Wise or swift

[Harveyboy]

Hello guys I'm hoping someone on here may be able to help..I have an account with wise iits worked well not really had any problems .but recently I've been reading a little on here about OPs raising a few issues..

Ok since my bank in the UK have told me that all foreign accounts are to be closed by September..(After 40 years with these Loyalty eh...) I've decided to transfer my cash from there into wise account it's fairly substantial..at theomeng I also have a pension paid in there monthly.arrives on the dot no probs ..my Q is would I be better to split the funds into another like Swift maybe ..has anyone dealt with Swift ..are the reliable..how are the charges compared to wise ..thanks for any help H

[MJCM]

AFAIK SWIFT is not a bank, it’s used by banks to send money so it’s a so called network for banks

https://www.swift.com

Swift is a global member-owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services.

 

 

 

????????

Edited March 11, 2023 by MJCM

[scubascuba3]

Just use Wise but send smaller amounts, better than using a bank\swift. Wise may delay transfers due to the size and number but if in no rush go with Wise

[Moonlover]

  @Harveyboy Which is this bank that is telling you that all 'foreign accounts' are to be closed and how do they define what a 'foreign account' actually is?

 

@MJCMabove is correct by the way. SWIFT is a money transaction method, not a bank.

 

Nothing wrong with Wise BTW. I've been using them for many years without a hitch.

[Timbob]

Wise is not a bank. 

 

I use them regularly to send money and have never had any major issue. Perhaps not as quick as they once were, but much better than when I used to send money via HSBC (and a lot cheaper!).

 

I would not keep a substantial amount of funds with them. I'd say that's UNWISE. Better to keep your money in a UK bank protected by the FSCS scheme.  

[billd766]

I track KBank, BBK bank, Wise and XE forex rates on a daily but use Wise for my transfers to BBK Bank.

 

AFAICS I get a much better forex rate using Wise to transfer my funds to BBK bank, than if I transferred directly from my pension providers to either BBK or KBank.

 

Yesterday evening I transferred 400 quid to BBK at a forex rate of 42.0275 thb, while the listed Wise forex rate was 41.8886 thb and the BBK forex rate was 41.4075.

 

I used the transfer of funds for long term stay in Thailand as the reason for the transfer and shows up in my bankbook and on the bank statement as an FTT or international transfer.

 

It normally takes around 24 hours except on a Friday transfer when it shows up on Monday or the next banking day, if the Monday is a bank or public holiday, just after 2 pm.

[NoDisplayName]

3 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

how are the charges compared to wise .

Depends.  How large is the transfer, and what is the forex rate at the receiving bank?  Set up a spreadsheet and calculate the total cost using both for various amounts. 

 

You can get the actual forex rate from xe.com, and compare that to the right now rates from wise and your Thai bank website.

 

[billd766]

I have done that if anybody should want a copy.

[Harveyboy]

22 hours ago, Moonlover said:

  @Harveyboy Which is this bank that is telling you that all 'foreign accounts' are to be closed and how do they define what a 'foreign account' actually is?

 

@MJCMabove is correct by the way. SWIFT is a money transaction method, not a bank.

 

Nothing wrong with Wise BTW. I've been using them for many years without a hitch.

I had a mail from Barclays UK told me account closed from September this year ..I'd planned to have pension paid in there ..I called them and spoke to someone for 20 minuits who went into detail telling me that Brexit was the problem and managing accounts abroad was no longer possible.. apparently all banks in the UK will be following this so if you got an account in UK start looking some where else..this isn't hearsay I can verify this Barclays from September closing accounts anywhere outside UK. H 

[Harveyboy]

22 hours ago, Moonlover said:

  @Harveyboy Which is this bank that is telling you that all 'foreign accounts' are to be closed and how do they define what a 'foreign account' actually is?

 

@MJCMabove is correct by the way. SWIFT is a money transaction method, not a bank.

 

Nothing wrong with Wise BTW. I've been using them for many years without a hitch.

I've been told that Wise is also not classed as a bank .is that correct 

[scubascuba3]

57 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

I had a mail from Barclays UK told me account closed from September this year ..I'd planned to have pension paid in there ..I called them and spoke to someone for 20 minuits who went into detail telling me that Brexit was the problem and managing accounts abroad was no longer possible.. apparently all banks in the UK will be following this so if you got an account in UK start looking some where else..this isn't hearsay I can verify this Barclays from September closing accounts anywhere outside UK. H 

Most people have a UK bank account with UK address. Switching to a foreign address is flagging yourself for later closure 

[MJCM]

5 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Most people have a UK bank account with UK address. Switching to a foreign address is flagging yourself for later closure 

Yep when reports about this started coming out in my Home Country I immediately changed the address on one of my banks that had a foreign address and fortunately they did not close it :????

[Moonlover]

6 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

I've been told that Wise is also not classed as a bank .is that correct 

You have been told correctly I quote:

 

'Like we mentioned before, Wise isn’t a bank — but a Money Services provider'.

 

https://wise.com/us/blog/wise-as-bank-account#:~:text=Like we mentioned before%2C Wise,and sending international bank transfers.

 

Bad news about the account closures. No problem for me as it's easy to switch my pension payments to Wise (2 do so already) but it means problems servicing my UK credit card which is a bit of a nuisance.

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Moonlover

[phetphet]

If you have told Barclays that you no longer live in the UK, or that you no longer have a UK address, that is where your problem started.

if you have family or a trusted friend that will allow you to use their address, you may be able to open a new account with another bank. Although it depends on  what proof of address documents they ask for.

