Bank transfer to Ireland from USA - best option?

the bagger larkin

Hi,

I'm looking to transfer money from my USD Citibank account in the states to my PTSB account in Ireland. What's the least costly method in FX/charges. Can anyone recommend a good platform for this?

dennyk

I usually use Transferwise:

https://transferwise.com

Their exchange rates and fees have been reasonable enough when I've compared them, if you don't mind using the bank transfer option (which can take a few days on each end), but you'll want to check for yourself, of course, and compare them to the cost of a direct international wire transfer from your bank (usually the bank will cost more and/or screw you harder on the exchange rate, but it's worth a look).

blindside88

Depends how much you’re doing, but if it’s a substantial amount contact the likes of Bank of Ireland Global Markets or Transfer Mate to see what kind of rates they can offer

skippy2

Can recommend both Revolut or Currency Fair

NSAman

I use transferwise myself also..... much cheaper than the banks IMHO

Yggr of Asgard

Cheapest (3$ fee)
ACH into your Transferwise Borderless Account (no fees).
SWIFT from your borderless account to the Revolut $ IBAN with your reference number (3$ charge)
Exchange from your Revolut $ wallet to your € Wallet (no fee - don't do it on weekends due to bad exchange rate)
Bank withdraw from your Revolut account to your PTSB accout (no fee)
Can take about 2 days and you might get hit with a proof of funds request. Also make sure the refernce number of is in the SWIFT transfer. Best to test it with a small amount.

Alternative (0.6% fee)
ACH into your transferwise Borderless Account (no fees).
Convert using transferwise (0.6% charge)
Direct withdraw to your PTSB acount (0.60€ charge).


Alternative 2 (higher cost, at least 17.5$)
Transfer from your citibank account via international wire to the Revolut $ account using the iBAN (cost 17.50$ to 25$)
Exchange from your Revolut $ wallet to your € Wallet (no fee - don't do it on weekends due to bad exchange rate)
Bank withdraw from your Revolut account to your PTSB accout (no fee)
Important: make sure that the revolut reference is in the wire transfer, otherwise you wont get the money.


Alternative 3 (high cost due to bad exchange rate)
International Wire transfer directly in your PTSB account (cost 17.50$ to 25$)
Use either PTSB for the conversion or Citibank but both will give you bad rates.
But it's quick.


Hope that helps.

the bagger larkin

Thanks everyone.

Lots to consider here. I'll report back on how the transfer goes.

Yggr of Asgard

Check your Revolut Account, it looks like they have started rolling out individual iBAN account numbers for $ (and £).

If you see your name as receiver and no reference number, than you now have it even easier as you don't need to quote a reference number anymore and if you are willing to do a direct Wire Transfer you can even get ride of transferwise in the options.