Transferwise Thread poster: Mark Harris
| Mark Harris France Local time: 01:48 French to English + ...
Hey all,
I'm just looking for some advice regarding Transferwise, if anyone out there uses it to receive payments from customers. I'm currently having an issue with one of my customers in Spain who has requested that they pay me via PayPal so they can avoid paying bank transfer charges to make a payment into my British bank account. Obviously I have an issue with this as, instead of them paying charges, it will be me who has to pay 3.4% on every payment I receive into my PayPal acco... See more Hey all,
I'm just looking for some advice regarding Transferwise, if anyone out there uses it to receive payments from customers. I'm currently having an issue with one of my customers in Spain who has requested that they pay me via PayPal so they can avoid paying bank transfer charges to make a payment into my British bank account. Obviously I have an issue with this as, instead of them paying charges, it will be me who has to pay 3.4% on every payment I receive into my PayPal account, when my bank currently charges me nothing to receive payments from other countries within the EEA.
One potential solution I thought could work is a 'borderless account' with Transferwise. I have never used them before and to be honest I'm finding it a bit confusing to get my head around the service they offer. Can I set up an account with them that will effectively act as a Spanish bank account, for example? So that my Spanish customer can just transfer money from their bank account as normal, just as they would between accounts within their own country? That is, without charges? All the information I can find on the Transferwise website is understandably focused on any charges that I will have to pay, but I'm more concerned about whether it would allow my customer to avoid charges when paying my invoices.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! ▲ Collapse | | |
Yes, you can create a euro balance in your TransferWise account and get a SEPA IBAN of the type BE50 1234 5678 9012. Your EU clients can pay into that as if it were a normal SEPA bank account. It doesn't have to a Spanish account, as SEPA is a single payment area.
You can then change your euro balance to pounds when you want and transfer it to your UK bank account. The fee is 0.41 per cent of the mid-market rate, and there is a small transfer fee (less than £1).
Be sur... See more Yes, you can create a euro balance in your TransferWise account and get a SEPA IBAN of the type BE50 1234 5678 9012. Your EU clients can pay into that as if it were a normal SEPA bank account. It doesn't have to a Spanish account, as SEPA is a single payment area.
You can then change your euro balance to pounds when you want and transfer it to your UK bank account. The fee is 0.41 per cent of the mid-market rate, and there is a small transfer fee (less than £1).
Be sure to create a business balance, as they don't want you to use a personal balance for business.
Just do it. It's very simple to set up.
You can download account statements as you want. ▲ Collapse | | | Andy Lemminger Canada Local time: 17:48 Member (2002) English to German Transferwise | Jan 27, 2020 |
Hi Mark,
Yes, that's the strategy I'm using for my clients as well.
With Transferwise you basically get several bank accounts in local currency that your customers can pay into. In your case that would be a EUR account located in Germany, but your Spanish customer can use IBAN and BIC for payments within Europe, so there shouldn't be any fees.
I've also added a USD account for my US customers and a GBP account for British customers.
Take care
Andy
PS: H... See more Hi Mark,
Yes, that's the strategy I'm using for my clients as well.
With Transferwise you basically get several bank accounts in local currency that your customers can pay into. In your case that would be a EUR account located in Germany, but your Spanish customer can use IBAN and BIC for payments within Europe, so there shouldn't be any fees.
I've also added a USD account for my US customers and a GBP account for British customers.
Take care
Andy
PS: Here's a sign-up link that gives you free transfers of up to 500 GBP: https://transferwise.com/invite/u/andreasl61 ▲ Collapse | | | Mark Harris France Local time: 01:48 French to English + ... TOPIC STARTER So just to clarify... | Jan 27, 2020 |
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
Yes, you can create a euro balance in your TransferWise account and get a SEPA IBAN of the type BE50 1234 5678 9012. Your EU clients can pay into that as if it were a normal SEPA bank account. It doesn't have to a Spanish account, as SEPA is a single payment area.
You can then change your euro balance to pounds when you want and transfer it to your UK bank account. The fee is 0.41 per cent of the mid-market rate, and there is a small transfer fee (less than £1).
Be sure to create a business balance, as they don't want you to use a personal balance for business.
Just do it. It's very simple to set up.
You can download account statements as you want.
Many thanks for the info. It sounds very useful in that case.
