Best Rate for USD $ in UK?

tpowell

Hi there,

I work abroad and get paid in USD $ cash.

I am soon coming home to the UK for a holiday and want to pay money into my UK bank account to pay off overdraft and to keep my money safe.

There is around $6,000 in total, so obviously I need to think carefully about the best way to exchange this money without losing too much on the rates/fees.

I bank with NatWest and have a regular account, and am also thinking of opening a bank account with Barclays.

Any advice is appreciated

benjus

Do you have a USD account? It may work out cheaper to transfer the money electronically via an FX Broker. I use The FX Firm and Halo Financial. Have a look here for more: http://www.fxcompared.com/Content/money-transfer-from-USA-UK-above-3000-amount-6000

If it has to be cash, try here: http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/buy-back/

Voyager2002

I agree with the response above: cash is subject to worse rates than bank credits. If you don't have a US dolllar account where you work, you could open one in the UK. NatWest offers this facility, as does Citibank.

tpowell

I am not working in the US, that is just the commonly used currency here where I work in Africa.

benjus

You don't have to be in the US to have a USD account...

Anyway, the link I posted above for cash exchange rates isn't that much more expensive than the electronic transfer rates.

Voyager2002

I have also just returned from working in Africa and being paid in US dollars. My employer helped me to open an account in the USA, but before then I investigated the dollar accounts available in Britain.