Advice on how to send money home

[SLIGOLADY]

Hi,
I just wanted advice from those living in the UAE on the best and cheapest way to send money from the UAE to Europe(Ireland).Does anyone know which currency exchange agencies provide the best rates or is it better to send by bank transfer say with one of the local banks...Thanks :)

[donpizmeov]

Stay away from banks as their rates suck. The money exchanges in the malls are all very competitive. Ask their best rate, and use one that's convenient.

Good luck

[wanabee777]

There's an Al Ansari Exchange in the Hamarain Centre Mall adjacent to the J. W. Marriott in Deira.

[FREQUENTFLYER1234]

I use Al Ansari Exchange best rates I've seen over the last 6 years.

[Airmann]

The money exchanges are definitely the best. Go around and ask for the best rate. The Banks are thieves, I can't believe that they actually get away from charging the rates that they do.

[wizard1]

Set up an account with GCEN (Global Currancy Exchange Network) there is a European staffed local office. Transfers with good rates and no fees to anywhere in the world. Once all the stuff is set(30mins max) you can send money in 5 mins. I use it all the time.

[Jetjock330]

You still have money left over to send home? :O

[G SXTY]

Another vote for Al Ansari exchange.

I have found their rates consistently better than the other exchanges, never mind the banks...

Just give them your beneficiary bank account details (ideally IBAN no. - which your bank at home can give you) and you are good to go. Transfers normally complete within 2 working days, and fixed fees of around AED60 here plus £10 UK receiving bank (no doubt similar in Ireland).

Obviously the bigger the transfer, the lower the proportional cost of fees (and you'll get a better exchange rate).

[Schnowzer]

The best I have used very easy deposit and transfer cash at good rates:

www.schnowzer.com/ripanotherpilot/dodgydealingsaccount/

When ever this account is used I like to celebrate with a bottle of Dommy and a fine Cuban with my friend from Lagos👍

[mmorel]

Does anyone know what is the cheapest way to send money from qatar to states ??
I normally use IBQ international transfer service .

[Lance Murdoch]

Another vote for Al Ansari. As others have said do not use the banks. I also sometimes use HIFX. They are a UK based company, not sure if they can transfer to an Irish bank though.

[mmorel]

Does anyone know what is the cheapest way to send money from qatar to states ??
I normally use IBQ international transfer service .

[Pilot Chris]

Open a FOREX account with an online brokerage such as Interactive Brokers.

Will charge a $10 monthly account fee, but you can trade pretty much at the interbank rate (i.e. the rate you see on google) with a $2 fee and free withdrawal into a bank account in any country once a month.

Will be cheaper than ANY currency service or bank as even with the best currency services you tend to lose about 0.5- 1% on the interbank rate, and as much as 3% with the banks.

[mmorel]

but how do you transfer money to Interactive Brokers ?

do you still need to pay wire transfer to the brokers in qatar?

[lfbb]

Check if TransferWise can be used to wire money to your country, it is the best solution I found so far...
www.transferwise.com or download the app on the Apple store.
It is reliable and fast.
Good luck.

[Trader]

mmoral - you would transfer US dollars to IB. Most brokers and banks have a fixed rate for US dollars. Then make the currency change at IB.

[mmorel]

I think US dollar is always fix rate so there is no point to send it to the broker and then to united states , I use international transfer service of IBQ bank which charge me around $30 for the trasnfer but I think the rate should be the same as the broker right?