I think it is best to break the process into two parts.Hey guys,
Does anyone know the most effective/cheapest way to move a significant amount of money from CAD to EUR?
My situation:
Selling my house in Canada and moving to Europe (Montenegro, not EU/EEA but uses EUR with strict banking regulations). Will have a large sum of money to transfer to my personal account in Montenegro. I have an international account in Montenegro for accepting Euros, which I'll then transfer domestically to my personal account.
My options so far:
Any advice is greatly appreciated here. I'm expecting to lose money by doing this, but if I can mitigate losses, I will.
- Traditional Wire Transfer - Way too expensive. Will lose 4% converting from CAD to EUR. Will lose more at intermediary bank, and even more on the receiving bank.
- Wise (Formerly Tansferwise) - Will not work as Montenegro despite using the EUR is not on the list of countries they service. This would've been the best route, only costing me 0.5% from Wise, with intermediary and end bank still taking cuts.
- Multiple Cash Hauling Trips below $10,000. This just isn't realistic and will lose 20-30% every time I do it, not including spread difference on currency conversion.
- Crypto. This seems like my best option. Buy a more stable coin like BTC, bring on cold storage wallet and then find a way to deposit into an MNE bank. The problem then becomes that money is now taxable as I'll probably have a hard time proving it's all from a house sale, and most MNE banks will red flag/freeze anything Crypto related.
- Norbert's Gambit from CAD/EUR? Is that a thing?
1)Currency Conversion
2)Cross Border Transfer
As suggested by others, interactive broker offers competitive rates for currency exchange.
Most banks offer a flat fee for cross border transfer. The issue has never been cost here, (less than 50 dollar?) from my experience. It is best for you to figure out what are the KYC and compliance requirement in Montenegro.
There is absolutely no need to get crypto involved.
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