Sending money from Australian bank to Indon bank.

[colroe]

I just conducted an experiment. I am returning to Australia for extended period therefore need to forward money to family in Indonesia. Test case. Online banking my bank AD$100 sent to wife's Bank BRI accounf. Cost me $20 at my bank. Money had to go to Intermediary bank, in this case ANZ Bank Australia. $100 dollars should be around the 950 ribu mark, but given banks exchange rate allow 900. Deposited in wifes account today was 503 ribu!! So around %50 lost. Any ideas on best way to get her money through at a cheaper rate? I know about Western Union and ATM withdrawals so any innovative ideas welcomed. Tks

 

[R Cameron]

transferwise.com is great

 

[harryopal1]

I think most people here use https://transferwise.com/au If you open this site you will see that you can instantly work out what the cost of a transfer would be and the exchange rate without having to sign up. (You can nominate the transfer to arrive at the Indonesian bank in rupiah so you are not losing again with a local bank exchange rate.) If you then decide to use this service you will find it quick - with deposits into a local account within hours and at considerable savings.

In my innocence I I had been using my Australian Bank Westpac assuming it would be a good service. As the Royal Commission has shown the banks are more interested in squeezing profit from their customers than offering them the best rates. The Australian bank exchange rates are borderline fraudulent and I lost hundreds of dollars with each transfer before I was pointed to Transferwise.

I suggest you open the web page, put in the amount you last sent from an Australian bank and make a comparison. Obviously the larger the amount the better the savings as the real value is in the much better exchange rate. You might then compare a transaction for say $2000.

 

[colroe]

transferwise.com is great

Thanks, after reading about it on these blogs I have just tried it by sending $50. Fees just under $2! Looks like it may be the way to go. In my wifes bank by Monday. Around 460 ribu.

 

[colroe]

I think most people here use https://transferwise.com/au If you open this site you will see that you can instantly work out what the cost of a transfer would be and the exchange rate without having to sign up. (You can nominate the transfer to arrive at the Indonesian bank in rupiah so you are not losing again with a local bank exchange rate.) If you then decide to use this service you will find it quick - with deposits into a local account within hours and at considerable savings.

In my innocence I I had been using my Australian Bank Westpac assuming it would be a good service. As the Royal Commission has shown the banks are more interested in squeezing profit from their customers than offering them the best rates. The Australian bank exchange rates are borderline fraudulent and I lost hundreds of dollars with each transfer before I was pointed to Transferwise.

I suggest you open the web page, put in the amount you last sent from an Australian bank and make a comparison. Obviously the larger the amount the better the savings as the real value is in the much better exchange rate. You might then compare a transaction for say $2000.

Thank you. I didn't nominate Indo rupiah, Transferwise converted it automaticallt. Is this good?

 

[harryopal1]

Thank you. I didn't nominate Indo rupiah, Transferwise converted it automaticallt. Is this good?

Yes. You don't then lose a percentage with the local bank converting from Aus $.

 

[snpark]

Depend on your bricks and mortar bank you might also have to have paid a fixed beneficiary account fee like $20. That's why you "only" got 500etc etc

 

[Jaime C]

Using a normal bank for small transfers isn’t a good idea.

Doing a wire transfer can be good if doing larger amounts, say $10k or higher, as the fee stays the same.

When I sent 20-40k USD at a time, I paid $50-60 total in fees from sending/receiving banks.