Given the international nature of the rope community, I thought I would share a free way of getting paid and paying in other currencies. At least, your first £500 transfer is free. After that, it is very, very inexpensive and way better than any other method I know. I will explain.
The need arises whether you are a performer, teacher, event organiser or a rope re-seller making transactions away from home. Of course, if cash is an option, no problem. However, when you use your bank, the charges can be quite high, especially if there is currency conversion involved since that means you not only get hit with their transfer fee but also foreign exchange charges and/or commission. Generally, you won’t get the best exchange rate either. So, at the end of the day, it can cost you a lot of money. For smaller amounts, it can end up as much or more than the amount that you want to transfer, which is clearly absurd.
Some years ago, I discovered Transferwise, an on-line peer-to-peer currency exchange which is usually around eight to ten times cheaper and five times faster than banks. The saving comes from being on-line with no high street premises to run and because you get favourable mid-market exchange rates. I have to say ‘peer-to-peer’ made me a little nervous at first as I worried there might be some risk. I need not have been concerned as Transferwise are FCA regulated and have over a million happy customers. They are very well regarded. For example, here’s an article in The Telegraph and their excellent TrustPilot reviews.
So, here’s the deal: If you use this link, you will receive a £500 transfer, completely free of charge. What’s more, I get £50 for every 3 of you who sign up and transfer at least £200. Win/win, eh? The good news is that you will be offered the same incentive when you use the service.
Transferwise is available for PCs, Android and IoS. In fact, I see the IoS app has 5 stars on Google Play.