UK, US Banking

[helzie 0]

I am a USC. I lived and worked in the UK for 6 years, and now I am living in the USA working for the UK company remotly. I will be paid in British Pounds into my current Alliance & Leicester bank account. If I continue to do this, I have to pay £16 for the transfer from Alliance & Leicester and then my US bank charges me also. Is there a better way to do it? Is there some sort of "International" bank account I could use?

Anyone in a similar situation?

[YuAndDan 153]

Draw off money in the USA with an ATM card issued by your UK bank, and then deposit the $$ into the US bank.

We sent an ATM card to Mum-in-law in China so that we can send her some money from time to time, she just uses it in a local ATM machine to get the cash. Avoids money wiring fees.

Another option you may consider to avoid ATM fees, is to use a bank that has branches in both countries, like HSBC.

http://www.hsbc.com/

[TimsDaisy 0]

Sometimes your US bank or UK bank might have an agreement with a bank in the other country (Bank of American and Barclay's for example - don't believe they are owned by the same people, maybe they are, but it doesn't cost anything more than the conversion fee to withdraw using a Barclay's machine, etc). Call to ask your bank's customer service line.

[Lansbury 19]

I am a USC. I lived and worked in the UK for 6 years, and now I am living in the USA working for the UK company remotly. I will be paid in British Pounds into my current Alliance & Leicester bank account. If I continue to do this, I have to pay £16 for the transfer from Alliance & Leicester and then my US bank charges me also. Is there a better way to do it? Is there some sort of "International" bank account I could use?

Anyone in a similar situation?

I have my company pension transfered from my UK bank each month. I use a commercial currency broker, cheaper than a bank and a better exchange rate and much better than using an ATM card and paying even higher charges.

The one I use is Money Corp. www.moneycorp.com. To transfer money monthly on a contract is £4 per transfer and there are several ways of fixing the amount and if you wish the exchange rate for up to 2 years. They are UK based so a direct debit sends them the money each month from my bank without any bank charge.

[Lansbury 19]

I forgot to mention in my original reply. Money Corp has an arrangement with the US banks for them not to impose a wire transfer charge. If you are charged Money Corp will arrange for it to be refunded.

From their web site

Bank receipt charges eliminated

We guarantee that our clients will not pay any bank receipt charges when sending funds abroad*. This guarantee applies regardless of the amount being transferred or to which bank the payment is being made.

*Should a client incur such charges, Moneycorp will refund them in full.

[robburnsefc 0]

I forgot to mention in my original reply. Money Corp has an arrangement with the US banks for them not to impose a wire transfer charge. If you are charged Money Corp will arrange for it to be refunded.

From their web site

Bank receipt charges eliminated

We guarantee that our clients will not pay any bank receipt charges when sending funds abroad*. This guarantee applies regardless of the amount being transferred or to which bank the payment is being made.

*Should a client incur such charges, Moneycorp will refund them in full.

Sounds terrible, but have you looked at paypal? It seems to be commission free to upload currency from your account and download it to your US account (or possibly it has to be another US account) and the exchange rates seem competitive. However, there may be a limit on the amount.

[Lansbury 19]

I forgot to mention in my original reply. Money Corp has an arrangement with the US banks for them not to impose a wire transfer charge. If you are charged Money Corp will arrange for it to be refunded.

From their web site

Bank receipt charges eliminated

We guarantee that our clients will not pay any bank receipt charges when sending funds abroad*. This guarantee applies regardless of the amount being transferred or to which bank the payment is being made.

*Should a client incur such charges, Moneycorp will refund them in full.

Sounds terrible, but have you looked at paypal? It seems to be commission free to upload currency from your account and download it to your US account (or possibly it has to be another US account) and the exchange rates seem competitive. However, there may be a limit on the amount.

Don't follow why does it sound terrible. Paypal rates may be competitive with a High Street bank, they are not competitive with a company like Money Corp. Having used Money Corp for about 18 months I find them to give an exchange rate much better than a bank and their charges are less and for regular monthly payments a lot less.

[RosemarieL 0]

Citibank also has a presence in both the US and the UK and I think that they don't charge you to have accounts in both currencies so long as you have a balance (not sure of the exact amount) in any of their accounts (checking, saving etc).

[Rubycon 0]

I have used xe.com currency exchange to transfer money from my UK account to my US account. They are a Canadian company. You pay your money from your UK account to the broker (in the UK) via BACS (for which there is obviously no charge) and it arrives in the US via EFT (no charge also). All this is easy to do through online banking services. No charges, and they offer competitive rates. It worked for me.

My UK and US bank do not work together officially or have a presence in each other's country. There are no bank charges involved.

Edited June 4, 2007 by Rubycon

[homesick_american 1]

I am a USC. I lived and worked in the UK for 6 years, and now I am living in the USA working for the UK company remotly. I will be paid in British Pounds into my current Alliance & Leicester bank account. If I continue to do this, I have to pay £16 for the transfer from Alliance & Leicester and then my US bank charges me also. Is there a better way to do it? Is there some sort of "International" bank account I could use?

Anyone in a similar situation?

I have my company pension transfered from my UK bank each month. I use a commercial currency broker, cheaper than a bank and a better exchange rate and much better than using an ATM card and paying even higher charges.

