WISE Fees

[KhunBENQ]

The interesting point here: it gives an idea what big costs are involved when using the SWIFT system. In most cases these costs are not transparent when using bank to bank transfers.

[NextG]

24 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

The interesting point here: it gives an idea what big costs are involved when using the SWIFT system. In most cases these costs are not transparent when using bank to bank transfers.

It’s neither an interesting point nor accurate. You are receiving US$ in a country that has it’s own currency. 

[KhunBENQ]

29 minutes ago, NextG said:

It’s neither an interesting point nor accurate. You are receiving US$ in a country that has it’s own currency. 

It is. What would a typical SWIFT transfer be?

Send USD to a Thai bank account based on THB.

So SWIFT fee plus exchange fee by the Thai bank (0.25%, max 500? THB).

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

It is. What would a typical SWIFT transfer be?

Send USD to a Thai bank account based on THB.

So SWIFT fee plus exchange fee by the Thai bank (0.25%, max 500? THB).

There can also be additional correspondent bank fees involved with Swift (depending on original bank/path required) - so the actual cost can be more than the original bank Swift fee and the Thai 200-500 baht amount based charge.

[BenStark]

2 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

There can also be additional correspondent bank fees involved with Swift (depending on original bank/path required) - so the actual cost can be more than the original bank Swift fee and the Thai 200-500 baht amount based charge.

I think in more than 90% of swift transfers an intermediary bank, which will charge a percentage of the transferred amount, is involved

[NextG]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

It is. What would a typical SWIFT transfer be?

Send USD to a Thai bank account based on THB.

So SWIFT fee plus exchange fee by the Thai bank (0.25%, max 500? THB).

Based on Thai baht has nothing to do with the OP.
But anyway bank transfer via SWIFT is cheaper than WISE for when it comes to larger amounts. 

SWIFT transfer from U.K I think is £4 via NatWest. 

[Chivas]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:44 AM, scubascuba3 said:

I saw something on Facebook about that, i just went into the app and they've changed the format yet again, not sure if the change effects GBP to THB transfers 

Just had a quick look at App re Sterling and it appears exactly the same fee's as last time I sent in addition to full interbank rates as always

 

Could be a USA issue I'm surmising

Edited September 7, 2023 by Chivas

[Chivas]

As always its all about the bottom line that lands in the account not the fee per se

Rate applied and fee all important and not the fee alone

 

 

[Dante99]

23 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

In most cases these costs are not transparent when using bank to bank transfers.

just ask your bank for the details of the transfer and all is transparent on that document.

[hotandsticky]

25 minutes ago, Chivas said:

As always its all about the bottom line that lands in the account not the fee per se

Rate applied and fee all important and not the fee alone

 

 

 

Absolutely right. That is why WISE's favourable exchange rates always put them on top when when comparing the costs of normal bank transfers. 

[KannikaP]

20 hours ago, NextG said:

SWIFT transfer from U.K I think is £4 via NatWest.

 

20 hours ago, NextG said:

SWIFT transfer from U.K I think is £4 via NatWest.

Nationwide SWIFT - £20, any amount.

[NextG]

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

 

Nationwide SWIFT - £20, any amount.

Actually it’s HSBC that is now £5. NatWest is £15. 

[scubascuba3]

13 minutes ago, NextG said:

Actually it’s HSBC that is now £5. NatWest is £15. 

Santander SWIFT £25

[KhunBENQ]

20 hours ago, NextG said:

SWIFT transfer from U.K I think is £4 via NatWest.

The usual misconception.

Yes, £4 via NatWest and the fees for the correspondence banks stay hidden.

It's almost two decades that I used SWIFT.

1.50 EUR for Postbank (Germany).

I was delighted that it is so cheap until I learned that it is just the fee to forward it to Deutsche Bank from where the real drain starts.

[KannikaP]

9 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Santander SWIFT £25

I put SAD because Santander is SAD.

My niece tried to send me GBP 12k this week, UK bank to Wise GBP.

