Bank transfer, dollars to sterling

JenBall

Hi all,

I have some money (dollars) in a US HSBC business account. At some point I need to transfer this money into my UK HSBC bank account (sterling). With exchange rates fluctuating so much I want to choose my time carefully so I always keep my eye on the forex rates (although I realise I've probably missed the bottom of the market... hey ho).

So my question is this... if I use online banking to request a transfer how is the exchange rate calculated? Is it the live rate at the time I request the transfer, or at the time the transfer takes place, or is it some sort of standard daily rate? As the rate can move several cents in a day, this could make a big difference.

If it's based on a standard daily rate, when is the cut-off point? For example, if I request the transfer after the UK banks have closed for the day, is the rate calculated on that days rate or on the next days?

I've called my US bank but they seem fairly clueless on the subject.

Finally, does anyone know if HSBC publishes their exchange rates? I've looked all over their websites and can't find the info anywhere. Asked my US bank and they're sure its published somewhere... but not quite sure where!!!

Can anyone shed any light? Many thanks in advance,

Jen

97trophy

open an account with a broker such as XE trade.

https://www.xe.com/fx/demo/

JenBall

I've looked at XE trade but it's all a bit complicated and a bit OTT for what I need. Just want to be able to transfer money between accounts but be confident of the rate I'm going to get.

Anyone any experience of dollar transfers with HSBC?

greenmantle

I'm in a roughly similar situation (both HSBC) and I'd be interested in opinions too - I'm a bit put off more by the charges involved than the exchange rate. It's making me hesitate about how to do the transfer... Money amount is small beer, but it's what I've got...