Laura H. Says:
We are purchasing a home in Portugal and need to transfer $200,000 to our bank there. What is the best way, economically, to do this transfer?
Personal Finance Expert Jeff Opdyke Says:
Hi Laura,
Great question! I actually move money back and forth between Europe and the US regularly since I’m a resident of Portugal and paid in euro—and my lifestyle is priced in euro—but I still have a number of financial obligations back in the US in dollars.
The best and most cost-effective way I’ve found to accomplish your goal is to use Wise.com—a money-transfer app built by the same developers who were involved with creating Skype.
Wise is widely used and respected globally. I’ve been using it the entirety of the five-plus years I’ve lived in Europe.
All you need to do it go to the website, or download the app onto your phone. You will set up a transfer in which you tell Wise to send $200,000 from Account X in the US to Account Y in Portugal. You will need your ABA routing number and account number for your US bank, and you will need the IBAN number and the SWIFT code for your Portuguese bank.
I just spot-checked and a $200,000 transfer will cost you about $903 in overall fees, or about 0.45% of the total transfer—a very cheap fee structure.
Hope that helps and best of luck with your house purchase!
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