 

Another alternative might be (if you do have a UK address that you can use), is to just go into your local bank branch and change your current registered address to that one. Take ID and they might not ask for proof of address that way.

Just a suggestion.

[KannikaP]

31 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

You have been told correctly I quote:

 

'Like we mentioned before, Wise isn’t a bank — but a Money Services provider'.

 

https://wise.com/us/blog/wise-as-bank-account#:~:text=Like we mentioned before%2C Wise,and sending international bank transfers.

 

Bad news about the account closures. No problem for me as it's easy to switch my pension payments to Wise (2 do so already) but it means problems servicing my UK credit card which is a bit of a nuisance.

 

Pay your UK Credit Card from Wise!

[KannikaP]

36 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Pay your UK Credit Card from Wise!

No idea who found this confusing, please explain.

[MJCM]

6 hours ago, MJCM said:

Yep when reports about this started coming out in my Home Country I immediately changed the address on one of my banks that had a foreign address and fortunately they did not close it :????

Can someone who found this confusing care to explain please, this truly happened, and I still have my account

 

Edit: Link so you can .... read it yourself

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2016/11/amro-abn-amro-to-close-the-accounts-of-15000-people-who-live-outside-europe/

Edited March 12, 2023 by MJCM

[scottiejohn]

Using a credit card to pay for a cash transfer is liable to be classed as a cash transaction and incur higher interest rates on some credit card providers and frowned upon by credit rating agencies.

Also what has the payment method got to do with the topic!

[scottiejohn]

4 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Edit: Link so you can .... read it yourself

That link makes your posts even more confusing wrt credit card payments!

Edited March 12, 2023 by scottiejohn

[MJCM]

3 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

That link makes your posts even more confusing!

That is the Bank I am with and still am!

 

Oke when I saw that article.

 

At first My address was set to Thailand in that Bank (and still is my bank nowadays)

Changed to a friends address in my home country

And they did not make me close my account in the end!

 

So maybe I was just on time who knows

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by MJCM

[scottiejohn]

Just now, MJCM said:

Oke when I saw that article.

 

At first My address was set to Thailand in the Bank

Changed to a friends address in my home country

And they did not make me close my account in the end!

 

So maybe I was just on time who knows

 

 

And the connection to credit card payments to pay for "cash transfers" via wise is what?

I am even more confused!

[MJCM]

3 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

And the connection to credit card payments to pay for "cash transfers" via wise is what?

I am even more confused!

I just responded to a Post by someeone else

 

 

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Most people have a UK bank account with UK address. Switching to a foreign address is flagging yourself for later closure 

This one!!

 

And I responded with

 

Quote

Yep when reports about this started coming out in my Home Country I immediately changed the address on one of my banks that had a foreign address and fortunately they did not close it :

So maybe you are confusing me with someone else! KannikaP mentioned something about a Creditcard and Wise NOT ME

Edited March 12, 2023 by MJCM

[scottiejohn]

5 minutes ago, MJCM said:

I just responded to a Post by someeone else

 

 

This one!!

 

And I responded with

 

So maybe you are confusing me with someone else! KannikaP mentioned something about a Creditcard and Wise NOT ME

Oops!

You are correct to be confused by my confusion!

I am indeed responding to the wrong poster.  I should have addresed my remarks re Credit cards to "@KannikaP" who may wish to respond!

Sorry!

 

 

 

[MJCM]

20 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Sorry!

No worries, glad we got that out of our system ????

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Using a credit card to pay for a cash transfer is liable to be classed as a cash transaction and incur higher interest rates on some credit card providers and frowned upon by credit rating agencies.

Also what has the payment method got to do with the topic!

I think the question was about using funds from Wise to pay off a Credit Card and not the way you are suggesting.

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Oops!

You are correct to be confused by my confusion!

I am indeed responding to the wrong poster.  I should have addresed my remarks re Credit cards to "@KannikaP" who may wish to respond!

Sorry!

 

 

 

Kannika here. What confused you love?

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

Can someone who found this confusing care to explain please, this truly happened, and I still have my account

 

Edit: Link so you can .... read it yourself

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2016/11/amro-abn-amro-to-close-the-accounts-of-15000-people-who-live-outside-europe/

Why would you change the address on your bank account to one in a 'foreign' country if you heard that they were going to close accounts with such addresses.

I have just changed the address on my UK bank to the one I use there instead of my Thai address, which had been accepted no problem.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Pay your UK Credit Card from Wise!

 

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

No idea who found this confusing, please explain.

Actually it was me (plus 1 other) because, as far as I can tell it isn't possible. The Wise app will not accept a credit card number. However I'm not panicking over this. There seems to be no wholesale rejection of the accounts of expats and there must be thousands of us. The Brexit angle might just be an excuse.

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

Actually it was me (plus 1 other) because, as far as I can tell it isn't possible. The Wise app will not accept a credit card number. However I'm not panicking over this. There seems to be no wholesale rejection of the accounts of expats and there must be thousands of us. The Brexit angle might just be an excuse.

It is possible. I pay a regular Wise Direct Debit to a UK Credit Card company.

[lopburi3]

9 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

I've been told that Wise is also not classed as a bank .is that correct 

It is not a traditional bank offering loans and such but they do offer accounts in various currencies that they hold in actual banks.  So you can pay a pension or make deposits to such an account and use when you want to fund transfers.  But this is without the government bank guarantees you normally have with an actual bank.