Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

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Caduceus
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Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Caduceus »

I need to send a reasonably small sum (less than $10,000 US dollars) to a foreign bank account but am a bit wary about the wire process. I've been reading online that there's no recourse at all if something happens. Unlike ACH transactions, where you have more protections, if the money doesn't reach the right account for whatever reason, it's hard to get it back.

For those who have done foreign wires, do you have any tips? This will be a US$ to US$ transaction. The destination bank accepts US currency, so I won't have to pay any foreign exchange/conversion fees, just the cost of the wire.

I was thinking of testing it out with a smaller sum first before wiring the rest of it, which will cost me an additional $30. There's a lot of moving parts and account numbers - I can see how it could easily be screwed up.
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BrooklynInvest
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by BrooklynInvest »

I did this for a relative.

My approach - the branch will give you their info AND the format of the account info. Then I had to make sure the info I got from relative was in that format. What they thought was the account number needed a prefix. Not a lot of chance of the money going to the wrong person (account #s and branch numbers are separate and need to align) but took a day or so to get the right info from requisite parties ;-)

Then I wired a smaller amount to be sure. All fine. Good luck OP,
bob60014
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by bob60014 »

We wire funds via Chase to sons German bank acct a couple times of year, zero issues over 5 years.

As suggested, no matter who you use, do a low dollar amount test first.
HawkeyePierce
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by HawkeyePierce »

I would verify the exchange rate used by the receiving bank and compare it to Transferwise. They may be hiding a fee in there.
Theseus
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Theseus »

If you are a fidelity customer then wires may be free (at least they are for me). Usually they are good at interpreting the foreign bank's wire instructions.
Walkure
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Walkure »

Interested in this question as well. I've had no problems sending wires, but the fees are ridiculous. Citi charges $35 every time. They recently announced they were doing away with fees for wires in foreign currency (which obviously just means they are making it back on the exchange rate) but there's no fee relief for foreign USD wires.
Onlineid3089
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Onlineid3089 »

This probably isn't much help, but my wife uses Wells Fargo when she sends money to family in Vietnam. I don't know anything about the process, but she says it is the cheapest that she is aware of.
NYGiantsFan
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by NYGiantsFan »

$ to $ transfer can only be done through wire for foreign accounts. Money transfer companies (remitly etc) will transfer money in local currency.
Fidelity, Schwab, possibly BofA Preferred Rewards can send out free wires.
10000 is large amount. Banks may ask additional questions.
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Caduceus
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Caduceus »

Theseus wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:05 am If you are a fidelity customer then wires may be free (at least they are for me). Usually they are good at interpreting the foreign bank's wire instructions.
Did Fidelity ask you to fill out a "Bank Wire Authorization" Form which would require a Medallion Signature, the first time you needed to do the international wire transfer? Thanks.
Theseus
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Theseus »

Caduceus wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:08 pm
Theseus wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:05 am If you are a fidelity customer then wires may be free (at least they are for me). Usually they are good at interpreting the foreign bank's wire instructions.
Did Fidelity ask you to fill out a "Bank Wire Authorization" Form which would require a Medallion Signature, the first time you needed to do the international wire transfer? Thanks.
I think I may have done that. It was a while ago when I set it up.
srt7
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by srt7 »

Most major U.S. banks now have Zelle. Does that not work for you?
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Duckie
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Duckie »

srt7 wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:11 pm Most major U.S. banks now have Zelle. Does that not work for you?
Zelle is not available for international money transfers. Both the sender and the recipient of a Zelle payment must have U.S.-based bank accounts and phone numbers.
cbeck
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by cbeck »

If the US sender can select the foreign bank, e.g. if he owns the foreign account himself, then he can save a little bit of the fee by choosing a foreign bank that has its own ABA Routing number. Major European countries like Germany and France will have a number of local banks that are simultaneously American banks with an ABA number. Here in Thailand there is only one, Bangkok Bank.

