XETrade is a company that will help you exchange money and make internation transfers. Read this review to find out the details.
For most people the following issue is irrelevant, but for some, this issue can be important � and complicated. The issue is international money transfer. In my case, for those who don�t know me, I am marrying a German (I myself being American) and we are planning to move to the US in the near future. My fianc�e has some savings here in Germany and we wanted to bring some of it to America. Of course, moving money isn�t as easy one could hope. Cash isn�t a great idea. It�s risky and the bank exchange rates are bad. Travelers checks are also plagued by high rates (lower than cash, I think), but at least the risk is lower. However, a transfer would be much simpler.
I talked to the Deutsche Bank in Germany and they said it would cost around 4% plus whatever costs the bank in America would charge (I think typically around $50 for an incoming wire transfer). That�s too expensive.
It would have worked with Citibank, since they exist in both Germany and America, but for some reason they refused to give me a bank account in America.
So, I looked around a little bit and I found a company called XETrade (www.xetrade.com). They made some claims on their website about being able to transfer money with rates that they guarantee as the best, but I failed to find any good reviews (this is the reason that I am writing this review now). Because I failed to find any other good option, I decided to give this company a try.
Signing up:
This was harder than I had expected, but not without reason. XETrade has legal obligations not to transfer money for criminals or criminal purposes, so they do some identity checks. Here�s what was needed:
*A credit reference (a landlord, bank account representative, someone who manages your mortgage, people who gave you a loan for a car, etc).
*Two forms of identification (I used a driver�s license and a passport). These can be scanned into your computer and uploaded by a secure file transfer or you can fax them or if you request the mailing address, you can mail them. The secure file transfer is a really good idea, and I made sure the certificate was valid and all that.
*A signed contact. Again, this can be sent via secure file transfer, fax, or mail.
After you have signed up, they will email you asking you for a good time to call up. At the time specified, they will give you a telephone call (at the number you signed up with!) and they will ask you to confirm the information that was used in signing up. They will also ask some other security related questions. The man I talked to was very friendly and the conversation went smoothly. Have your non-American bank account information ready, since they will probably ask for this (they want to know what bank account you�ll be sending money from).
Shortly after that they will activate your account. After entering your US bank account information (EFT is the type of transfer you�ll probably want) you can start trading.
Once you make a trade, you will have to transfer the money to their European bank account. Their bank is Bank of America in Frankfurt, Germany. If you live in Germany, this means that your transfer will cost the same as a standard transfer (Ueberweisung) which is free with many bank accounts. The bank uses a standard German Bankleitzahl (bank code) and account number. This means you can even make the transfer from your living room if you have online banking with online transfers. So let me review the transfer�
Wednesday, December 14th, 2005, 9:49AM German time. The current rate is listed as 0.830556 Euros per dollar. The rate I accepted was 0.84017989 Euros per dollar. I decided to sell 100 Euros, which means I should have gotten $120.40 if life were perfect. Life isn�t perfect so instead I got $119.02. This means I lost $1.38 (1 Euro and 15 Cents). To be relatively exact, I lost 1.146% of my money.
Wednesday, December 14th, 2005, 10:20AM German time. I transferred the money from the bank account in Germany.
Friday, December 16th, 2005. XETrade reports that my transfer has been received.
Monday, December 19th, 2005. An EFT transfer of $119.02 is cleared in my Bank of America account in America.
So the total processing time was 5 days, or in my case just 3 business days (I�m not sure what would have happened if I had transferred the money on Monday�).
So, I�ll sum it up:
*Total cost: 1.146% of the money transferred (there may be transfer fees outside of Germany if you are in the EU). Otherwise there are no fees. They claim this is the best fee in the industry and offer a guarantee to that effect.
Here�s a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
*Excellent prices. For example, 1000 euros of traveler�s checks currently cost $1244.42. They should cost (in a perfect world) $1184.88, so you lose $59.54 or 4.784%. Another comparison: PayPal charges 2.7% to change currency.
*It goes from your current German (or European) bank account into your current American bank account. There is no need to change banks.
*It�s pretty fast (transfer completed in 5 days)
*Friendly and responsive customer service.
*You can make small transfers (my first transfer was only 100 euros)
Cons:
*You must have a bank account (or a friend with a bank account) in both countries. This means if you don�t have a bank account yet, you�ll have to sign up for one. This can be a pain if you don�t currently reside in that country.
*The signup process can take a while.
So, overall, I�d say this is probably the best option. Unless you have something that you know is cheaper and works better (please tell me if you do), give this company a try.
Also, if you found this review helpful and you have a website, feel free to post a link to this review. Currently, as of this writing, if you Google XETrade Review you don�t get any good websites.
-Michael
15 comments:
I tried xetrade on tuesday and their rate was 1.9% off which was not good.
I eventually used transfermate.com which beat their rate.
Best to at least call both and your bank to compare to see who gives the bets deal
I had called up for a phone trade on XEtrade and the rate that they offered was 3.2% lower than what was being offered by the bank.
It was also a substantial amount that I was planning on transferring. I preferred the bank.
Thanks Baxter,
i contacted transfermate today, much better rates, will be using them again
Lol, these transfermate spammers are everywhere!
I actually fell for them and signed up with Transfer mate, and their rates are certainly not great.
They should spend less time spamming the internet with fake endorsements and more time offering a better product.
