Cheapest way to transfer to US bank account

alanf1314

I've just moved to the US and have had an account set up. I want to periodically transfer a few thousand pounds. What is the cheapest way to do this?

preable

most banks will charge you to send overseas

blueberrypie

A currency exchange service is probably the easiest and cheapest way to do it, especially if you'll be transferring money on an ongoing basis. There are quite a few of these around and some are better than others (and some are to be avoided). XE.com are reliable, have been around a long time and have very, very good service, and a best-rate guarantee. It might take a few days to set up an account with them (they -have to comply with anti-money-laundering legislation etc) but once it's set up, it's there for you to use whenever you want and with minimal fuss.

jrusso

The cheapest transfer from a high st bank is the Co-op which charges £8 for a Tipa Net transfer which is a system between co-operative banks.

If you're willing to do a little more work open a dollar account with citibank. They will do transfers to citibank in the US for free. So you'd need to open a dollar account here and then one in the United States also.

alanf1314

preable wrote: »

most banks will charge you to send overseas

I'm perfectly aware of that hence the reason I asked 'what is the cheapest way to do this?'

Thanks for all the other answers. Can anybody give me a rough indication of how much it is to transfer from a UK high street bank to a non affiliated US bank?

I'm currently just using Nationwide at 1% withdrawal rate at the moment but they are hiking this to 2% PLUS $1 per transaction come October!!! Ouch!

alanf1314

I need to transfer $5k in the next two weeks. Any suggestions? I have a Barclays, Nationwide and RBS account in the UK and Wachovia in the US. What is the cheapest way to do this?

System

RBS are the cheapest of the 3 banks/building societies.
They offer a Royworld Budget for £10.

If its going to be a regular thing, Citibank UK has a US$ account with a US check book. You could write yourself a check and pay-in at Wachovia / Wells Fargo.

alanf1314 wrote: »

I need to transfer $5k in the next two weeks. Any suggestions? I have a Barclays, Nationwide and RBS account in the UK and Wachovia in the US. What is the cheapest way to do this?