# Transferring money internationally with XETrade



## DublinTexas (31 Mar 2006)

I use XE frequently and have no problems.
To open the account I needed to upload or fax my Passport and copy of a bank statement as proof of address.
All you do online is to agree to a contract of exchange, you than need to use your Bank to do a Money Transfer to a bank account in Germany (IBAN so it's free or what ever your bank charges). 
Once they receive the money they either wire it into your Canda account or do an EFT (which takes longer).
So the only benefit for me is better exchange rates and a free transfer which is faster than a 30€ money transfer to the US from my bank.


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## Insomniac (31 Mar 2006)

The currency converter website xe.com have their own way of transferring money internationally which seems to offer better conversion rates than the banks.

I'm going to be transferring a large amount of money to Canada in advance of my move there and I was thinking about using XETrade on that website but I'm wary of using the internet to do this.

Does anybody have any experience of using XETrade on the website xe.com?


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## kitm (31 Mar 2006)

Have never used XETrade, but have used Caxtonfx, who are based in UK - so all done online/phone/post.
The process involved opening an account, and various IDs are required for money laundering processes - would be surprised if XETrade didn't require the same. So there should be a bit of good old fashioned paper shuffling, if that gives you any more confidence in the transaction.


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## ClubMan (13 Aug 2008)

DublinTexas said:


> I use XE frequently and have no problems.
> To open the account I needed to upload or fax my Passport and copy of a bank statement as proof of address.
> All you do online is to agree to a contract of exchange, you than need to use your Bank to do a Money Transfer to a bank account in Germany (IBAN so it's free or what ever your bank charges).
> Once they receive the money they either wire it into your Canda account or do an EFT (which takes longer).
> So the only benefit for me is better exchange rates and a free transfer which is faster than a 30€ money transfer to the US from my bank.


Is this an advertisement for _XEtrade _or something? 



kitm said:


> Have never used XETrade, but have used Caxtonfx, who are based in UK - so all done online/phone/post.
> The process involved opening an account, and various IDs are required for money laundering processes - would be surprised if XETrade didn't require the same.


They do.



Insomniac said:


> The currency converter website xe.com have their own way of transferring money internationally which seems to offer better conversion rates than the banks.
> 
> I'm going to be transferring a large amount of money to Canada in advance of my move there and I was thinking about using XETrade on that website but I'm wary of using the internet to do this.
> 
> Does anybody have any experience of using XETrade on the website xe.com?


Er - did you not read the first post?!


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## ccraig (13 Aug 2008)

xe rates on the charts are not real rates, you only get those when you register, they are not nearly as good. Its the same on most of these sites. they dont give you a rate until you have sent all your docs in to them.

Call your bank, around the banks, currency.ie and see who offers the best deal. make sure to ask transfer fees and xchange rates


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## ClubMan (14 Aug 2008)

But are the rates and charges from the likes of _XEtrade _etc. generally better than the banks (or in my case _E*Trade _who will convert from US$ to € for 2.25% which seems high)?


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## ccraig (14 Aug 2008)

best to test xetrade and currency.ie and find out, with xe you will have to send in docs before finding out. they wont give a rate until you have done that plus you are charged wire fees although they claim that you are not charged transfer fees, just another label


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## ClubMan (14 Aug 2008)

I'm in the process of opening an _XEtrade _account. They are to call me to check details tomorrow. But _currency.ie_ looks (on the face of it) a lot simpler! _E*Trade_ will be charging $25 for a wire anyway so I'd prefer not to have to pay more fees just for moving the money around. And obviously I'd like to minimise the forex margin. At least the $ has been gaining on the € recently!


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## ClubMan (14 Aug 2008)

Phew - the _XEtrade _account setup process is pretty involved. I opened the account, faxed back the signed form, faxed (didn't have the opportunity to scan/upload) my compliance documentation through, confirmed details on the phone to a support rep and now I still have to resent my passport copy as the faxed copy is not legible at their end (the rep said that he has never seen a faxed copy come in OK so scan/photo & upload is the only real option). So my account is still not activated until I get them a legible copy of my passport.

In the meantime I also contacted _currency.ie_ online with the summary details of my intended transfer but they have yet to get back to me.


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## ClubMan (14 Aug 2008)

_Currency.ie _also require original or certified docs. Popping into their office on _College Green _is handier for me than getting certified copies etc. So once I've got both accounts open I'll see what rate they and the banks offer and choose the best (allowing for any ancillary charges).


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## ClubMan (20 Aug 2008)

_XEtrade _seem very slow to enable the account even after all the certification docs have been provided. They had everything last Thursday and my account is still not enabled. In contrast, on foot of an email exchange with one of their staff, I popped into _Transfermate's (currency.ie's) _offices in _Dublin _to show them original documentation (passport & bill) and I was in their system immediately. (Getting certified copies and posting/faxing them was more hassle to me than just popping in). I just wanted to be ready to try both of them and local banks for a rate before transferring the money to see how it goes. As much as an exercise as anything else. _Transfermate's _customer service so far has been great although I haven't actually executed any transactions with them yet.


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## ClubMan (22 Aug 2008)

One week on and _XEtrade _have neither activated my account nor answered my last query about what the hold up is. I'll probably go with _TransferMate/currency.ie _at this stage since they seem a lot more responsive and reliable.


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## ClubMan (24 Aug 2008)

So _XEtrade _finally activate my account over a week after I have supplied them with all the necessary documentation. Then I find that in spite of having discussed the sums involved with them they have a c. US$6K trade limit on my account!? Based on my experience they seem determined to ensure that customers do NOT trade with them easily. _Transfermate/currency.ie _seem much more helpful and on the ball so I will most likely go with them.


