How does mtgox compare to bank conversion?

[Richy_T]

I have the need to occasionally transfer some funds from GBP. I have been having the bank do it but have been seeing large chunks of money disappear in fees (and what I guess is a less-than-market exchange rate).  I was looking at mtgox to see if less of my money would disappear in fees but given their fee structure, it looks like a bit of a wash. I was wondering if anyone had already done a proper analysis and could save me the bother.

Obviously, the transfer is into different currencies and GBP->BTC->USD seems like it definitely wouldn't be worth the bother but I'm thinking I might be willing to hold some BTC for a while and see if it doesn't become easier to spend them directly.

Thoughts?

[Stephen Gornick]

I have the need to occasionally transfer some funds from GBP. I have been having the bank do it but have been seeing large chunks of money disappear in fees (and what I guess is a less-than-market exchange rate).

Mt. Gox' has wallets for nearly two dozen currencies.  If you transfer GBPs to Mt. Gox's bank, it will be added to your GBP wallet with them.  The only amount subtracted are the wire fees.  If you instead have your bank convert the fund to USD and then transfer, then yes, you would lose from the GBP -> USD conversion.

 - https://mtgox.com/press_release_20120815.html

Obviously, the transfer is into different currencies and GBP->BTC->USD seems like it definitely wouldn't be worth the bother but I'm thinking I might be willing to hold some BTC for a while and see if it doesn't become easier to spend them directly.

If you simply want to go from GBP to USD, there are other services that might do that more efficiently for now:

 - http://www.CurrencyFair.com
 - http://www.TransferWise.com  <-- Not USD yet, but to EUR, etc.

Other methods available in the UK:

You can send cash (GBP) in the mail to Bitcoin Nordic (in Denmark):
 - http://www.BitcoinNordic.com


And, or course, there may be a chance for a local trade:
 - http://www.LocalBitcoins.com


Also, BitInstant now has an online bank transfer methods which supports a couple dozen countries, including the UK:
 - http://www.BitInstant.com

For Bitcoin in the UK, BitInstant just released an online bank transfer system. This has not been publicly announced yet, but it works, and is very fast.  

On BitInstant.com, select your UK flag (You can see many other countries are available for this as well), then select Online Bank Transfer and go through the process. You can have the funds converted automatically into BTC and sent to your Bitcoin account, so you don't even need to bother with any exchanges. Fee is 3.49% if over $100 worth, and 3.99% if under.

EDIT: note that these bank transfer payments are nearly instant (matter of minutes). It does not take 1-3 days like most bank transfers. It's pretty baller, actually

BlockChain.info now accepts funds from Barclays Pingit:
 - https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-pingit


There may be other methods that work for you as well:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

[Richy_T]

[snip]

Thanks, a lot of food for thought there.

[piuk]

If you simply want to go from GBP to USD, there are other services that might do that more efficiently for now:

 - http://www.CurrencyFair.com
 - http://www.TransferWise.com  <-- Not USD yet, but to EUR, etc.

To avoid others making the same mistake as me:

CurrencyFair & Transferwise cannot be used to fund a Mt.Gox account as the senders bank name will be different from the name associated with the Mt.Gox account.

[Richy_T]

If you simply want to go from GBP to USD, there are other services that might do that more efficiently for now:

 - http://www.CurrencyFair.com
 - http://www.TransferWise.com  <-- Not USD yet, but to EUR, etc.

To avoid others making the same mistake as me:

CurrencyFair & Transferwise cannot be used to fund a Mt.Gox account as the senders bank name will be different from the name associated with the Mt.Gox account.

Is that a technical thing? Cause my personal name would be the same on all sides of the transaction(s)

[piuk]

Is that a technical thing? Cause my personal name would be the same on all sides of the transaction(s)

It due to AML I think. Transferwise receive money from your account, convert to to EUR/USD and then forward it from their bank account to Mt.Gox. Because it comes from their bank account Mt.Gox will reject it.

[Richy_T]

Is that a technical thing? Cause my personal name would be the same on all sides of the transaction(s)

It due to AML I think. Transferwise receive money from your account, convert to to EUR/USD and then forward it from their bank account to Mt.Gox. Because it comes from their bank account Mt.Gox will reject it.

I'm not sure why I would want mtgox in the equation at that point. I could do USD->mtgox myself.

[piuk]

I'm not sure why I would want mtgox in the equation at that point. I could do USD->mtgox myself.

Ok sorry I meant paying directly in Mt.Gox's account, if you have a USD account also then everything will work fine.

[Pteppic]

I have funded my mtgox account directly from currencyfair before. But then the bank account I have linked to mtgox is in GBP and I use currencyfair for funding mtgox in USD.

[Stephen Gornick]

Because it comes from their bank account Mt.Gox will reject it.

Is that restriction for International wire to their bank in Japan, or is that for SEPA transfer to Mt. Gox's bank in Poland?

[Richy_T]

Hmm, looking at bitinstant, when I change the country to the UK, it still lists the amount in dollars. That leads me to believe that I'll still be relying on bank conversion GBP->USD before converting to bitcoins. I had a quick dig around and they don't really mention foreign currency deposits at all.

Currencyfair looks interesting though. I could have saved a pretty penny if I'd known about them.