Banking interanationally?

[Sarah M]

Sara...the usa banking system is antiquated. There is no correlation between IBAN (international banking account numbers) and the Routing and account numbers that the Usa uses. I can transfer bank to bank online now but only to US banks.

Now that's just annoying! Good luck!!!

[Dauntedpoet]

Would it be possible to open up an account in England? Or an account that has a branch in England so you could access money that way?

I can open an account in England but the problem is getting MY money into a UK account.

I hope you guys have good luck with it too. I'm surprised more people don't use it. Fast/cheap/no problems, was pretty win for us.

We looked into xoom but the online reviews were really bad, so I was afraid to let them have my bank account information. But I may just have to open a 'transfer' account...and put money in that I want to send so my regular account isn't in their system.

Is there no way you could use internet banking and simply transfer the money? Sorry if this is a really stupid answer...!

Sara...the usa banking system is antiquated. There is no correlation between IBAN (international banking account numbers) and the Routing and account numbers that the Usa uses. I can transfer bank to bank online now but only to US banks.

I've used Western Union, but their fees do add up! I'm in the process of getting my SO as an additional cardholder on my account. So I can post him an ATM card, and he can post me one.. and we just withdraw if we need too.

This might actually work for me getting money to him.. since my bank doesn't charge foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees, so the only fee that would accrue is from whatever the atm in the UK charges.

I will look into Paypal too.

thanks everyone.

[Riyko]

I just transfer my money through paypal or obopay everytime I need money in my US or Canadian Account.

[garnet]

That's really cheap! Seriously, so so cheap. Andy transferred money from his British account to his Finnish account and the fee was something like 8-10% each time which is a lot! Definitely gonna look into that now, thanks Sarah!

I hope you guys have good luck with it too. I'm surprised more people don't use it. Fast/cheap/no problems, was pretty win for us.

[JessicaTran05]

i looked into banking internationally but i don't trust the bank in Vietnam. they are still very behind and doesn't have the option to track electronically

Sam never sent me money.. because he wasn't able to do it in an "easy" way x) and we couldn't really be bothered to find another way.. guess he never really needed to send any.. he was always the one paying for the flights and I just sent him money for my tickets. Worked fine from Finland to England, I just went to my online bank and sent him some. Took 2-3 days.

[Tanja]

Rane & I used xoom (www.xoom.com), and transfered 1k for a $3 fee, which I didn't think was too bad. It was faster than paypal, and we had no complaints.

That's really cheap! Seriously, so so cheap. Andy transferred money from his British account to his Finnish account and the fee was something like 8-10% each time which is a lot! Definitely gonna look into that now, thanks Sarah!

[mllebamako]

My boy was going to transfer me some money using Western Union, but in the end, since he was coming to visit me, he just handed me the money in person. I am still curious about the fees Western Union charges though. I tried looking for the fees on the website but although they mentioned that they do charge fees, I couldn't find their rates. Could someone tell me roughly how much they charge or where I could find the rates?

Edit: After some poking around, I think they only have rates for US or Canada listed on their website. I probably have to visit them or call to find out for my country. I am still interested to know how much Western Union charged you guys though!

It depends on the countries. From France to Mali it costs me 8.50 euros. I think from the US to Mali cost me $10.

[Altessa]

My boy was going to transfer me some money using Western Union, but in the end, since he was coming to visit me, he just handed me the money in person. I am still curious about the fees Western Union charges though. I tried looking for the fees on the website but although they mentioned that they do charge fees, I couldn't find their rates. Could someone tell me roughly how much they charge or where I could find the rates?

Edit: After some poking around, I think they only have rates for US or Canada listed on their website. I probably have to visit them or call to find out for my country. I am still interested to know how much Western Union charged you guys though!

[MystChic]

Is there no way you could use internet banking and simply transfer the money? Sorry if this is a really stupid answer...!

Hmmm - when I tried this, my bank (one of the "Big 4" in Australia) wanted to charge me a $30 fee, and then a foreign transaction fee, then you've got the conversion rate ontop of that. Western Union were cheaper, surprisingly.

[Sarah M]

Is there no way you could use internet banking and simply transfer the money? Sorry if this is a really stupid answer...!

[Cucaratcha]

I have never done that, but I'd probably do it by PayPal if I had to...

[MystChic]

I've used Western Union, but their fees do add up!

I'm in the process of getting my SO as an additional cardholder on my account. So I can post him an ATM card, and he can post me one.. and we just withdraw if we need too.

[lucybelle]

Would it be possible to open up an account in England? Or an account that has a branch in England so you could access money that way?

[ms3]

If it is really back AND forth, maybe you could do what I do with my SO: When we're together, it's always the hosting person that pays everything in the respective country. I'm not sure whether that makes sense or is possible in your case. For us, it's of course also a good way to balance the very different purchasing power.