's a 20ILS intermediary fee (~ $5), or a 20% fee.  I'm happy with 20ILS, but 20% would be a deal breaker.  I'll try a larger amount on Revolut once my daily transfer limits are increased.

[Pad18]

I use it also.  It works great.  I've had no problems with their service, and their fees are much lower than the other services I've tried.  I'm using it to transfer from USD to ILS, they give you the interbank rate, and add fees of a little over .8% (.8% plus $10.94 fee, plus ACH fee).

That being said, I just got a Revolut card   ( referal link: https://revolut.com/referral/barry8ofh ).

Revolut has free and paid plans.  For ~$100/year you get unlimited currency exchange transfers at the interbank rate.  On paper, Revolut is even better than Transferwise.  However intermediaries may charge fees for IBAN transfers.  I did one test USD to 100ILS transfer.  I ended up receiving 80ILS in my bank.  I'm not sure if that's a 20ILS intermediary fee (~ $5), or a 20% fee.  I'm happy with 20ILS, but 20% would be a deal breaker.  I'll try a larger amount on Revolut once my daily transfer limits are increased.

Looking forward for the update.

I am using TransferWise for EU-USD I found them to be the cheapest and faster service.

[sillypainter]

For business accounts I use a free service, not sure about currency conversion because we pay in USD. For more PM me.

[Pad18]

For business accounts I use a free service, not sure about currency conversion because we pay in USD. For more PM me.

Only to point out, that TransferWise does offer business account !

[Yehudaa]

Has anyone used this app-based money transfer service? Seems that it allows international transfers, much cheaper than wire transfer?  Any personal experience to share before I do so for my daughter's rent in Israel (until she can get her own Israeli account)?

I use it between USD and CAD all the time, no issues. I only used it once or twice a long time ago for ILS but I don't think there were any issues.

That being said, I'd leave some extra time because IME Israeli banks can have unexpected delays or holds, especially when it comes to foreign transfers.

[ExGingi]

I've used them in the past for USD-AUD and was happy.

Recently I am having the need to transfer larger amounts ILS to USD and potentially the other way too. I've commented on a dedicated thread for that.

Not having an account in Israel might be a PITA for transferring money there, no matter what.

[Yehudaa]

One other idea: I found that for me the easiest way to get up to a few thousand dollars of ILS each month was a canadian prepaid credit card that has no-fee foreign withdrawals at interbank rates. Some ATMs in Israel have no fees for withdrawls.

Is there something similar in the US?

[ExGingi]

One other idea: I found that for me the easiest way to get up to a few thousand dollars of ILS each month was a canadian prepaid credit card that has no-fee foreign withdrawals at interbank rates. Some ATMs in Israel have no fees for withdrawls.

Is there something similar in the US?

Schwab bank has no fees for ATM withdrawals and reimburses ATM fees of other banks. I'm not sure about the exchange rates. I gave my card to my daughter when she was in Europe, exchange rate didn't seem like it was what I was seeing in a google search for the rate, but there can always be differences due to posting and transaction dates etc. When it's small amounts it's not that critical, but larger amounts could become significant.

The other issue is that if used to pay rent, that might be an issue due to Israeli restrictions on cash transactions.

[moe8555]

As I've written before, I highly recommend you guys check out ClearShift. Frum American and Israeli business.  For ILS to USD, only 0.5% (as in half a percent) fee and you get the official Bank of Israel daily rate (shaar yatzig) with no funny business or added pips/markup etc.  Been using them for over two years - zero problems.

They also do USD to ILS, but I don't know anything about that side of their service (also seems less relevant given the ease with which USD as ILS can be withdrawn fee-free from an ATM).

[ExGingi]

As I've written before, I highly recommend you guys check out ClearShift. Frum American and Israeli business.  For ILS to USD, only 0.5% (as in half a percent) fee and you get the official Bank of Israel daily rate (shaar yatzig) with no funny business or added pips/markup etc.  Been using them for over two years - zero problems.

They also do USD to ILS, but I don't know anything about that side of their service (also seems less relevant given the ease with which USD as ILS can be withdrawn fee-free from an ATM).

