Regarding 'Swift' bank transfers, it is reasonably cheap to send them here in
Denmark (40dkk= $5US), but the receiver often has to pay a lot. I sent a SWIFT
transfer to Sweden, and checked the box on the form that said that I would pay
charges for the receiver, and it cost me nearly $20! For $6 my bank will write
me a foreign currency cheque drawn on an account in a major bank in, for
example, Australia. That is probably among the cheapest ways of sending money
abroad, but banks in some countries seem to make a charge for depositing
cheques.
Sending cash, either registered or unregistered, is also cheap; a registered
letter costs me about $4.50 anywhere in the world. I can also buy foreign
currency without any charges from my bank, so cash in a registered letter is
really the cheapest for me. One needs to trust the receiver though...
BidPay to the US is actually cheap up to $100 ($5 charge), is fast, and saves
postage. To Australia, I think that Cash/registered mail is probably best for
the receiver.
mvh / regards
Roger Key
Infuriates me that BidPay keeps sending me those 'we're so convenient'
messages because it takes 2-3 weeks to clear a US$ money order here and
banks charge about $10 to do it. I also have to wait for it to show up in
the post - 10-14 days from the US. Record so far was 6 weeks from sale to
spend.
I've suggested to some buyers that they use a 'Swift' bank-to-bank transfer
- 'cos it's cheaper than Western Union transfer and it arrives here in
local currency. Very simple and should be very cheap. But, banks seem to
have decided that it should cost US$15 and one guy was quoted $30! Absolute
rip-off. My Credit Union will do it for free, except for a small margin on
the exchange rate.
So much for globalisation? Big guy gets the benefits, we get the bill.
Andrew
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