Best Posts in Thread: Is it WISE? (Of interest to Brits only, maybe)

It might be okay to do that to a remittance company as getting new ones is relatively easy - but do that to a bank and they will likely close your account. They don't care - many more people forced to use them. And I think it is impossible to set up a new one in our home country without going back there.

I read of a person who heads a well-known international property company who had to travel 8000 miles home to the US because they froze his account and insisted on him going to his branch. I thought that was crazy until my OCBC Bank account based in Singapore was closed for no reason - and the first I knew about it was because I received a text telling me my money was being withdrawn. They would not say why but I think it was because I put a substantial amount in it before I emigrated (as a source of money in a secure country) but did no further transactions. This was partly because the £ was so low and the bank tried to persuade me to convert my money to USD or SGD - they said they were convinced that the pound would crash further, I did not think the same and I was correct. They wanted the fees for the conversion and I guessed it already. Two months after they closed my account and the pound soared (temporarily) and that is when I would have converted - but it was closed! I don't understand their impatience.

When I paid into the account they insisted I used wire transfers - when they closed it they wanted to send me a cheque (in the Philippine's postal system!). I only stopped that by contacting the OCBC office in the UK (where I had set up the account) and they helped me - OCBC in Singapore did not care less (when I opened the account and talked to them on the phone a few times they were so nice, but when they closed the account they were so shite!).

So be too brusque with a bank or don't allow them to rake in fees (you think they would be happy using our money at no, or low, cost) and they will close your account with no notice and not care for the account holder or the money.

There has to be an alternative to banks and maybe Elon will think of something (I know it is dangerous to mention his name!).

 

After a period of a few years not using remittance (UK to PH) I did one recently and was very surprised at how well BCRemit (they only do UK to PH) compared with WISE (formerly Transferwise).

The two financial elements are, of course, exchange rate and remittance fee. Then there is efficiency, including speed if that is an issue.

For efficiency I rate BCRemit and WISE as the best I am aware of and equal.

But for the £4000 I remitted, BCRemit charged £4.99 and WISE wanted £22.11 - a vast difference. BCRemit gave an exchange rate of 68.60 and WISE 68.59 (so, again, no significant difference).

So, on efficiency and exchange rate there was, at the time I sent, no significant difference BUT the fee was MUCH higher for WISE.

BCRemit had a limit of £5000 per month when I used them a few years ago but you would need to check that for being up-to-date as I sent 4k and so didn't test that limit.

Getting back to using BCRemit involved no new verification but WISE wanted a selfie with passport and then a separate passport scan. Two questions I asked were not replied to in their email (which had my enquiries within it) and the reply was used only to ask for further verification. This may be a mark against their efficiency but the reply might still arrive.

The real problems came from my UK bank - as usual and, of course, for the benefit of the customer! I have no issues with them checking the person accessing my bank account is me but the endless questions about what the money is for is tiresome (even to the point of asking if any money used to help family will be repaid). I get the feeling that soon it could be impossible to transfer money online without a visit to the branch (it might even become almost impossible to use OUR own money)! And don't forget, UK citizens, Case Law over a period of 300 years has stated that once you deposit money into a UK bank it becomes their property!

 

I have used Wise in the last few days and no questions asked, just the usual standard selection of what the money is for during the process on the app. Have been using them for two years. After the transaction I was asked to complete a short survey of how satisfied I am with them. My response was that I am very satisfied, as I know are many ex-pats, but that if the recent move to becoming 'Wise Philippines', or whatever it will be called, is going to lead to lots more bureaucracy, then I for one will be gone and that I am sure many other existing customers will do the same. Who knows if they will take note.