Oh and also, "jim and Baxter' maybe you guys should change your profiles so they aren't identical.
"I have worked abroad in the US, New Zealand, Australia, UK and am interested in working abroad"
C'moooon, if you're going to lie for a living, at least do it well.
Hi Michael,
I am from Spain and I would like to know if you are still using transfermate, or not. Could you give me a review, please?
I would like to use to transfer some money from Australia to Spain but I am a little hesitant because I can not find many people who has written reviews about it.
Whats the deal about Baxter and Jim. This kind of people push me of the website.
Thank you!!!
Hi Daniel,Baxter, Jim :)
I was looking for the same thing and found this.
I transferred 2 hours ago and they say funds will land by close of business today which is faster than the B$%&£y bank. Sound professional on the phone and checked their regulation.
Will keep you posted;)
1. I found the signup process takes a long time and they need significant personal info, even if you are trying to to setup a business account.
2. Rates were so-so, and seemed the same as banks in Israel, where I was sending the money.
3. Takes DAYS for funds to be debited from my account, then they wait two more days for it to 'clear' and ANOTHER 5 or so business days for a WIRE TRANSFER to the target bank.
Hi Guys,
I do all my transfers with them from UK to France.
I agree that at first to sign up, they ask a lot of documents but once you are set up, it is much cheaper than my bank and quicker!
Ive saved a lot of money and time since ive used them.
I have used xe trade a few times to move money from my American bank account to my German bank account. My last transfer was made on July 12, 2011 for $US4,000. Today (July 20, 2011) I have still not received funds. On July 18, 2011 I received an email message from Xe Trade that funds have been transferred "today". Here is the email "A payment has been sent to you via XE Trade, XE.com's on-line currency exchange service. A payment of EUR XXXX was sent to you by electronic transfer on 7/18/2011.
You should receive your payment within 7 business days. Please note that due to payment processing procedures in certain countries, additional time may be required for delivery of these funds."
This means that they held my funds for 4 business days plus 2 weekend days in their account, before even acknowledging a transfer date, which was false.
What bothers me is the deceptive nature of their email communication. The transfer was not initiated by me on July 18 but on July 12. If they want to use my money for several days interest free they should at least own up to it. As of today, July 20, 2011 the money has not yet been deposited in my German account. I may have to wait up to 5 more business days to receive it!
After reading all the entries, I am not sure if I should use XE Trade or not. I have been sending money from US to Spain through my bank, because I have my children studying there and certainly the bank is not a good option. It is secure, of course, but I am loosing a lot of money.
Any more advises?
Thanks
Hello Maria,
I am currently looking at transferring money from the US to Spain also and I wanted to know how much the Spanish Banks are charging in order to receive the money in your account. My US bank charges $40 which is OK, but I know the Spanish bank will also charge a percentage so I know it's going to turn out very expensive.
I used XE Trade this week to transfer money from the United States to Brazil. I learned not to use XE Trade for that because all money going to Brazil is automatically changed to the International Currency when it goes into the country... and that currency is American Dollars. So, to tie one's money up for all the time it takes XE Trade to finally wire it... and to have XE Trade charge the exchange rate... and to have XE Trade charge $22, saying it is the incoming wire charge that must be paid... and then send the money to Brazil and have Brazil change it back, etc. etc. etc... IT DOESN'T WORK!!!
It seems a company like XE Trade would know that, but evidently they don't really know their own business!
DO NOT USE for transfers to Brazil!!
We paid to transfer $11,400 BRL, and after the wire transfer fee ended up paying a 2.4% premium above mid-market rate. This is already not great; my credit card charges 2.5%.
If that was the end of it, it would have been fine. But we had a TON more problems. First, the process took more than two weeks. But most importantly: THEY NEVER ACTUALLY GAVE US REAIS! The transfer (from Euros to Reais) arrived in brazil in American dollars! We had to pay an extra exchange fee at Caixa Economica Federal to convert the American dollars XE sent them to reais. So, we paid XETrade to do absolutely nothing!
Their customer service insists that it's not their problem; Caixa Economica Federal insists that it's not their problem either. Meanwhile, several hundred reais of my money has disappeared.
NEVER, EVER DO BUSINESS WITH XETRADE.
DON'T USE XE TRADE!!!!
I used XE Trade for 2 transactions (wire transfer to Africa to pay hotels/tours for vacation). I had read online they were reputable and get a good exchange rate. They do get a good exchange rate, but it is much easier (time and efficiency) to just do the transfer through your bank.
My first transfer was to South Africa. I did direct EFT from my bank account and provided the receiver's account number and swift code. XE Trade then told me that they need an IBAN which is only true for European banks. Swift codes and bank accounts are all that are needed for transfer to Africa. It took me 2 days and 4 phone calls before someone was able to complete the transaction for me.
For my second transaction, I sent Mozambican meticals to a hotel in Mozambique. Their bank is located in South Africa. I did the first 50% deposit via my bank without any problems 3 months ago. When I did it through XE Trade, they informed me 4 days after money was wired to them from my bank that they cannot complete it because the currency is meticals and it's a South African bank. Again, untrue, You can wire any type of currency to any country. They are now in the process of returning the money to my account which will take 3-5 business days... and guess what? I have to go to the bank again to do the wire myself.
They may get a better exchange rate but they won't get the exchange done and you'll end up at the bank anyway after hours of transaction. Don't waste your time. Just go to the bank and skip this crappy service.
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