As a retiree whose SS benefits are automatically deposited I qualify as an Emeritus Member at State Department Federal Credit Union the chief benefit of which is that I can send a domestic wire for $6 instead of the usual $20. The foreign wire fee is $25. I have been doing these monthly wires for years without any problem.
Invest4lt
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Invest4lt »

Onlineid3089 wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:29 am This probably isn't much help, but my wife uses Wells Fargo when she sends money to family in Vietnam. I don't know anything about the process, but she says it is the cheapest that she is aware of.
Wells Fargo Express Send - Global Remittances seems like a good option to consider.
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mtwhmemn
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by mtwhmemn »

I used https://www.xe.com/ for a couple of transactions recently under $1000 and it worked well. The money was to a friend that'd booked a hotel room for me. I needed an IBAN number which is an international bank account number. We'd used PayPal in the past, but I compared exchange rates of PayPal and xe.com and xe was way better. Just know the transaction takes about 3-4 days.
homebuyer6426
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by homebuyer6426 »

Wise was the lowest rate we have found to do this. Have done it several times.

Many places will hide their fees in the exchange rate. Very sneaky.
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SleeplessInSEA
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by SleeplessInSEA »

+1 to Wise. I had good experience with large amounts with them and low rates. Foreign banks use to charge fees for accounts in $
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Mike747
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Mike747 »

I use Revolut:

https://www.revolut.com/en-US/

It's quite popular in Europe, and now available in the US too.

I used it for at least 10 transactions over thte past 2 years, and always sent betweeen 5k and 15k USD from Switzerland to the US. It's a lot cheaper than a bank wire.
dboeger1
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by dboeger1 »

I remember researching sending money to China quite a few years back, and at the time, it depended on the amount being sent, but Western Union came out to be the cheapest option for what I was looking for. However, as somebody else suggested, that might have converted to local currency. For USD to USD internationally, I've only ever done wires.
dallasjava
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by dallasjava »

Theseus wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:05 am If you are a fidelity customer then wires may be free (at least they are for me). Usually they are good at interpreting the foreign bank's wire instructions.
Does Fidelity's free wire transfers include international ones?
realclemsongrad
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by realclemsongrad »

Yes there is no charges from fidelity.
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squirrel1963
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by squirrel1963 »

Avoid traditional banks, they will charge you for the wire and give you a bad rate for Forex.
I use XE.com which charges about 0.1% - 0.2% over interbank rate for amounts of 10k or less. Interbank rate is basically the official exchange rate, the rate that large banks use to do Forex.

One way or another you will need to send a wire, so you have to be sure that the routing number / account number is correct. Most banks outside the US use IBAN which contains the equivalent of country, routing number and account number.

Edit: some folks misunderstood my statement so I think I should state the obvious and say that you always need to do due diligence. To compare apple-to-apple, ask the institution to give you a the quote for (1) wire fee (2) exchange rate. Then immediately compare exchange rate to the interbank rate, the difference will be the forex markup.
For instance you can use yahoo finance to get current forex.

My biggest gripe against traditional banks is their huge lack of transparency, very often I'd call my bank and the branch rep would not even understand what the markup over interbank is, they would simply say "we give you the exchange rate". Then after being insisting on an actual quote they would give me a rate which is 5% off interbank.
Last edited by squirrel1963 on Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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squirrel1963
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by squirrel1963 »

To compare apple-to-apple, ask the institution to give you a the quote for (1) wire fee (2) exchange rate. Then immediately compare exchange rate to the interbank rate, the difference will be the forex markup.
For instance you can use yahoo finance to get current forex, here is the USDEUR: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/EURUSD=X/
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Rose
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Rose »

Has anyone tried Vanguard to wire USD overseas?
AlohaJoe
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by AlohaJoe »

squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 11:01 pm Avoid traditional banks, they will charge you for the wire and give you a bad rate for Forex.
I use XE.com which charges about 0.1% - 0.2% over interbank rate for amounts of 10k or less.
Blanket statements like this aren't especially useful. I've routinely use Wells Fargo and Citibank and have gotten better rates than XE.com, Wise, or Remitly and all the others. This has been true for at least the past four years that I've been tracking.

The only truism is that you shouldn't just assume any transfer service is giving you a competitive price without actually doing some due diligence.

