Wells Fargo International Wire Transfer still stinks
Before coming to Japan I mentioned how unsatisfied I was with my Foreign Wire Transfer through Wells Fargo Bank. I sent yen to Japan from my U.S. account which had dollars in it.
After that unfortunate transaction I received a feedback survey from Wells Fargo asking how I enjoyed their service. I gave them my honest opinion. More than one employee of Wells Fargo then called me to apologize and get more information about why I was unhappy and how they can improve. They both seemed rather shocked that their rates were so poor and that someone in the know could get a better rate simply by asking.
Fast forward more than seven months to my next need to wire money from my US$ Wells Fargo account to a Japanese account in yen. I was hoping things would be better this go around. They weren’t.
On a day when the yen traded between .01108 and .01095 (when I called the bid was .01097 and the ask was .01098) Wells Fargo quoted me a rate of .01134. Plus they would charge me a wire transfer fee of $25 on the transaction. The lady on the phone tried to get me to agree to the transaction immediately. I asked if she could give me a better rate. She responded that she would call exchange services and check. Exchange services offered a slightly better rate of .011323. I declined.
I can pull money (yen) out of ATMs in Japan for the market rate. This is the exact same money I was trying to wire. Wells Fargo charges me $5 per transaction (or 1%) on a $500 withdrawal. So instead of wiring money and paying $25 + 3-5% I will just withdraw $500 a day in yen. How much will I save compared to using Wells Fargo “exchange services” in so doing? I will save almost $400, even after considering the $5 per transaction I will have to pay over 20 times, to get the amount I need.
Again, you will not get the best foreign wire transfer rate if you go with the first one they give you. They will not give you a good rate even after you talk them down. Foreign wire transfers cost not $25 but $25 + several percent of the amount transfered.