Size matters. Under 36,000 you're at Clearshift's minimum of 180 ILS. Once you get over a certain amount, there are services that charge less such as VFEXGS. Clearshift definitely have their sweetspot, though in my specific situation I haven't jumped through their technicalities to get started with them due to titling of accounts. I might not be able to resolve that until I'm able to be in Israel without needing to quarantine.

How do you transfer funds to/from Clearshift in Israel? Is it a domestic bank transfer or a SWIFT/IBAN transfer?

My cheapest transfers were just a swap with friends that needed transfers in the other direction. With a decent network, one might be able to find that.

[iambarry]

If your transferring  ILS to USD from an Israeli bank account, neither Revolut nor Transferwise really work.  The problem is that AFAIK Israeli banks refuse to let you transfer ILS outside of the country (they have no problem accepting an incoming ILS transfer from abroad).  I've used CurrencyTransfer.com before as they have a local Israeli account you can transfer into, then they use their local US account to transfer to your US bank.  They don't charge an explicit fee, but you do take a significant hit on the spread.  The spread is still much tighter than your bank would provide.

[ExGingi]

If your transferring  ILS to USD from an Israeli bank account, neither Revolut nor Transferwise really work.  The problem is that AFAIK Israeli banks refuse to let you transfer ILS outside of the country (they have no problem accepting an incoming ILS transfer from abroad).  I've used CurrencyTransfer.com before as they have a local Israeli account you can transfer into, then they use their local US account to transfer to your US bank.  They don't charge an explicit fee, but you do take a significant hit on the spread.  The spread is still much tighter than your bank would provide.

-1
I sent ILS from an Israeli bank to a UK bank via SWIFT/IBAN.

[iambarry]

-1
I sent ILS from an Israeli bank to a UK bank via SWIFT/IBAN.

You were able to send ILS to your UK bank, or they did the transfer in GBP?  I've never been able to transfer out of Israel in ILS. Would love to know which bank you use.

[ExGingi]

You were able to send ILS to your UK bank, or they did the transfer in GBP?  I've never been able to transfer out of Israel in ILS. Would love to know which bank you use.

Sent ILS from Bank Hapoalim to Barclays Bank in London.

[iambarry]

Sent ILS from Bank Hapoalim to Barclays Bank in London.

Interesting.  Bank Hapoalim wouldn't let me transfer ILS out of Israel with my personal bank account.  Also I didn't know Barclays had ILS multi currency accounts.  Good to know.

[moe8555]

Size matters. Under 36,000 you're at Clearshift's minimum of 180 ILS. Once you get over a certain amount, there are services that charge less such as VFEXGS. Clearshift definitely have their sweetspot, though in my specific situation I haven't jumped through their technicalities to get started with them due to titling of accounts. I might not be able to resolve that until I'm able to be in Israel without needing to quarantine.

How do you transfer funds to/from Clearshift in Israel? Is it a domestic bank transfer or a SWIFT/IBAN transfer?

My cheapest transfers were just a swap with friends that needed transfers in the other direction. With a decent network, one might be able to find that.

True about the minimum, which was only 20K until June.  As for ease of getting them the money: it is a simple/regular free transfer you can do from your bank's app or site (regular domestic Israeli bank to Israeli bank).

What is VFEXGS?

[iwlw2]

I need to pay various vendors in Israel and have looked into TransferWise, as it seemed to be exactly what I needed. The problem I ran into is that they seemed to insist on all kinds of personal info in order to set up an account, and given that I work for a large instituition in which nobody in the finance dept. wanted to give their own personal info, we couldnt get the account set up. Anyone know of a workaround on this, or a similar reputable service that will let us set up a business account (for multiple transfers of USD to Israeli bank accounts-into ILS- of approx. $500-$1000 each every month)? Thanks!

[sillypainter]

I need to pay various vendors in Israel and have looked into TransferWise, as it seemed to be exactly what I needed. The problem I ran into is that they seemed to insist on all kinds of personal info in order to set up an account, and given that I work for a large instituition in which nobody in the finance dept. wanted to give their own personal info, we couldnt get the account set up. Anyone know of a workaround on this, or a similar reputable service that will let us set up a business account (for multiple transfers of USD to Israeli bank accounts-into ILS- of approx. $500-$1000 each every month)? Thanks!

If you transfer in USD I have a FREE solution for you. PM me.