14
There are several costs involved in sending money internationally. For a large amount, the most significant of these is the exchange rate.
At a bank, there is usually a 2-3% "spread" on the "interbank rate" (the middle rate you see quoted on sites like xe.com, Yahoo, Google). This means that if (for example) the interbank rate gives you 1.4 USD when you ...
11
As stated by moomoochoo, Shinsei Bank is very handy for remittances overseas, so if you still have residence (for instance, you worked there and have permanent residency and have a valid address you can use to register for the bank account), then I strongly suggest you open an account during your next visit as soon as possible (opening an account needs to be ...
11
I have a couple of suggestions:
In the past, I had a simple savings account with Shinsei bank. When overseas I
could withdraw the money from most ATMs using a simple debit card. This method was
easy (probably the easiest way you will get), but you would need to determine how cost effective it is. From memory I believe it was ok.
Another option would be to ...
9
If the people involved are family or friends, you could perhaps pay something for them. For example, you could add a credit to a prepaid account they have in the US (where permitted), buy them an online-only prepaid visa card, or buy them an emailed Amazon US gift card, using your EU credit or debit card. In other words, pay for something online they would ...
7
I haven't tried it just yet, but in few weeks I intent to use TransferWise.
Advantage is that it covers both currency exchange and the international transfer. Their EUR/USD exchange rate has zero spread, they only charge a fee, which currently seems to stand at less than 0.5% for EUR→USD transfer.
Behind the scenes it works, because there are people in ...
7
Disclaimer: I am the co-founder of a comparison website for international money transfer services which gives me insights to respond to OP’s question.
Traditional banks may charge fees on the sending and/or receiving sides for international money transfers. There are two variables you have to check (with your bank or money transfer operator):
Transfer fee ...
7
There are three clear benefits of waiting. First, generally exchange rates improve as the size of the transaction increases. Second, once you pay the exchange fee, you lose all future earning on that portion of the money. Finally, if you miscalculate your expenses or have an emergency it will be cheaper (and easer) to handle it if you savings are in the ...
7
I am a happy user of Transferwise. I use it to transfer CHF and GBP to EUR, but they do USD to JPY too.
It is not entirely fee-free, but they use the mid-market rate for foriegn exchange, and then charge a fee on top. For USD to JPY, the fee scheme is quite complex:
A flat fee of $4
0.85% on the amount up to $135,000, and 0.73% on anything over that
$...
6
The answer might depend on the two countries you are changing, but usually you can do anything you'd do when traveling to an other country for longer terms.
The two main options I think are:
Cash: Just bring enough cash in the country. This is probably the most easiest way, but you have to be careful not to get them stolen. Also each country usually have a ...
6
Although HSBC operate in both countries, they are getting out of retail banking in Canada, and have quite a small presence in France (mainly the old CCF branches in the Paris area). I'm not aware of other banks that operate retail banking in both countries.
There is no reason why you should have the same bank in each country, and plenty of reasons why you ...
5
It's a gamble either way, since you can't predict which way the exchange rate will move over the next three years, nor the interest rates in each country.
By transferring the money at regular intervals, you get an exchange rate which averages out, whichever way it changes. If you transfer at the end of the stay, you get the exchange rate at that time, which ...
5
First, a warning about bringing a lot of cash:
You must declare cash on your person in excess of a certain amount when entering a foreign country. Failure to do this, with subsequent discovery of the cash on your person is going to put you in a very uncomfortable light; possibly in a holding cell, and definitely miserable.
If you intend to bring a bunch of ...
5
Probably not.
The first issue is Bitcoin has tremendous volatility, more akin to a dodgy commodity than a currency. For this reason you will (probably) want to cash out as soon as possible. You wouldn't want to be holding a lot of value in Bitcoin when there is another "scandal".
This is compounded by the second problem with BitCoin as a currency, that it ...
4
There's nothing illegal about exchanging money with a friend. Similar arrangements can be used for money laundering which is illegal, but these are often more complex - and your arrangement is rather simple, above board, regular, and traceable.
Not related to the legality at all, I would just make sure that you are both getting a decent exchange rate, and ...
