TransferWise introducing fees for EUR balances

[kkein]

Apparently 0.4% on balances > 75k biz and 15k personal..
It was too good to last :/

 

[Spinat]

I totally agree with you this was to good to be true. On the other hand, I would never have thought they would introduce this fee. They are not a real bank and as such they should not do it.

 

[kkein]

Will probably get another account now, that gives some additional free space, but ofc it's not that sustainable.
I'm not quite sure what ECB is trying to achieve with this negative rates. Money aren't gaining value, quite the contrary, prices keep increasing. Seems like yet another bloody tax.

 

[polonieth]

Have they communicated this yet? I haven't received an email...

Ah just read the blog now. Welcome to the world of negative interest rates.

 

[kkein]

whats the situation with revolut personal? do they forward negative interests? if yes, what's the limit there?

 

[NicolasMaduro]

You can read more about the new TransferWise fees here:

An update on your multi-currency account: converting and sending is now cheaper – but other fees are changing, too

Last month we took a step closer to Mission 0, and lowered our conversion fees for 76% of our customers. Today, we come with mainly good news, and a little...

transferwise.com

 

[Martin Everson]

Just seen the update also . Well I guess they got tired of absorbing negative interest cost. In any case the change will not affect the vast majority of their customers I imagine.

I guess others will follow as a few EMI's already charge negative interest rates.

 

[rowena]

They're doing a favor to you. EMIs are not regulated like banks. Never hold money in EMI. Use them to only receive your money.

 

[VESTANON]

damn,these guys will f**k their own business with more fees .... transferwise sometimes sucks.... I had my LLC account closed without explanation and my personal account as well another day so.....

I see a rise in the procurement of personal Cash safes...would be a good time to start stacking up..

@Nishizawa said The use of hardware wallets should be considered a red flag...they going all out...

 

[polonieth]

Transferwise for me is somewhere to keep a standing balance in and I've used it abroad plenty of times where cash is more in use, just move to the right currency balance and withdraw at an ATM. It's not for storing large sums. I imagine most customers are the same, I wouldn't fancy keeping six figures in there $.

 

[polonieth]

They're doing a favor to you. EMIs are not regulated like banks. Never hold money in EMI. Use them to only receive your money.

True, but out of all the EMI's, TW is probably the best regulated and has the most robust practices. The cash is ringfenced so while it wouldn't be smart to keep big bucks in there, having 15k euros isn't really a big problem.

 

[kkein]

whats the situation with revolut personal? do they forward negative interests? if yes, what's the limit there?

nobody?

 

[JackAlabama]

nobody?

Have not heard anything yet.
But it will take only some time until they have to do. All euro based will charge for sure in the near future.
They need the negative rate, it is top level policy and you cannot run from one to another. You can only run into a different region and hope for stability in any given banana republic paying 7% on deposit.

 

[NicolasMaduro]

Many banks also do negative rates if you’re over a certain treshold

 

[polonieth]

Many banks also do negative rates if you’re over a certain treshold

Many banks in Europe have negative interest rates regardless of balance.

With some it's explicitly stated as such, with others it's baked into a monthly fee for the privilege of having a bank account with them, usually with some relatively useless feature/benefit like travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, etc.

 

[sonato]

Sooner or later it had to come. All banks and EMI's will face the same, they have to pay negative interest. There is only the customer to pay the bill!

 

[pesto]

I will still be happy to pay the fee if they can offer me a bank solution.

 

[Mark Rucken]

damn,these guys will f**k their own business with more fees .... transferwise sometimes sucks.... I had my LLC account closed without explanation and my personal account as well another day so.....

What fees? Some people are really delusional. TransferWise is very cheap, much cheaper than other EMI and most banks. 0.4% interest on 70k + EUR balance is reasonable. If this is too much for some, please bank in your own country and pay 40% tax or whatever.

 

[Martin Everson]

Time to update my prediction I made in Sept 2019 which came true again.

btw US interest rates are heading to zero which will drive US stock market into an even bigger bubble.

I think USD rates are going to -3% if Trump wins election . How about that for negative interest rates . Will make ECB negative rates that TW is passing on seem like nothing.

 

[kkein]

Time to update my prediction I made in Sept 2019 which came true again.



I think USD rates are going to -3% if Trump wins election . How about that for negative interest rates . Will make ECB negative rates that TW is passing on seem like nothing.

Hi Martin, how would you recommend to stash money these days, given that getting them out in cash is also becoming increasingly difficult, especially for large sums?