Foreign currency cheque or wire transfer

adgupta

Hi,

I hope I am posting this in the right forum. If not, please feel free to move it to the right forum.

What is usually the best way to transfer some US Dollar funds into UK current account -

a) Wire transfer in USD
b) Getting a cheque (by mail) in USD

Are the currency conversion rates same for cheques and wire transfer in most banks? Which one incur higher charge?

Which bank is better in terms of foreign exchange rates - Halifax, Abbey or A&L?

I know I should call the banks directly, which I probably would, but I doubt whether I would get these information from the customer service staff.

Thanks,
adgupta

jonesMUFCforever

First of all you have to have an account with a UK bank to receive the funds.
It is of no practical use what rates different banks have because what they quote you today will be out of date by tomorrow.

If you are asking what is best - cheque or wire transfer - then it is wire transfer every time.

Biggles

A wire transfer will usually cost you more in charges (you may have to pay at both ends) but, if there's a large amount of money involved, will probably clear for you to use much quicker.

I doubt that the exchange rate would vary according to method but will vary from bank to bank, but they're usually not too far from each other and are happy to make their money from the charges.

dextertx

This is almost related but if it is in the wrong place please move.
I have received a cheque in Euros, I went to Barclays where I have my current account and they wanted to charge £9 and only gave 1.42 as an exchange rate. I know this is awful so need to open an account somewhere where I can get a better deal. Can anyone help? Or do I just have to accept the charge from Barclays?

techno_geek

Open a sterling current account and a foreign currency current account with Citi Bank - they offer US Dollars, Euros and other currencies. You can pay foreign cheques etc. in, and then transfer them into GBP by moving it into your sterling account. Then you can do what you want with it!

Note that they charge a monthly fee on the foreign currency accounts unless you have a certain amount of funds with Citi (in any accounts)

jonesMUFCforever

dextertx wrote:

This is almost related but if it is in the wrong place please move.
I have received a cheque in Euros, I went to Barclays where I have my current account and they wanted to charge £9 and only gave 1.42 as an exchange rate. I know this is awful so need to open an account somewhere where I can get a better deal. Can anyone help? Or do I just have to accept the charge from Barclays?

In your opinion what constitutes a better deal?

Biggles

dextertx wrote:

I have received a cheque in Euros, I went to Barclays where I have my current account and they wanted to charge £9 and only gave 1.42 as an exchange rate. I know this is awful so need to open an account somewhere where I can get a better deal. Can anyone help? Or do I just have to accept the charge from Barclays?

Are you sure about that? €1.42>£1 seems too good to be true, the current mid rate is more like €1.48>£1; maybe they gave you the selling rate instead of the buying rate, in which case it seems too bad to be true!

Most banks cash foreign cheques not too far out from the 'going rate' and the flat-rate charge is the main problem, depending on how much your cheque is for. I'd be inclined to check that rate with them (preferably by phone, the counter staff know little of these things) and maybe look elsewhere, eg where you have a savings account, maybe?

Kilty_2

Yeah, 1.42 is more like a selling rate, I'd jump at that........

Remember, the lower the amount of Euros to the £ the more Sterling you are going to bank; the exact opposite of what you want when buying foreign currency.

dextertx

Thanks for the replies, will see if they really were telling the truth about the rate.....You are quite right I was thinking the wrogn way around;p