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Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

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Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

#1

Post by BigCanOfTuna »

I'm an independent developer living living Canada with some clients in the US. I am paid monthly by cheque in $US and I am looking for the most cost effective way of converting that money to $CAD.

I'm interested in hearing about banks, brokers or even using something like bit coin as a means of currency exchange.

Re: Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

#2

Post by erikb »

The best strategy I (German) use with Chinese friends is giving money to one person in Germany and letting a family member of them transfer the corresponding amount inside China. This way you can save on most of the fees and your ability to transfer money basically gets down to how much Guanxi (relationship value) you have.

Re: Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

#3

Post by statguy »

erikb wrote: post #2

The best strategy I (German) use with Chinese friends is giving money to one person in Germany and letting a family member of them transfer the corresponding amount inside China. This way you can save on most of the fees and your ability to transfer money basically gets down to how much Guanxi (relationship value) you have.

The good old hawala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala) :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

#7

Post by shenoybr »

1) You could opt for a plain old wire transfer between accounts, I think the banks charge $15 for that, but its almost immediate. 2) Or you could deposit the check in your Canadian bank account. Although, in this case you'll have to wait for the banks to clear your check. 3) Or if you have a bank account in the US, you could use an online service like Xoom. https://www.xoom.com/canada/send-money

Re: Ask HN: How do you transfer money internationally?

#8

Post by Someone1234 »

I use a company called "XE Trade." It is an absolute nightmare to set up (due to all their anti-fraud stuff). However once you do it is pretty straight forward to utilise and they're paid via a "spread" (i.e. imperfect exchange rates) rather than a fee.

It appears cheaper than both PayPal and my bank, however it is up to you if the savings is worth the hassle of setting it up. Once it is set up you transfer money to their local bank account (within your origin country), and then at the destination country they deliver it via bank transfer from an account there, so you need a normal bank account in both source and destination (i.e. no Western Union style use).

I believe HSBC also offer free intercountry account transfers as long as you own both accounts.

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