Safe money transfers to France with a trusted company

I always love to receive an email from a happy reader, and I work hard at making sure readers are happy!

I never recommend details of companies unless I’ve thoroughly checked them out or use them myself. That’s the case with Currencies Direct.

For years I put off going through a currency exchange company to do money transfers. I wasn’t sure how it worked, and I worried whether it would be safe. But I got so fed up with paying exorbitant bank charges and when I met one of the Currencies Direct agents at a property show in the UK – I asked a ton of questions and felt comfortable enough to go for it.

Over the years Currencies Direct have saved me a heap of money. Transfers are fast, secure and easy to manage, so when a reader asked for a recommendation for a currency exchange company, I was happy to put Currencies Direct forward. As I use them myself, I know how easy it is to set up an account and to make transfers, plus they have the highest possible credit rating (level 1 from Dun Bradstreet – I used to work in a bank so I look for these things!).

The reader, Samantha (not her real name, but privacy is important), wrote to me recently to thank me for my recommendation. She and her partner have bought a house in France and plan to move here and the savings they made using Currencies Direct instead of going through their bank, are more than enough to pay for removals costs from the UK to France (for a 3-bedroom house), travel costs, and enough to cover the electric, water and rates bills for at least the first 6 months. They made a transfer the equivalent of €300,000 and that saved them 5% over what they would have got from their bank – €15,000 (note that it does differ according to market conditions, but my account manager’s motto is “let’s find you a bank beating rate!”). The transfer was quick and simple, and there are no transfer fees (which banks apply).

But it wasn’t just the savings that the couple made, they were really happy with the advice they received, and that’s another reason I like Currencies Direct, you can speak to a real person, and you don’t have to wait in a queue so long on the phone that you’re angry by the time you get through because the music you’re forced to listen to while you wait, apparently designed to keep you calm, doesn’t.

Currencies Direct have a local UK team, and they also have US teams, operating US hours. For American clients this is so important, it helps to simplify international transactions, reduce risk, delays, rejected payments and friction with US banks when you’re transferring money out of the country. If you’re buying a property, run a business based in the US etc and need to transfer money to France from the US, the US team can help. Safe money transfers to France with a trusted company – and they save you money.

I love a happy expat story, and saving money makes everyone happy!

Find out more about currency transfers here: currenciesdirect.com

Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com