Personal Finance

International Money Transfer - TransferWise

  • Last Updated:
  • Oct 15th, 2023 10:07 pm
Deal Addict
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Dec 1, 2004
1495 posts
98 upvotes
Thanks to both on the recent replies. I signed up for a Transferwise account and may try a $100 transfer to see what happens on the credit card.
Newbie
Feb 26, 2017
43 posts
16 upvotes
I got charged 5.5$CAD for bill payment to top up my balance using my borderless account.. Thought it was free?

I initiated the transfer, then sent the amount through "Pay bills" with my banking account.. Money was sent to an european bank a few days later at good conversion - 5.5$cad. Spoke to customer service and was told I was charged 5.5 for bill payment.
Deal Addict
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Apr 2, 2010
4015 posts
4406 upvotes
GTA
PeterR639 wrote: I got charged 5.5$CAD for bill payment to top up my balance using my borderless account.. Thought it was free?

I initiated the transfer, then sent the amount through "Pay bills" with my banking account.. Money was sent to an european bank a few days later at good conversion - 5.5$cad. Spoke to customer service and was told I was charged 5.5 for bill payment.
It's true in the past they were free, however that was just temporary. Thanks for sharing the data point.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2018
9652 posts
10922 upvotes
Vancouver
PeterR639 wrote: I got charged 5.5$CAD for bill payment to top up my balance using my borderless account.. Thought it was free?

I initiated the transfer, then sent the amount through "Pay bills" with my banking account.. Money was sent to an european bank a few days later at good conversion - 5.5$cad. Spoke to customer service and was told I was charged 5.5 for bill payment.
I tried to get some clarity from Transferwise support a few months ago about the different fees for different payment methods, and the support person I spoke to told me that there was supposed to be a fee for bill payment deposits to their Borderless account and it was a temporary glitch that it wasn't being charged.

There's a fee for each of the payment methods, a fee for currency conversion, and a fee for payout to a bank account. The fee is complicated to calculate exactly because the fee percentage is charged on the final amount after the fee is deducted.
Newbie
Dec 5, 2012
62 posts
7 upvotes
Bridgewater
I need to transfer 150USD from my Canadian Bank Account, to a USD Bank account of another person ---what is the best option to do this transaction -- PayPal..Transferwise ..WorldRemit ..thanks for the advice
Deal Addict
Feb 22, 2007
2268 posts
373 upvotes
Toronto
Stupid question,
But when a transfer is done. On the recipients end what name comes up as the transfer?
Deal Addict
Apr 19, 2017
1108 posts
936 upvotes
tdaniels wrote: I need to transfer 150USD from my Canadian Bank Account, to a USD Bank account of another person ---what is the best option to do this transaction -- PayPal..Transferwise ..WorldRemit ..thanks for the advice
Transferwise with a referral link so the first transfer up to $800 is free.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 15, 2017
2352 posts
1753 upvotes
Does the sender need your banking information to send funds to your account, or just Transferwise? After all, we read constant stories of people having their accounts drained after providing banking information to those Nigerian scams.
Deal Addict
May 16, 2017
2802 posts
3657 upvotes
taxrage wrote: Does the sender need your banking information to send funds to your account, or just Transferwise? After all, we read constant stories of people having their accounts drained after providing banking information to those Nigerian scams.
If you setup a borderless account on Transferwise (with banking type details for GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, and USD) you can have people do transfers INTO that account - it can't be debited using ACH debit or similar.
Deal Addict
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Jan 15, 2017
2352 posts
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robsaw wrote: If you setup a borderless account on Transferwise (with banking type details for GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, and USD) you can have people do transfers INTO that account - it can't be debited using ACH debit or similar.
Just trying to understand the following comment from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam
  • However, bank account information obtained by scammers is sometimes sold in bulk to other fraudsters, who wait a few months for the victim to repair the damage caused by the initial scam, before raiding any accounts which the victim didn't close.
Can an unauthorized person with your banking information actually raid your account?
Deal Guru
Jan 30, 2012
10016 posts
3743 upvotes
multi city dweller
taxrage wrote: I think the answer to that question is YES (https://splinternews.com/someone-can-em ... 1793857226) but how common is it, especially if the raider is in another country?
In general, you should use TWFX to send money.
There are other ways to receive money that do not involve giving away too much of your personal data.

For example, using interac to receive money, all you have to give out is your email address.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 15, 2017
2352 posts
1753 upvotes
LOL808 wrote: In general, you should use TWFX to send money.
There are other ways to receive money that do not involve giving away too much of your personal data.

For example, using interac to receive money, all you have to give out is your email address.
Not familiar with TWFX, but agreed, one should be able to provide just a userid to the sender, rather than the full routing information.

