Bank Deposit Fee

[earthdome]

3 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Hear ya go.  Figure out what it costs you to write and deposit your check.  Figure out how long it will take the money to clear.  Take a guess what you will get as an exchange rate by the time the money clears, then compare it to what you would get INSTANTANEOUSLY by using this method:

  Now decide for yourself which is the best option or provide another comparison

(This is the rate on Transferswise right NOW as I write this post on July 20, 2017 at about 4 PM.  By the time you deposit your check and wait for it to clear that rate may have gone way down.  It may go up but there is not a lot of room for it to go up so for me, I like a sure thing.)

I went to setup an account with Transferwise and decided not to use them after they asked for my account login and password for my bank. No way in hell I am giving that to anyone.

[Dave Hounddriver]

41 minutes ago, earthdome said:

decided not to use them after they asked for my account login and password for my bank. No way in hell I am giving that to anyone.

I asked my bank manager in Canada about that and she said that information does not go to Transferwise, it links THROUGH them and goes to the bank.  Transferwise does not have the log-in info.   She said not to worry because if the bank trusts them enough to allow them to link to your account then they have been checked out and you can be sure of their authenticity.

Also, there is a second option.  You can fund your Transferwise account transfer direct from your credit card if you need to get a cash advance sent over.  They charge 1.5% extra fee for that as they have to pay the credit card company but I found its a quick, convenient way to get a cash advance on my MasterCard and I don't have to give my banking info.

[earthdome]

23 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

1 hour ago, earthdome said:

decided not to use them after they asked for my account login and password for my bank. No way in hell I am giving that to anyone.

I asked my bank manager in Canada about that and she said that information does not go to Transferwise, it links THROUGH them and goes to the bank.  Transferwise does not have the log-in info.   She said not to worry because if the bank trusts them enough to allow them to link to your account then they have been checked out and you can be sure of their authenticity.

Also, there is a second option.  You can fund your Transferwise account transfer direct from your credit card if you need to get a cash advance sent over.  They charge 1.5% extra fee for that as they have to pay the credit card company but I found its a quick, convenient way to get a cash advance on my MasterCard and I don't have to give my banking info.

That may be true... but I am not willing to take that risk. FYI, my background is in IT, specifically back end hardware/software for providing internet services such as websites and email. This includes dealing with internet and website security issues.

[Happyhorn52]

I have a US $ savings account at BDO, and yesterday I removed $3,500 to pay my customs broker for clearing my shippment. I took the money in US $ then took the cash down to Norma's Foreign exchange in Angeles City and asked for the special rate for large transactions. I got 50.83 when the posted rate was 50.80. Again I could have gotten pesos directly from BDO but the rate would not have been anywhere near what I can get on the street.

[OnMyWay]

On 7/20/2017 at 4:57 PM, robert k said:

That looks like an excellent rate, right now Dave. Would certainly save the hassle of exchanging at a money changer. 

Dave caught that screenshot at a peak on the 20th.  Peso/dollar has been very volatile this week.

Of course, timing is everything when making an exchange, using any method.  If Dave took that screenshot 8 hours later it would have read around 50.70.  Currently Transferwise is at 50.69.

[OnMyWay]

On 7/20/2017 at 4:15 PM, Dave Hounddriver said:

Hear ya go.  Figure out what it costs you to write and deposit your check.  Figure out how long it will take the money to clear.  Take a guess what you will get as an exchange rate by the time the money clears, then compare it to what you would get INSTANTANEOUSLY by using this method:

  Now decide for yourself which is the best option or provide another comparison

(This is the rate on Transferswise right NOW as I write this post on July 20, 2017 at about 4 PM.  By the time you deposit your check and wait for it to clear that rate may have gone way down.  It may go up but there is not a lot of room for it to go up so for me, I like a sure thing.)

Years ago I compared all the transfer services available in a spreadsheet and Xoom was the best.  I don't think Transferwise existed then and now I see that Xoom is owned by Paypal.  In any case, I couldn't wait for the day when I could establish a Philippines dollar account and start writing checks to myself.  The only absolutely free (my checks and checking account in the U.S. are free) way to transfer dollars to the Philippines.  Highly recommended by many members on this forum.

Of course, the money is still in dollars and somehow you have to get it into pesos.  Certainly from the time you write at check to the time it clears (usually 20-25 days for me) the rates can move one way or the other.  However, I don't instantly exchange the money when a check clears.  I don't write a check for only $1000.  I write for more than that and when I think the time is right, I exchange some or all of it.  I follow the exchange rate daily so most of the time I know what the trend is.

If you exchange dollars to pesos using transferwise or another service, the exchange rate is still matter of timing and/or luck.  Sometimes you do good and other times, not so good, relative to whatever benchmark you might use.

There is one thing that is 100% certain.  Transfer services add additional costs.  Transferwise charges 1%.  That is gone forever.  In the case of the screenshot at a 50.88, after you include the 1% the real rate you are getting is 50.37.

Both methods have merit for certain situations.  Even with the new $5.00 charge, the check method is the cheapest for me.

 

 

[Eddie1]

Does the cheque method work for UK pounds as well?  Are their any Brits doing this?

[intrepid]

Don't write off Western Union so fast.  Sending and receiving dollars for cash pick up and paying from bank account is only $2.99

You can send up to $5,000 for that fee.  Must be done on line, but that's the way all of us would do it any way.