How do you handle sending or receiving money internationally?
Posted by SnooCauliflowers4796@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 30 comments
I’ve been looking into how people living abroad move money between countries — especially when banks charge $30+ and take 3–5 days.
If you’re an expat or digital nomad, what’s been your experience sending or getting paid across borders?
- Do you use PayPal, Wise, or something else?
- What’s the biggest pain (fees, speed, exchange rate, account setup)?
- Would you switch if it were instant and near-zero fees?
I’m doing some research before building a tool around this and would love to hear real stories or frustrations.
MichieldeKoning@reddit
don't send it. only receive it
dballing@reddit
I used to use Wise until they suddenly decided "we don't like how you're using the service" (which was, literally, sending money from my EUR accounts to my USD accounts, and vice versa, depending on needs, because I lived overseas).
I ended up switching to Revolut, which has worked very well for me. I also have a Currencyfair account which I've yet to really try out and kick the tires on.
Top-Access-8233@reddit
I still use Wise as you seemed to do, living in Europe, with a foreign owned limited in the US. But Revolut seems too pricey so I haven’t tried it yet. Are there minimum limits you must have or certain things to make you eligible for Revolut? How’s your experience so far @dbailing ?
dballing@reddit
The toughest part of Revolut has been that (as an anti-fraud measure) they initially limit you on how much you can transfer into your account (and thus back out the other side of an FX chain). It took a few months before my cap reached $10K at a time. Not sure when/if/how it will increase beyond that, but manually-upleveling that isn't an option (so, y'know, they all have their quirks).
Top-Access-8233@reddit
thx for your info. this helps!
adrianbowden@reddit
I had the same issue with Wise. Now use Revolut for smaller transactions.
behindthevale@reddit
PayPal and Revolut. Revolut is nice because have an IBAN if I need it.
icecream1973@reddit
I was eyeing Revolut as a back up account. However the amount of post Revolut simply blocking accounts for no reason is legendary, people not getting access to their cash to pay their monthly bills is horriffic.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
I know allot of people here in the EU use Revolut, but I read that their customer service is almost non existent. Plus they have an over aggressive algorithm that will block you if you try to make big purchases in certain countries.
PayPal has full customer support and in 24 years I’ve never had an issue with them.
Puzzleheaded-Sun7418@reddit
Not sure if everywhere but where I am is very popular but not as good as Wise. Their customer service is hit and miss while Wise is excellent in general.
sharleencd@reddit
We use wise. Shows current exchange rate and up to a set amount can be done pretty much instantly (for a fee). I can’t remember the amount but it’s at least 20k.
Shoddy_Wrongdoer_559@reddit
i use stripe, chime, coinbase, and venmo. usually everyone can interact with one of those and then i move the money around between them depending on where i need to spend it.
AlbaMcAlba@reddit
I used xe.com then wise. There are slighty cheaper options but worked for me.
thelandbasedturtle2@reddit
Revolut or Wise (formerly transferwise)
NumerousRelease9887@reddit
Like most here, I use Wise. I also have a Fidelity Cash Management Account. I use that when I want to get local currency from an ATM (they don't change ATM fees and refund the other banks fees). Charles Schwab has a similar account.
dimap443@reddit
Wise and Atlantic money for better rates
CarliniFotograf@reddit
My US bank only charges $5 to do international wire transfers. I also use my PayPal debt card in Apple wallet to pay for things in the store, restaurants ect. They do charge a 3% fee per transaction. But for small stuff, that’s not bad. I also keep euros on me incase I’m ever in a place that doesn’t take card payments.
My biggest frustration is the over inflated exchange rates that the atm’s charge. People always talk about the fee, but never mention that they also over inflate the exchange rate as well. Right now the US dollar is worth less than the Euro. Plus the country in the EU where I reside, does not allow non citizens to open bank account.
texas_asic@reddit
Does the receiving bank keep it in dollars, or does it do a currency conversion? The exchange rate and currency conversion fees of my New Zealand bank are terrible, so I've avoided wire transfers as much as possible.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
My bank shows me on my app what the currency conversion is before it is sent. It’s the actual exchange rate of that day.
texas_asic@reddit
So your US bank does the currency conversion at market rate and charges just $5 for the wire? Would you mind naming the bank?
pkgriff@reddit
I like hearing that you use PayPal, I'm very happy with it and I was hoping that I wouldn't need to stop using it eventually.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
Yep it’s the best way without paying the fees and over inflated exchange rates of EU atm’s to get money.
x3medude@reddit
Stable sent to my crypto credit card
kulukster@reddit
I've been using Wise for a few years and it works very well. You know exactly how much you will be sending in both currencies and it's pretty much instant. When I set up my account I had to send an email to the customer service to request something (cant' remember as it was so many years ago but it was a routine issue). Customer service emailed back within minutes and cleared my account for use.
Calm-Drop-9221@reddit
I concur, big fan of wise, also have the money in the investment stream but the fixed interest is an ok option. I like the option to place orders at a specific rate
Additional-Ebb-2050@reddit
Wise! I have transferred around USD 50K in total without any issues. The largest transfer was around 22K and everything went smoothly
Tyrantt_47@reddit
Wise. Best conversion rates, cheap fees, super easy to use.
gdj11@reddit
Stablecoins if the company doesn’t balk at the idea. Wise for most other things. Lately though Wise has been taking 5-7 days for larger amounts.
Prahasaurus@reddit
Stablecoins are a great option, at least when I send dollars or Euros to people who are crypto knowledgeable. Basically free and instantaneous, regardless of the amounts.
AutoModerator@reddit
Based on keywords in your post, it looks like you might be asking for help transferring money between countries. There are a couple of popular options. Wise supports more currencies, but may be more expensive than Atlantic. Both offer reasonable rates and have been used by members of the community to transfer large amounts (in excess of $100K USD). Please do your own research to decide what is best for you. Note that Atlantic also has a comparison tool and is better value the more you are transferring.
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