US > UK Transfer

solar58

I need to move some money from a US Share's account to the UK
Does anyone know which banks offer competitive inbound exchange rates

Solar 58

ratechaser

I asked a very similar question recently but got no reply. I'm guessing one of the specialist fx brokers like XE will beat any bank's rate - I need to call one of them but as I understand it, you open an account with them to receive/convert the inbound $s from the US and they then forward the £s to your own bank. Looks like it could save a few hundreds based on the $ amount I'm looking at.

Anyway I need to investigate further but would be interested in any answers from people that have actually done it...

reclusive46

If you also have a US checking account use Revolut. You can top the card in US dollars and change it to GBP then withdraw it (And Vice versa)

Archi_Bald

It's easy enough to use a currency transfer service if you have current accounts both ends. I don't know of any way to use one of these services if you don't. I'd also think it highly improbable that you would be able to open a US current/checking account if you aren't resident over there.

You may be able to get a USD account with someone like Citibank UK but it would come at a cost and whether it can be used in your situations I have no idea. If you manage to transfer your money into it, you could then use one of the services to ship your money to GBP.

ratechaser

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It's easy enough to use a currency transfer service if you have current accounts both ends. I don't know of any way to use one of these services if you don't. I'd also think it highly improbable that you would be able to open a US current/checking account if you aren't resident over there.

You may be able to get a USD account with someone like Citibank UK but it would come at a cost and whether it can be used in your situations I have no idea. If you manage to transfer your money into it, you could then use one of the services to ship your money to GBP.

Thank you. I don't want to hijack the OP here, but in my case it would be a share sale through the US DRS system, which basically will allow the international wire out of proceeds (in USD) to any account with an IBAN & swift code. It's effectively a 'push' of funds, therefore if the ccy specialists work on the basis of 'pulling' from a US account, I can see why it might not work...

Archi_Bald

I might misunderstand what you mean but if the money is in a USD account in your name, it will be very easy for you to use something like Transferwise to move it from that USD account to a GBP account. Technically very easy, anyway. You may be subject to all sorts of money laundering investigations behind the scenes, and you are also like to have to provide ID at some stage.

ratechaser

Archi_Bald wrote: »

I might misunderstand what you mean but if the money is in a USD account in your name, it will be very easy for you to use something like Transferwise to move it from that USD account to a GBP account. Technically very easy, anyway. You may be subject to all sorts of money laundering investigations behind the scenes, and you are also like to have to provide ID at some stage.

I guess that's where it gets technical, DRS is really just a glorified stock registry that allows you to sell your stock and move the money out, so it's not really an account in the traditional sense, like a brokerage account would be. No provision to hold cash proceeds.

Best give them a call I think!

FinallyGettingFree

Transferwise is great, I use it to move money between DE and UK regularly and it gives a much better rate than my bank (TSB).

eDicky

reclusive46 wrote: »

If you also have a US checking account use Revolut. You can top the card in US dollars and change it to GBP then withdraw it (And Vice versa)

The Revolut can be 'topped up' directly in USD, it gives a Barclays IBAN, SWIFT and recipient details for the transfer. If these 'share's' and DRS accounts can be identified as in the same name as the Revolut account holder it should work, otherwise the transfer may be declined, I'm not sure. Revolut it set up and operated on a smartphone app and is totally free (for the first year at least), so depending on what it costs to send the funds from source it may be useful to try with a small amount first. Conversion between currencies is at the perfect interbank rates.

l3xi

Try brokers..

ukforex.co.uk was the best choice for me, but there are many others.