4
It's unlikely to be helpful for your remittances from USD to ILS (Shekels) to go via a third currency, or via a commodity (Bitcoins have elements of both). It could easily end up being two lots of fees and currency losses, as well as the volatility risk.
You'd probably need two BTC accounts (one for each country, because of know-your-customer rules). You ...
4
You should look into Bitcoin. Buy Bitcoin on an exchange like Kraken in Japan, and sell it in Germany. It should easily beat the often 10+% fees for remittances from Japan. Checkout reddit.com/r/bitcoin and ask them for help if you don't understand it.
4
For what it's worth, here's my current approach documented for posterity. I'm using Money Partners to do the actual currency exchange, which gives me a pretty good rate which I'm in full control of (you can follow the rate and exchange the minute it's good). I'm then transferring the money to a foreign currency account at Mizuho, and from there I'm wiring it ...
4
I think TransferWise is the best service for sending money out of Japan recently. They have a modern web interface and the rates are very reasonable. I've used them myself to send money to the UK and the process was very smooth.
Check out RetireJapan's review:
The website is in English, it's simple and easy to use, and everything can be done online ...
4
There are numerous ways to move money internationally, but China puts restrictions on how much currency can be moved out of the country in a given year.
The most direct way is to process an IBAN/SWIFT/Wire transfer from a Chinese bank to a U.S. account. This requires that your friend has a USD-denominated bank account to receive the money, and the bank ...
3
As of this year there will be no "national" transfers, all transfer between EU banks will be SEPA transfers, thus priced equally regardless if both banks are in same country or not.
SEPA will create a payment market for all cashless euro payments, in
which there will no longer be a difference between national and
cross-border payments. From 1 February ...
3
The answer depends on a lot of things and you may want to chat to a tax adviser.
I'm going to assume that you're from South Africa and living in the UK, paying UK tax. If that is true there's no tax on incoming gifts, even from abroad, although if the gifter dies within seven years it could be liable for inheritance tax. I can't find a good official link ...
3
There isn't any systematic, gradual increase based on these factors. In my experience, transfers to an EUR-denominated account in the SEPA can be free. Same bank, other bank, other country in the Eurozone, even EUR-denominated account in a non-EUR country, it does not necessarily matter. I cannot guarantee that it's the case with all possible bank/country ...
3
Getting the money into Japan to buy a car was a very stressful experience with comparing prices and finding a method I felt comfortable entrusting a large sum of money with. The method I came up with was not one that I found anywhere in any of my research, and I think it's the cheapest, safest method possible. Hopefully this helps someone in the future. :D
...
3
You will not need to pay any taxes to the Dutch tax office for this money so long as you continue to qualify for the 30% ruling and choose to file as a partial non-resident while having the 30% ruling.
In the Netherlands, savings and investments are taxed under "box 3". The tax you pay is a percentage of the amount saved and invested.
With the 30% ruling, ...
3
Your best bet is to create a Transferwise bank account. That gives you an American routing number which your customer can wire the money to (which should be straightforward for them). You can then transfer the money to your local bank. For personal transfers, Transferwise charge $34.28 to transfer $5,000.
If you can't get through the Transferwise money ...
2
I recently spent 6 months in another country. Because of a snafu with my bank I ended up not being able any money with me other than a few hundred dollars. I was in Argentina so using the official exchange rate that you would get at a bank meant that I was loosing almost 50% of the money that I would have gotten if I exchanged money at an illegal exchange ...
2
I have used Skrill (formerly MoneyBookers) quite often over the last ~15 years to send various sums of money over the years to family and friends from EU to US. I admit I haven't used them in a couple years, but according to their website it's still pretty cheap:
Sending money to merchants is completely free of charge.
Sending money to other ...
2
Bitcoin is worth investigating - I have also used that.
Also, I know you said PayPal isn't available - but I have found this is the best way EU - US.
Could you use someone else's PayPal?
2
Brastel offers a decent exchange service. Become a free member of Brastel, you get a login where you can add your Germany Bank account details. For every Germany account you add, a dummy Japan bank account will be generated. Now you can transfer your money from Japan account to the dummy respective account, Brastel will transfer from your dummy account to ...
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