Cheapest Way To Receive US Dollars?

higgey

Hi,

I receive payments from a US company each month into my UK current account. I have to pay my bank £8 each time they convert it to sterling, plus the exchange rate. The bank says I still have to pay a fee each month even if the payment goes into a US Dollar bank account here.

What is a cheaper way to receive these payments?

Kind regards,

John

dalesrider

Check this thread
Covers exactly your issue.

ccbrowning

The thread linked above is sort of related. I've lived in the UK for 6 years and send money to my US bank account occasionally. For quite some time I did a wire from my UK bank to my US bank and both sides charge a fee! In the end I went with xe.com and they charge no fees plus the money gets there quicker (they make money on the spread). Exchange rate was better than my bank, too.

Other services similar to XE out there I'm sure, it's just the one I ended up using.

higgey

Thanks for the responses.

I'm afraid the above thread does not really provide the answer that I am seeking.

The US Dollars are being sent by a company to me so I cannot use a money order to send them. Paypal is too expensive.

I've had a quick look at XE.com and I would be grateful to hear of other services that you have tried.

Are there any other methods that I could use to reduce the costs? My payments are around the £500 a month mark.

Many thanks.

John

ccbrowning

I'm sure (or at least hopeful) that others have some info on other services that they have used.

With xe you just have a trading account (no fee to have) one and get a quote for converting so many £ to $ US. (or any other currency) Then you hold the quote and send them the money, which they then send to the States. Quite easy and my money is out of one account and into the other within 24 hours most of the time, as long as both banks are open.

I think someone on these boards used moneybookers, but I can't offer a view on their service.