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How does the best price you give for JPY->USD ($10 for $1,000 with Wise) compare with OANDA fxTrade? I think their current posted fees are 1.4% spread-only ($1

How does the best price you give for JPY->USD ($10 for $1,000 with Wise) compare with OANDA fxTrade? I think their current posted fees are 1.4% spread-only ($14 for $1000) or 0.3% spread plus core fees. I can't quite tell from the rate sheet but looks like 550 JPY for a 100,000 JPY trade. I guess that would work out to about … $8.50 per $1000? Is that right? If you have a local bank that allows foreign depositors to exchange at 0.3 JPY/1 USD, does that mean you pay about $2.50 to convert 1000 USD?

patio11 5y ago
If one has to do this frequently and in size the best way I’m aware of is Interactive Brokers, but for most customers doing $1k transactions (like me back in 2004 to pay my student loans) $8.50 and $10 are the same number but the $60 the best option cost back then (GoLloyds, now operated by Shinsei, if anyone is curious) was not.
- ska 5y ago
  This is key I think. Paying a couple extra dollars for convenience to avoid getting screwed by retail rates on $1000 or so once in a while is an easy yes. OTOH, if you are even at 5-6 figures regularly you start paying attention to all the fractions, and bit more pain in the ass interface is fine. At one point I used to do this directly with a FX desk which was a bit fiddly but saved me a bunch over a few years.
  - mherdeg 5y ago
    It's true when I was routinely repatriating income with a forex trading desk the experience was not totally streamlined and paying attention to the spread and rates pretty closely. But also I got out "lucky" by exiting at 1 GBP/1.62 USD (moved home a while back), and the timing mattered a lot more than the rates
jslove 5y ago
Oanda uses Western Union in its back end. They gave up their license for money transfer a while back due to regulatory issues. Stellar blockchain is trying to do something innovative in this space but is slow to get volumes.

patio11 5y ago

If one has to do this frequently and in size the best way I’m aware of is Interactive Brokers, but for most customers doing $1k transactions (like me back in 2004 to pay my student loans) $8.50 and $10 are the same number but the $60 the best option cost back then (GoLloyds, now operated by Shinsei, if anyone is curious) was not.

ska 5y ago
This is key I think. Paying a couple extra dollars for convenience to avoid getting screwed by retail rates on $1000 or so once in a while is an easy yes. OTOH, if you are even at 5-6 figures regularly you start paying attention to all the fractions, and bit more pain in the ass interface is fine. At one point I used to do this directly with a FX desk which was a bit fiddly but saved me a bunch over a few years.
- mherdeg 5y ago
  It's true when I was routinely repatriating income with a forex trading desk the experience was not totally streamlined and paying attention to the spread and rates pretty closely. But also I got out "lucky" by exiting at 1 GBP/1.62 USD (moved home a while back), and the timing mattered a lot more than the rates

jslove 5y ago

Oanda uses Western Union in its back end. They gave up their license for money transfer a while back due to regulatory issues. Stellar blockchain is trying to do something innovative in this space but is slow to get volumes.