A dollar bank account

rory41444

My family is regularly sent cheques in dollars from an overseas relation. The exchange rate is so bad at present that we have not been changing them into sterling. Instead I opened a dollar account with RBS some years ago which pays a really mean 1.6% interest and charges £20 everytime we deposit cheques. Can anyone recommend a better place to put the money that would pay a better rate of interest where the cash will remain until such time as the exchange rate improves? There is quite a stash mounting up. I see HSBC has an internet dollar account which pays about 5% but it looks as though I have to have a current account with them as well and they don't accept cheques - sounds over complicated. Can anyone help?

Cobi

Citibank - but you need to keep £2000 in it to avoid charges

http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/bankingproducts/currentaccounts/usdollar/index.htm

rory41444

Many thanks for that quick response. Citibank looks good. Not sure that I need checkbooks etc. as by what I read about interest rates, these dollars could be there for quite a while. Should I be looking for more of a deposit account? There is nearly 100 grand to house.

Cobi

rory41444 wrote:

Many thanks for that quick response. Citibank looks good. Not sure that I need checkbooks etc. as by what I read about interest rates, these dollars could be there for quite a while. Should I be looking for more of a deposit account? There is nearly 100 grand to house.

You do get access to a US Dollar saving account as well, but I can't find the interest rates for it on the web page.

prudryden

If you were prepared to invest those funds into an investment portfolio of Investment trusts, bonds, shares etc., there are several investment firms willing to open an account for you in USD. Most firms will allow you to deposit checks into the account free of charge or, even better for faster clearance, your relative can deposit into your account directly in the US. Conversion into GBP is simple and only incurs a wire fee of $40 if you needed to transfer to your bank. The current yield on their deposit is 4.6%. Instant access.

2good

Try Bank of Scotland. They are offering up to 4.75% (or 4.15% on $100k)

Note they only pay interest annually though. If you have a Halifax account then I think the transfers out of the dollar account are free to this account.


http://www.bankofscotlandinternational.com/home/our-rates.asp