Personally, I really don't know if my bank distinguishes between Paypal grabbing funds from my linked account and the bank used by the fabled Nigerian prince. I suspect the latter would have to use the SWIFT network, which might give me a bit more protection, but the idea of having my banking information out there seems like bad karma.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2018
9652 posts
10922 upvotes
Vancouver
taxrage wrote: Not familiar with TWFX, but agreed, one should be able to provide just a userid to the sender, rather than the full routing information.

Personally, I really don't know if my bank distinguishes between Paypal grabbing funds from my linked account and the bank used by the fabled Nigerian prince. I suspect the latter would have to use the SWIFT network, which might give me a bit more protection, but the idea of having my banking information out there seems like bad karma.
I assume that by "TWFX" LOL808 means the regular Transferwise FX transfer, rather than going through a Transferwise Borderless account.

In business and international banking it's common to give out your complete bank account routing information to receive transfers of various kinds (wire, ACH etc.)

Nobody can withdraw money from your account unless you have previously authorized them - but keep in mind that any cheque you write contains your complete bank account routing information and authorizes someone to withdraw money from your account, so it's an everyday occurrence.

Unfortunately most banks offer very poor management of Pre-Authorized Debits. In many cases you can't list the ones you have authorized in the past, nor set or adjust limits, nor can you cancel them. Something to ask your bank!
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 15, 2017
2352 posts
1753 upvotes
Scote64 wrote: Nobody can withdraw money from your account unless you have previously authorized them - but keep in mind that any cheque you write contains your complete bank account routing information and authorizes someone to withdraw money from your account, so it's an everyday occurrence.

Unfortunately most banks offer very poor management of Pre-Authorized Debits. In many cases you can't list the ones you have authorized in the past, nor set or adjust limits, nor can you cancel them. Something to ask your bank!
The article I referred to below uses the term raid.

So, the question really is, can someone else actually raid your account? I would distinguish between someone in Canada raiding your account and someone in another country...like Mexico.

Someone I know had a few $K in a Cdn bank account that a teller somewhere mistakenly used to fund automatic loan payments. Six months later, the person checked their balance and noticed it had been drained down by about $4,000. Initially, the bank only wanted to make good on about $1,500 of that, claiming that the customer agreement requires customers to monitor their account transactions. My daughter, who works for a bank, got involved and was able to get all the money put back in the account (reminded the offending bank that this was a violation of the Bank Act). So, you have to be careful even in Canada.

I’m curious what protection is in place against something like this originating in another (possibly non-western) country.
Member
Jan 28, 2010
416 posts
91 upvotes
Montreal
Their system becomes really glitchy. If you keep playing with the amount to send, you will eventually get "Bill Payment (No extra fee)" option.

does anyone know if you can "Bill Pay" to other people (obviously adding their Transferwise account to your BMO)? or they need bill payment coming from the same Bank Account Name as Transferwise account holder?
Jr. Member
Oct 3, 2009
120 posts
52 upvotes
I have a TD Canada Trust account in CAD and an account in USD. I also have a TD Bank US account. I get paid in USD to my US TD account and usually just use my US Debit card for everything However, I'm now at a point where I need to transfer some funds from my TD US account to my Canadian CAD account. The fee is free to move money from the US account to my Canadian USD account. But the FX rate by the bank is really bad when converting from USD->CAD after that. I've also heard of people that use their trading accounts to make the exchange rate better. I don't have one of these accounts and I'd only periodically use it for only these types exchanges, so there is inactivity fees I wouldn't want to get hit with.

Is this transferwise a better way of transferring between bank accounts with differing currencies?
Deal Fanatic
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Jan 4, 2011
7348 posts
9134 upvotes
Montreal
Wallboy wrote: I have a TD Canada Trust account in CAD and an account in USD. I also have a TD Bank US account. I get paid in USD to my US TD account and usually just use my US Debit card for everything However, I'm now at a point where I need to transfer some funds from my TD US account to my Canadian CAD account. The fee is free to move money from the US account to my Canadian USD account. But the FX rate by the bank is really bad when converting from USD->CAD after that. I've also heard of people that use their trading accounts to make the exchange rate better. I don't have one of these accounts and I'd only periodically use it for only these types exchanges, so there is inactivity fees I wouldn't want to get hit with.

Is this transferwise a better way of transferring between bank accounts with differing currencies?
Yes, there are inactivity fees (I think it's about $25/quarter, but not 100% certain) unless you have a registered product with them (e.g., a TFSA, RRSP, etc.). I can't speak to Transferwise (maybe someone else can chime in), but another option may be to withdraw USD from your Canadian USD account, then just run across to your local F/X counter and buy CAD there. Usually the small independent shops get you pretty good rates, or at least better than the banks'.
Deal Addict
Apr 19, 2017
1108 posts
936 upvotes
Transferwise with a referral so the first $800 is free.

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