Does anyone use a reliable option, other than PayPal, to transfer USD to EUR? I’m looking for a combination of the best exchange rate and lowest fees and can search online, but it would be great to have commentary from anyone who actually has used it.
What do you need the money for? How much money?
Why not just a straight up wire transfer from one bank to the other? Or if you are buying things, Discover Card, Target MasterCard, and certain American Express cards have no exchange fees.
It greatly depends on some things you didn’t mention in your post.
- The amount - US banks usually charge approx. $45 for outgoing transfer, so this option becomes cheaper than PayPay, with its 3.9% fee, slightly above $1,000. But compare exchange rates between the bank and Paypal, etc. because that’s another factor.
- Is this the scenario where you stay here, and your money goes to Europe?
Because if you do go there, a good US debit card with no foreign fee is the best option (I’ve used Fidelity debit card for years, on 4 continents), if you have enough days to withdraw the required amount - and the exchange rates are fantastic, like 0.3% above the FX-quoted rate). - It is surprisingly difficult to exchange cash these days in many countries, and even then, the rates are awful.
- Would the person/entity on the other end of the transaction accept credit/debit card, or just wire or Paypal?
ATM cards issued on US bank accounts can withdraw Euros in countries that use Euros. Look for banks in the US that have no or lower fees and surcharges to use ATMs in other countries (some may have associated banks where fees and surcharges are waived).
$1300 USD to refund to a person who was paying me, but cancelled their transaction and then their online agent messed up and paid me instead of refunding the person & is no help getting this fixed.
So, stranger to stranger, business relationship. I am trying to do the right thing for the European person, but also without excess stress for me or her, nor her losing too much on the exchange rate, etc.
Paypal is what I am thinking, she is going to try signing up, but they sound pretty expensive compared to other options on Google.
This sounds complex, are you sure it is legit?
Make sure that either you know this person very well, or the money has cleared and been deposited in your account and will stay there.
To me this sounds a bit like the summary of a well known scam.
Transferwise is by far the best option. Very low commission, we use it all the time for international payments.
sounds a bit like the summary of a well known scam<<<
Right LOL? I would let that online agent fix this ?