They refused, with no reason. She said it was for new Kitchen. They asked her to go into a branch, which is only open the same hours which she works. Absolute W4nk5ers!

And yet I Wised £25k to my son in Dubai, arrived within 2 hours, no questions.

Is to 'WISE money' a new phrase in English? Must ask Suzie Dent. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by KannikaP

[hotandsticky]

21 hours ago, NextG said:

Based on Thai baht has nothing to do with the OP.
But anyway bank transfer via SWIFT is cheaper than WISE for when it comes to larger amounts. 

SWIFT transfer from U.K I think is £4 via NatWest. 

It doesn't matter how low the fee goes if the exchange rate is inferior.

 

A SWIFT transfer is NEVER cheaper via a bank compared to ANY amount (obviously use the 2m Baht cap with WISE if comparing Baht) - please find me an example if you think I am wrong.

 

I will repeat again, as a retired HSBC employee I do not pay ANY charges for international transfers. It is still more cost-effective for me to use WISE.

[NextG]

8 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

The usual misconception.

Yes, £4 via NatWest and the fees for the correspondence banks stay hidden.

It's almost two decades that I used SWIFT.

1.50 EUR for Postbank (Germany).

I was delighted that it is so cheap until I learned that it is just the fee to forward it to Deutsche Bank from where the real drain starts.

Incorrect. There’s only a correspondent bank if there is a correspondent bank. 
You write as if there is one in every case. That is disingenuous. 
In most cases, there is not. Send in £s and let the Thai bank do the conversation. 

[NextG]

4 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

It doesn't matter how low the fee goes if the exchange rate is inferior.

 

A SWIFT transfer is NEVER cheaper via a bank compared to ANY amount (obviously use the 2m Baht cap with WISE if comparing Baht) - please find me an example if you think I am wrong.

 

I will repeat again, as a retired HSBC employee I do not pay ANY charges for international transfers. It is still more cost-effective for me to use WISE.

I KNOW you are wrong, as I run the figures many times, along with others here. It’s you who doesn’t know what you are talking about and now I have to spend my time putting together an illustration for you and the other naysayers on this thread…

[hotandsticky]

3 minutes ago, NextG said:

I KNOW you are wrong, as I run the figures many times, along with others here. It’s you who doesn’t know what you are talking about and now I have to spend my time putting together an illustration for you and the other naysayers on this thread…

You know nothing.........post it up  - using my 65k per month transfer

[NextG]

10 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

You know nothing.........post it up  - using my 65k per month transfer

 

 

Bangkok Bank TT rate currently 35.45. US wire transfer fee US$40. 500 baht Thai side. 1,061,582 baht.  
 

The thread is about sending US$. 

[hotandsticky]

34 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

You know nothing.........post it up  - using my 65k per month transfer

I can see this may take a while - or even be beyond you. So, let's take the example of a transfer of £1,500 which in your case starts off by costing you  £1,504.

 

I am using Kasikorn so they receive £1,500 which they convert 44.003 (9th update today - source:- http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx)

 

That is 66,004 Baht from which they deduct 326 Baht being their 0.25% min 200, 20 Baht to transfer it out of Bangkok and a 0.1% charge for goodness knows what....... net amount received 65,618 Baht.

 

With WISE,  £1,504 less fees £9.24 = £1,494.76 remitted at 44.4075 = 66,378.55 Baht ...............or, 760 Baht than you received - Oh, and my money arrived in 6 seconds.

 

 

Try it on 1 million Baht ....... the difference is £96 in favour of the WISE transfer.

 

 

(the thread is about WISE fees versus banks).

 

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by hotandsticky

[NextG]

13 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I can see this may take a while - or even be beyond you. So, let's take the example of a transfer of £1,500 which in your case starts off by costing you  £1,504.

 

I am using Kasikorn so they receive £1,500 which they convert 44.003 (9th update today - source:- http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx)

 

That is 66,004 Baht from which they deduct 326 Baht being their 0.25% min 200, 20 Baht to transfer it out of Bangkok and a 0.1% charge for goodness knows what....... net amount received 65,618 Baht.