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## ClubMan (26 Aug 2008)

_XEtrade _upped my trading limit and adjusted the rates applicable to give me a better deal (so they said) but _currency.ie _were still a better deal even before the _XEtrade _wire fees from their bank to my _Irish _account were accounted for. So I went with _currency.ie_. They are lot easier to deal with all round in my experience so far in setting up an account and asking about various issues in advance of executing my first transaction.


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## _Eddie_ (27 Aug 2008)

I've been living in Ireland for 2 years, originally from the US of A. I have quite a bit of credit card debt and need to transfer money to my US account every month.  I was browsing the forums and found the reference to currency.ie. I filled out the form on this page [broken link removed] and then was just given a response to transfer funds to their account.  Seems kinda dodgy.  Are they legit ?  I'm transferring about 1000 eur a month.  Do they not require some sort of picture ID ?


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## ClubMan (27 Aug 2008)

Yes - you will need to open an account with then by providing the necessary id (e.g. certified copy or original passport, utility bill etc.). The website is a bit basic and the form in question does not actually execute the transaction. You should give them a call or contact them by email. There is nothing dodgy about the operation as far as I can see even though I have not executed any business through them yet. Their support is very helpful so far though.


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## irash (27 Aug 2008)

currency.ie will transfer small amounts of money without asking for your ID (do not know what the cap is, but 1000 euro is well within it)


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## ClubMan (27 Aug 2008)

Sorry - I did not know that. For the amounts that I was looking at they did require me to provide documentation and open an account first.


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## ClubMan (29 Aug 2008)

Finally managed transfer my money to _Transfermate/currency.ie _- the problem was trying to convince _E*Trade _to process a wire request to a 3rd party account (_Transfermate's US _clearing bank). They normally require a "notarized letter of authorization" but they made do with some other info including a letter from my _US _employer's stock plan administrator. _E*Trade _can convert from US$ to € but normally charge 2.25% of the amount on top of whatever forex margin is built into their exchange rate. They knocked this down to 0.75% without any haggling on my part and that made it just marginally more expensive than _Transfermate/currency.ie _and _XEtrade _but I decided to go with _Transfermate _since they were marginally cheaper and had been so helpful along the way.


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## DublinTexas (11 Sep 2008)

After the feedback here I tried out currency.ie because I thought that it might be faster than xe which involves a SEPA payment to Germany but I found that currency.ie is not as good as XE.

With XE you do your SEPA payment to Germany (which usualy takes 2 days) and they than pay it to you via wire (15€ charge) or EFT (no charge) and you get it the same day they receive your money for wire or 1 day later for EFT.

With currency.ie it took according to them 2 days before a bank of scotland to bank of scotland payment was with them and than they only do the wire for the next day so it's 4 days. And they charge a 15€ fee.

With XE my money would have been there today with Wire or tommorrow with EFT, the same day currency.ie will be there (hopeyfull) but I would have paid less (i.e. the 15€ fee plus the 10$ incoming fee).

And as both are using Custom House in the background (hey some links on currency.ie point ot custom house) I think I stick with XE.

I know what I get for less fee.


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## mooney76 (16 Sep 2008)

Ive used currency.ie and it was next day transfer so guess it depends on what time you transfer. Currency.ie is Irish owned, xetrade is customhouse which is Canadian, nothing to do with one another.


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## ClubMan (18 Sep 2008)

_Currency.ie _may waive any ancillary wire/transfer fees if you are doing regular transactions with them. I will probably be doing a transfer every 6 months and they waived such fees for me. I found them much easier to deal with in terms of getting the account set up/activated and in terms of answering several technical questions that I had about the process/service. The rate they offered me was also better than that offered by _XEtrade_. If I was asked to choose recommend between _currency.ie _and _XEtrade_ I would choose the former.


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## marshmallow (6 Feb 2009)

Do currency.ie allow you to make transfers online? XE.com's demo looks great on the face of it, you can arrange everything at the touch of a button, whereas I don't fancy having to ring up everytime I want to make a transfer.


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## DublinTexas (6 Feb 2009)

marshmallow said:


> Do currency.ie allow you to make transfers online? XE.com's demo looks great on the face of it, you can arrange everything at the touch of a button, whereas I don't fancy having to ring up everytime I want to make a transfer.


 
Currency.ie allows you to fill out a web form, call them or do it via chat if you do it regulary to the same account.

It all comes down to speed. If you need it next day (after they receive the money) currency.ie wins, if you don't need speed (3-4 days) than xe.com wins because there is no cost involved as no wire transfers are involved.

I would open an account with xe.com and than ask both providers for their rates when you need to make the transfer, take the quotes and cost (remember wire receiving in US costs also money) and than make the decision.

Remember that after a certain amount of transfer with currency.ie you also need to provide the same paperwork to them as you need with xe.

I use both depending on how fast I want the money over and who offers me a better quote.


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## marshmallow (7 Feb 2009)

DublinTexas said:


> It all comes down to speed. If you need it next day (after they receive the money) currency.ie wins, if you don't need speed (3-4 days) than xe.com wins because there is no cost involved as no wire transfers are involved.


 
Thanks for that. Am all set up with XE now but it looks like wire transfers are the only way I can do anything, as I'm not a US/Can customer? 

Good idea to use both for comparison, cheers.


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## ccraig (24 Feb 2009)

have used both currency.ie and xetrade.

While xe rates look good on their front page their rates are rubbish when you sign up. dont know where you were sending payments but my us payments are faster with currency than xe


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