Paypal v xe.com v wire transfer

Hi. Relocating to Scotland in about a year. My employer here in the US will not wire transfer my pension payments out of the country. I have a local bank account, where they will direct-deposit it, and then I'd need to get it to Scotland. My other option is a paper check be mailed to me monthly (which would seem completely insane).  I do have a credit card with a low conversion fee, and could use it and pay it off from my US bank via the internet, etc., but I'd really just like to have my pension with me in the same country.

I have seen lots of chatter on PayPal v xe v bank transfers. What I can see on PayPal seems to be that overseas transfers are  from 0% to 2% of the total. Is that correct? I would anticipate needing to make about 4 transfers a year, and am, basically, a cheapskate. Ok, I'll be a pensioner living on the equivalent of $30,000 a year unless I'm able to find work there, for a few years, until my social security age rolls around. I'm living comfortably on that here, and it appears I'll be able to do the same there, using all the cost-of-living generators, etc. But I'd still like to not spend more to get my money available there than is necessary.

Can someone explain to me how the PayPal thing works, and is it the cheapest option out there?

Thanks, from the marginally tech-literate.

I am not sure about PayPal but I do know that wire transfer is one of the cheapest options if not the cheapest method. You simply need a foreign currency bank account and then you can transfer money at any time. The good thing with wire transfer too is, if you will be using broker, they will be able to provide currency updates too providing you with guidance as to the best time to make a money transfer.

[link removed]

I waited to say anything since I have no clue. I am using xe.com because at the time I researched things there was no real big difference in almost any method. If someone can point out a huge difference in exchange rates using one method over the other......I would love to hear it. But.....like a lot of things......if there is one way that is a LOT better than another, wouldn't everybody be using it?

I use the see it card method you mentioned above, except my card has no international fees. I also maintain a capital one 360 account that has no international ATM fees and pull out cash from the US that way. I'll occasionally then deposit that into my UK account if I need to. I have found moving money from US to UK much easier than the other way around for some reason.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We used HiFX for our wire transfers. We had a nightmare with Wells Fargo where we initiated a transfer, they didn't put in the full IBAN (even though we gave it to them) and then lost a large sum of money for 14 days. Once it was returned to them we told them we did not want them to transfer it out again to which they agreed and then found out they initiated the transfer again blaming "the idiot" in their wire transfer department!  This lost us a few thousand dollars in exchange rates, etc.  I won't make this negative but we were surprised that a US Bank like Wells Fargo didn't know how IBAN numbers work or which intermediary banks between them and our bank in the UK were (yet they offered international wire transfers).

With HiFX all we had to do was open an account with them and then initiate a transfer from our US Bank to their US bank and then they make the funds available for you the next day!  They even gave us a better exchange rate than the daily 0% rate listed in OANDA.  We were told the higher the sum of money the better the rate.  The key point of my suggestion is that you may have consistent luck with using a set up like this as most US banks are capable of transferring money to another US bank, some even provide free transfers online AND it would be the quickest way to get your money at the better rate.  They also provide you a broker to help with the process which was very straightforward.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am not sure about PayPal but I do know that wire transfer is one of the cheapest options if not the cheapest method. You simply need a foreign currency bank account and then you can transfer money at any time. The good thing with wire transfer too is, if you will be using broker, they will be able to provide currency updates too providing you with guidance as to the best time to make a money transfer.

This post seems a little spammy to me.

The answer is going to depend on the size of the transfers and the frequency of the transfers. In a lot of cases, wire transfers are going to be one of the worst options.

I used to use xe.com for years, but switched to Transferwise a year or so ago. Transferwise is cheaper than XE but slower.

Transferwise has a calculator on its website which claims to show how much it saves you over a wire transfer from a high street bank. I don't know how accurate it is.
https://transferwise.com/u/c1aa9

From memory, Paypal used to be relatively expensive compared to other services.

This post seems a little spammy to me.

The answer is going to depend on the size of the transfers and the frequency of the transfers. In a lot of cases, wire transfers are going to be one of the worst options.

I used to use xe.com for years, but switched to Transferwise a year or so ago. Transferwise is cheaper than XE but slower.

Transferwise has a calculator on its website which claims to show how much it saves you over a wire transfer from a high street bank. I don't know how accurate it is.
https://transferwise.com/u/c1aa9

From memory, Paypal used to be relatively expensive compared to other services.

I used to use Hifx until they stopped dealing with US residents, so switched to XE.com for several years but recently switched to Transferwise which I find to be a little cheaper than XE, but all of them are cheaper than wire transfers I believe, but I don't know about very large sums.

Honestly, I've done everything and used them all. If you are going to be making small monthly withdrawals, ask your US bank how much they charge for you to withdraw from the ATM. Chase Bank used to charge me a one time £5 fee for up to £750. I let them know I was living overseas and they allowed me to use my account here.
I bank with Santander who allow one International withdrawal free, normally £30.

Paypal is fast and XE makes you jump through hoops the first time however have great rates.