 

With WISE,  £1,504 less fees £9.24 = £1,494.76 remitted at 44.4075 = 66,378.55 Baht ...............or, 760 Baht than you received - Oh, and my money arrived in 6 seconds.

 

 

Try it on 1 million Baht ....... the difference is £96 in favour of the WISE transfer.

 

 

(the thread is about WISE fees versus banks).

 

 

Take me a while? I did it twelve minutes before you posted. Keep up!

[NextG]

On 9/6/2023 at 5:32 PM, happydreamer said:

Has anyone else caught wind that WISE is increasing their fees to send money from USD to THB (And others)

In case you missed it, the OP was specifically discussing sending US$…

[happydreamer]

12 minutes ago, NextG said:

In case you missed it, the OP was specifically discussing sending US$…

OP was me.  WISE returned an answer to my query today.  Hope this helps clarify

[NextG]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

 

Absolutely right. That is why WISE's favourable exchange rates always put them on top when when comparing the costs of normal bank transfers. 

On the other hand, do not assume that I am anti-WISE. I was probably one of the first people to recommend TransferWise here… if not the first. I would certainly use them to transfer £s. I just wanted to illustrate that in certain circumstances, as in the case of sending US$, WISE can be beat. 

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, NextG said:

In case you missed it, the OP was specifically discussing sending US$…

I did miss that - my apologies. 

[NextG]

Just now, hotandsticky said:

I did miss that - my apologies. 

Not a problem, we are on the same side. Getting the best value that you can when appropriate. 

[gamb00ler]

9 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I am using Kasikorn so they receive £1,500 which they convert 44.003 (9th update today - source:- http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx)

 

Thanks for that link.  It is a great example of the free work that many internet users do to provide convenient summaries to the public.

[JimGant]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:20 PM, NextG said:

But anyway bank transfer via SWIFT is cheaper than WISE for when it comes to larger amounts. 

Of course, 'cause SWIFT transfer costs are fixed: I pay $45 front end, 500 baht back end (for amounts exceeding $5900). Period. Wise has a variable fee of around .63% for every dollar sent. Thus, for a SWIFT transfer, all my costs are in the first $5900. After that, every additional dollar sent has zip variable cost -- while Wise adds a variable cost of around 6 cents for every additional $10 sent. You don't have to be a math major to realize that, at some point, total fees for a Wise transfer will exceed those of a SWIFT transfer -- and there's nothing that Wise's favorable exchange rate can do to alter that math.

 

Having said that, the cross over point -- figured out on this forum years ago -- is around $25000. And since that's the amount I usually send, I use Wise, preferring to do the action on my PC, and not with a required phone call to USAA for a SWIFT transfer.

 

Anyway, a lot of variables with Wise, mainly depending on currency being sent, and to where. Maybe Wise does better in all situations involving Sterling transfers.... But I can't imagine how, as long as fixed and variable costs are the players....

[NextG]

2 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Of course, 'cause SWIFT transfer costs are fixed: I pay $45 front end, 500 baht back end (for amounts exceeding $5900). Period. Wise has a variable fee of around .63% for every dollar sent. Thus, for a SWIFT transfer, all my costs are in the first $5900. After that, every additional dollar sent has zip variable cost -- while Wise adds a variable cost of around 6 cents for every additional $10 sent. You don't have to be a math major to realize that, at some point, total fees for a Wise transfer will exceed those of a SWIFT transfer -- and there's nothing that Wise's favorable exchange rate can do to alter that math.

 

Having said that, the cross over point -- figured out on this forum years ago -- is around $25000. And since that's the amount I usually send, I use Wise, preferring to do the action on my PC, and not with a required phone call to USAA for a SWIFT transfer.

 

Anyway, a lot of variables with Wise, mainly depending on currency being sent, and to where. Maybe Wise does better in all situations involving Sterling transfers.... But I can't imagine how, as long as fixed and variable costs are the players....

The exchange rate is what makes the difference with other currencies.