Expat Intelligence with Nick Stark
I RECENTLY needed to send about $75 to a company in Sweden. Although I consider myself quite tech-savvy for some strange reason my starting point was my bank, who promised me yes, they could certainly transfer the funds…for a $50 fee. That obviously was a non-starter so I visited the Brits In LA Facebook site where I saw several recommendations on the subject. (We Brits are clearly a knowledgable bunch).
After a bit more research I plumped for TransferWise, a London-based “P2P” money transfer startup which counts Sir Richard Branson and legendary venture capitalist Peter Thiel among its backers. I quickly logged on and registered, entered my details and the money was on its way – for the astonishingly low fee of $3. The money arrived safely three business days later and I am now a TransferWise customer for life, although I have also heard excellent reports about Dublin-based CurrencyFair, the UK’s Azimo, and WorldRemit.
Although we read plenty in the press and online about the disruptive power of new technologies it still comes as a pleasant surprise when a feisty newcomer disrupts the tired old way of doing things – raising efficiency, lowering costs and putting a smile back our faces.
This is the second time in a month that I’ve plumped for an upstart alternative to the tried and true – I recently switched my mobile phone service from ATT to Ting. The two-year contract on my iPhone was up so I requested the phone be unlocked – which took half a day – and I ordered a SIM card from the Ting website for $9. I simply swapped the ATT SIM for the Ting one and I was up and running.
I had done my homework in advance by averaging out my ATT usage for the past two years and comparing it to Ting’s ‘pay as you go’ rates….and I expect to cut my monthly bill in half. The key selling point for me is that Ting charges you only for what you use – so if you have a light month in terms of phone, text or data you don’t get charged as if you’d used your whole quota, as you do with most service providers. An added bonus for Brits who travel abroad is that you can swap out the SIM card for a local version, thus paying cheaper local rates for months at a time, during which Ting will only charge you a $6 account fee. I plan on being in Europe for June, July and half of August this year. If I’d kept my ATT account I’d have been stuck paying their $90 per month price even if I hadn’t made a single call during that time.
Whether it’s mobile charges or bank transfers, unsurprisingly the old giants don’t like being caught flat footed by their more nimble competitors and have responded with slightly more competitive plans. But don’t be fooled. They mostly lock consumers in for another couple of years at, at best, slightly reduced rates. So due your diligence, choose an upstart, disruptive competitor with a good pedigree and plenty of positive word of mouth, and start saving money. As always, it’s a great time to be a consumer in America!
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