So just to clarify, neither me nor my customer will pay fees for them to send money from their Spanish bank account into my Transferwise SEPA account? But I will have to pay a small fee (0.41% + £1) to transfer money from my Transferwise account to my UK bank account? | |
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Mark Harris wrote:
So just to clarify, neither me nor my customer will pay fees for them to send money from their Spanish bank account into my Transferwise SEPA account? But I will have to pay a small fee (0.41% + £1) to transfer money from my Transferwise account to my UK bank account?
Your client will only pay a fee if they generally pay a fee per SEPA transfer. I don't know of any bank that charges for that. In fact it shouldn't cost them anything to make a SEPA transfer (in euro) to your UK bank account either. Any fees would be in your end.
You pay 0.41% to change EUR to GBP and a small fee to make a transfer to a bank account. You can see the exact amount in their pricelist. | | | John Fossey Canada Local time: 19:48 Member (2008) French to English + ... Clients pay to a domestic account | Jan 27, 2020 |
I have been using Transferwise for some time now and have been very pleased with the service. For my EU clients I have an IBAN Account number at the Transferwise office in Brussels. Payment by EU-based clients appears to them to be a domestic (within the EUR area) funds transfer. The same applies to UK, US and AU clients - in each case the transfer is made to an account that is domestic to the sender. Fees are microscopic compared to PayPal or an international bank transfer. In addition, the exc... See more I have been using Transferwise for some time now and have been very pleased with the service. For my EU clients I have an IBAN Account number at the Transferwise office in Brussels. Payment by EU-based clients appears to them to be a domestic (within the EUR area) funds transfer. The same applies to UK, US and AU clients - in each case the transfer is made to an account that is domestic to the sender. Fees are microscopic compared to PayPal or an international bank transfer. In addition, the exchange rates are much more reasonable.
[Edited at 2020-01-27 19:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Mark Harris France Local time: 01:48 French to English + ... TOPIC STARTER Done and done! | Jan 27, 2020 |
Thank you all for the advice. It seems like the perfect solution to my fee-related problems, so I've just gone ahead and set up an account. | | | Sheila Wilson Spain Local time: 00:48 Member (2007) English + ... You can receive free without doing anything, AFAIK | Jan 27, 2020 |
Mark Harris wrote:
Thank you all for the advice. It seems like the perfect solution to my fee-related problems, so I've just gone ahead and set up an account.
I got an email from Transferwise a few months ago. It said that XYZ had sent me some money. It turned out it was from a client in Bulgaria. They'd apparently been paying each month to transfer euros to my bank account in Spain. Transferwise was free so they started using it.
I emphasise that I didn't do anything at all. Nor did I pay anything at all. | |
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Which client? | Jan 27, 2020 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I emphasise that I didn't do anything at all.
An agency that pays you for doing nothing sounds ideal. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to email me the name. | | | Sheila Wilson Spain Local time: 00:48 Member (2007) English + ...
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I emphasise that I didn't do anything at all.
An agency that pays you for doing nothing sounds ideal. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to email me the name.
Okay, I'll come clean -- I may have intervened a little during the month before sending the invoice. But you're right, this client is a good one, so I'm not sharing . | | |
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
Your client will only pay a fee if they generally pay a fee per SEPA transfer. I don't know of any bank that charges for that.
Greek banks charge for receiving and making SEPA transfers. They also charge for transfers from one Greek bank to another, so they get around the SEPA rules that way. The only free transfers are from one account to another within the same bank. | | | conejo United States Local time: 18:48 Japanese to English + ... TransferWise is great | Mar 7, 2020 |
It looks like you are in the UK, so it may be slightly different there, but TransferWise is much better than bank transfers for me. It's totally free, I don't have to pay anything, and there are no hidden fees (such as from hidden intermediary banks) like there often can be with international bank transfers. | |
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I've used TransferWise about 10 times now | Jul 15, 2020 |
I've used TransferWise about 10 times now and I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed. You get the true rate, and their fees are comparatively very low (literally coins in my case). Because it's transferred using the principles behind peer-to-peer transfer, the money is transferred at it's true value so the only thing you pay is the fee. Personally, I used a referral link before registration which ... See more I've used TransferWise about 10 times now and I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed. You get the true rate, and their fees are comparatively very low (literally coins in my case). Because it's transferred using the principles behind peer-to-peer transfer, the money is transferred at it's true value so the only thing you pay is the fee. Personally, I used a referral link before registration which I found in the Web https://transferwise.com/u/1b05a and with it my first transfer (around 500 EURO) was completely free. Enjoy. ▲ Collapse | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Transferwise TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
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