US Dollar Cheques and Transfers

shocks

Been reading this forum for a while but my first post !

Recently I was checking on exchange rates on wire transfers (BoS USD to GBP exchange) from my US brokerage to BoS, shocking to say the least, after a bit of digging I'm now looking at doing the following :

1. Set up a US Dollar retail currency account with BoS

2. Receive funds in US dollars

3. Use HiFX or MoneyCorp to do the exchange (USD to GBP)

4. Deposit funds in my other (non-USD current account)

I have some questions though, is this the best way to do this ? or is there a better way ?

Also I will receive a "client trust check" from my US lawyers soon, which is quite a chunk of money, is it best to deposit this in my BoS USD account or should I have them wire funds ? Not sure how long a cheque takes to clear...

Cheers

richt71

shocks wrote: »

Been reading this forum for a while but my first post !

Recently I was checking on exchange rates on wire transfers (BoS USD to GBP exchange) from my US brokerage to BoS, shocking to say the least, after a bit of digging I'm now looking at doing the following :

1. Set up a US Dollar retail currency account with BoS

2. Receive funds in US dollars

3. Use HiFX or MoneyCorp to do the exchange (USD to GBP)

4. Deposit funds in my other (non-USD current account)

I have some questions though, is this the best way to do this ? or is there a better way ?

Also I will receive a "client trust check" from my US lawyers soon, which is quite a chunk of money, is it best to deposit this in my BoS USD account or should I have them wire funds ? Not sure how long a cheque takes to clear...

Cheers

I used to recieve regular smallish amounts from a US company in US dollars. Basically if you open a US account then there's no cost to recieve monies unlike if you pay US into a UK account. However you may not get the best rate when you exchange any monies from the US account into pounds sterling. For the large amount the bank may not give you the best rate but a bank wire shouldn't incur any charges as the sender usually pays these.
By the way I'd not recommend recieving US dollar cheques as they can take months to clear through the banking system.

shocks

Thanks for that, good point on the cheque situation. Wasn't aware it could take so long. I will ask my bank about that, also not sure as it's a trust fund cheque and not something I have had before.

On the transfer elements I'm trying to get as close to inter-bank rates as possible which is why I'm looking at HiFX and Moneycorp, that way I can have cleared USD funds in my UK USD Current account. I then get a spot rate for the exchange agreed with the currency broker and wire them the USD's to convert, they will then (in theory) transfer to my UK GBP current account.

Should save quite a bit doing it this wat rather than my retail banks rip off exchange rate :-)

Thanks again !

richt71

shocks wrote: »

Thanks for that, good point on the cheque situation. Wasn't aware it could take so long. I will ask my bank about that, also not sure as it's a trust fund cheque and not something I have had before.

On the transfer elements I'm trying to get as close to inter-bank rates as possible which is why I'm looking at HiFX and Moneycorp, that way I can have cleared USD funds in my UK USD Current account. I then get a spot rate for the exchange agreed with the currency broker and wire them the USD's to convert, they will then (in theory) transfer to my UK GBP current account.

Should save quite a bit doing it this wat rather than my retail banks rip off exchange rate :-)

Thanks again !

Although banks will provisionally clear a US cheque some say it can take up to 6 months to clear as they contact the sending bank in the US. Although a trust cheque should be safe.
Also another point to remember depending which bank wire service is used the quickest transfer can take 2 working days to show in your account from them sending it! I know as I got some money sent as urgent from Hawaii last month. Sent Monday...showed in my account last thing Wednesday.

Uniscots97

Bank wire transfer is the quickest. Ask your bank what their recommendation is.

shocks

Bank transfer aren't the main issue - these I can do on any other transactions and I understand them well. The main problem is this "client trust check" from Washington Mutal, even when paying it into my USD Current account in the UK it is going to take 4-6 weeks to clear.

The lawyer said they can't wire funds from a Client Trust account, never heard of this before so if anyone knows why trust accounts cannot do wire transfers please let me know !

inmypocketnottheirs

Another bank to consider would be Citibank. Have a UK sterling account and a US $ dollar account for free. Then wire the money to HiFX or whoever to convert if their rate is better than Citi. Cant comment on the trust account situation though.