The one I use is Money Corp. www.moneycorp.com. To transfer money monthly on a contract is £4 per transfer and there are several ways of fixing the amount and if you wish the exchange rate for up to 2 years. They are UK based so a direct debit sends them the money each month from my bank without any bank charge.

I just called them and they quoted me a rate 4.5 cents better than the one Nationwide has.

I really hope this isn't a scam.

[Rubycon 0]

I just called them and they quoted me a rate 4.5 cents better than the one Nationwide has.

I really hope this isn't a scam.

As an example, xe.com gave me a rate of USD1.95 to GBP1 when the "mid market" exchange rate was USD1.98 to GBP1. Seems pretty good to me (surely better than withdrawing USD from an ATM using a UK debit card??)

Note that xe.com charges no transfer fee...

Edited June 4, 2007 by Rubycon

[Lansbury 19]

I am a USC. I lived and worked in the UK for 6 years, and now I am living in the USA working for the UK company remotly. I will be paid in British Pounds into my current Alliance & Leicester bank account. If I continue to do this, I have to pay £16 for the transfer from Alliance & Leicester and then my US bank charges me also. Is there a better way to do it? Is there some sort of "International" bank account I could use?

Anyone in a similar situation?

I have my company pension transfered from my UK bank each month. I use a commercial currency broker, cheaper than a bank and a better exchange rate and much better than using an ATM card and paying even higher charges.

The one I use is Money Corp. www.moneycorp.com. To transfer money monthly on a contract is £4 per transfer and there are several ways of fixing the amount and if you wish the exchange rate for up to 2 years. They are UK based so a direct debit sends them the money each month from my bank without any bank charge.

I just called them and they quoted me a rate 4.5 cents better than the one Nationwide has.

I really hope this isn't a scam.

It isn't a scam I've got quotes from them, However as they charge no fee their rates are lower than comparable companies that charge a fee. For the sum of money I transferred at that time Money Corp, who charge a fee, were better value as their exchange rate was 2 cents in the pound better than xe.com.

If you are transferring the money from a house sale those extra cents per pound can well exceed the the fee cost and make quite a big difference.

You need to research several of these companies to see which is the best value for your own personal circumstances.

[Lansbury 19]

I am a USC. I lived and worked in the UK for 6 years, and now I am living in the USA working for the UK company remotly. I will be paid in British Pounds into my current Alliance & Leicester bank account. If I continue to do this, I have to pay £16 for the transfer from Alliance & Leicester and then my US bank charges me also. Is there a better way to do it? Is there some sort of "International" bank account I could use?

Anyone in a similar situation?

I have my company pension transferred from my UK bank each month. I use a commercial currency broker, cheaper than a bank and a better exchange rate and much better than using an ATM card and paying even higher charges.

The one I use is Money Corp. www.moneycorp.com. To transfer money monthly on a contract is £4 per transfer and there are several ways of fixing the amount and if you wish the exchange rate for up to 2 years. They are UK based so a direct debit sends them the money each month from my bank without any bank charge.

I just called them and they quoted me a rate 4.5 cents better than the one Nationwide has.

I really hope this isn't a scam.

I meant to add in my other post.

We have been using Money Corp for about 2 years. We got a house about 18 months before we moved over and transferred the mortgage payment each month to our Wells Fargo account using Money Corp. When we moved we used them for one off transfers of money from our house sale and then some other cash we wanted to move. Now each month we move my pension payment over to the US using them. I can't recommend them highly enough. They have always been very helpful and the transfers have always gone through without any hitch and on time.

Their exchange rate is normally between 4 and 6 cents better than my UK bank (Natwest) and the cost of a transfer is less, when it is a regualr monthly payment it is only £4 per month against Natwests £18 for a one off payment Money Corp charge £15.

[kisschick1976 0]

I have used xe.com currency exchange to transfer money from my UK account to my US account. They are a Canadian company. You pay your money from your UK account to the broker (in the UK) via BACS (for which there is obviously no charge) and it arrives in the US via EFT (no charge also). All this is easy to do through online banking services. No charges, and they offer competitive rates. It worked for me.

My UK and US bank do not work together officially or have a presence in each other's country. There are no bank charges involved.

I just called them and they quoted me a rate 4.5 cents better than the one Nationwide has.

I really hope this isn't a scam.

As an example, xe.com gave me a rate of USD1.95 to GBP1 when the "mid market" exchange rate was USD1.98 to GBP1. Seems pretty good to me (surely better than withdrawing USD from an ATM using a UK debit card??)

Note that xe.com charges no transfer fee...

Ok this sounds perfect for me. I will be still working for the same US company when I move to the UK. (I can work anywhere there's internet.) My bank is a block away from the office here. While I was gone for 5 weeks my boss deposited my check for me and I was able to use my card in most places in England. I was being charged my bank's exchange rate which for the convenience I didn't mind BUT since my card wasn't a chip and pin type I was SOL in some places and couldn't make a purchase.

so using xe.com I can continue working for my company, have my check deposited for me (Or if they ever figure out how to do direct deposit, even better, but it does not look likely... the man dosen't even know how to use email.) , use xe.com to exchange it and have it sent to my new bank account in the UK that will have a chip and pin card. I love it!

Man, if I had heard of this before I left I could have just exchanged money this way and send it to Jonny's account and have him withdraw it for me.

THANK YOU!!!!!