It is also unfortunately true that a service that had a competitive rate last year might not any longer. And vice versa. I suppose it is much like house or car insurance, you just need to shop around once in a while to make sure you're still getting a good price.
FinancialSnowboarder
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by FinancialSnowboarder »

+1 for Wise

I have scheduled transfers from the US to the Philippines twice a month. I found Wise to have low fees, good exchange rates, and is user friendly.
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Mike747
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Mike747 »

AlohaJoe wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:12 am
squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 11:01 pm Avoid traditional banks, they will charge you for the wire and give you a bad rate for Forex.
I use XE.com which charges about 0.1% - 0.2% over interbank rate for amounts of 10k or less.
Blanket statements like this aren't especially useful. I've routinely use Wells Fargo and Citibank and have gotten better rates than XE.com, Wise, or Remitly and all the others. This has been true for at least the past four years that I've been tracking.

The only truism is that you shouldn't just assume any transfer service is giving you a competitive price without actually doing some due diligence.

It is also unfortunately true that a service that had a competitive rate last year might not any longer. And vice versa. I suppose it is much like house or car insurance, you just need to shop around once in a while to make sure you're still getting a good price.
I agree with that. The fees and rates for Wise and Revolut change often. I shopped around a few months ago and figured out that traditional bank wires get more competitive the higher the amount is. For smaller amounts services like Wise and Revolut are probbably cheaper.
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squirrel1963
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by squirrel1963 »

Mike747 wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:04 am
AlohaJoe wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:12 am
squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 11:01 pm Avoid traditional banks, they will charge you for the wire and give you a bad rate for Forex.
I use XE.com which charges about 0.1% - 0.2% over interbank rate for amounts of 10k or less.
Blanket statements like this aren't especially useful. I've routinely use Wells Fargo and Citibank and have gotten better rates than XE.com, Wise, or Remitly and all the others. This has been true for at least the past four years that I've been tracking.

The only truism is that you shouldn't just assume any transfer service is giving you a competitive price without actually doing some due diligence.

It is also unfortunately true that a service that had a competitive rate last year might not any longer. And vice versa. I suppose it is much like house or car insurance, you just need to shop around once in a while to make sure you're still getting a good price.
I agree with that. The fees and rates for Wise and Revolut change often. I shopped around a few months ago and figured out that traditional bank wires get more competitive the higher the amount is. For smaller amounts services like Wise and Revolut are probbably cheaper.
Thua far this has been true everytime I checked, although of course my experience with banks is only limited to a handful, primarily Wells Fargo. Perhaps using Fidelity or Schwab would yield better results.

I used both Wise and XE.com. Everytime I made a transfer I always checked the fee over interbank and verified it is still around 0.1%-0.2% for amounts around 10k.

These days Interactive brokers will give you the best Forex that I know of, $2 for $100,000.

I also made a separate comment to that effect, always do your homework and verify a quite against interbank. I thought that would be an obvious thing to say, but evidently it is not.
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squirrel1963
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by squirrel1963 »

AlohaJoe wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:12 am
squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 11:01 pm Avoid traditional banks, they will charge you for the wire and give you a bad rate for Forex.
I use XE.com which charges about 0.1% - 0.2% over interbank rate for amounts of 10k or less.
Blanket statements like this aren't especially useful. I've routinely use Wells Fargo and Citibank and have gotten better rates than XE.com, Wise, or Remitly and all the others. This has been true for at least the past four years that I've been tracking.
I'm hugely surprised that Wells Fargo would give you better than 0.1% over interbank. They are the ones which gave me the biggest headache in terms of forex. They also charge me $35 for outgoing wires, so that's a non starter to me, even if I'd get 0% over interbank.
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aspiring_kiwi
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by aspiring_kiwi »

Rose wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 12:46 am Has anyone tried Vanguard to wire USD overseas?
I've done it, and it's straightforward with them. I was sending it to my own account though, and I'm registered to use voice verification.
Starbase
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Re: Best way to send US$ to foreign bank account

Post by Starbase »

I would recommend transferwise
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