Hi all,

Does anybody know a US bank (in Caifornia) offering good exchange rates for wire transfers from European banks?


I have no choice, I will receive Euros directly and not dollars but all US banks I checked had a bad echange rate

Thanks!

All banks charge a 3%+ surcharge on incoming transfers that involve a different currency. The only way to avoid this, is to have someone in the EU locally transfer the cash & send. Otherwise, no luck

You can register with a foreign exchange service such as www.ozforex.com or www.xetrade.com. Their rates are much better than any banks. They require a little effort up front--you must upload a copy of your passport and a signed application. Then they will call you to ask you a few questions as part of their compliance procedures. But their rates are much, much better than any banks. I personally would recommend ozforex, as their rates seem a little bit better than xetrade. But it depends how much money you're transfering. Ozforex has a minimum of $2000 Australian Dollars requirement, and for amounts under $10,000 Australian Dollars, they charge a $15 fee. They do not charge for wires, however, whereas xetrade seems to charge for sending a wire. What happens is that you send them your money, they do the conversion, and then send it to your bank.

Hope this information helps!

Best wishes,
Mary