UK Resident paid in US Dollars - Advice needed please

chelle333

Hi everyone,

My husband is starting a new contract which requires him to work overseas on a rotation basis. He will be paid in US Dollars.

What would be the best way to maximise the Sterling amount after currency conversions etc.

We have looked around the net and seem to think that an offshore US dollar account would possibly be best to be paid into just in case of a bad USD-GBP conversion rate on the day of payment. This would give us time to wait for a better conversion day. Would a UK international account be any better? For instance if we had an international USD account and a UK account with the same bank would this reduce charges/give a better conversion rate?

We have also noticed that peer to peer currency converters offer far better conversion rates. Is there a down side and are they safe? Would a foreign exchange broker be better/safer/quicker?

Thanks in advance,

Chelle

eDicky

I'm not sure what you mean by a 'UK international account', but any mainstream bank, UK or elsewhere, that offers USD and GBP accounts will impose a conversion rate of ~3% between the two.

You could use the TransferWise 'Borderless Account' that provides account details for the salary to be paid in to, or Fineco Bank multicurrency account which is actually a real bank, an Italian subsidiary of UniCredit that has recently started up in UK. I think there is sign up promo code for the latter if you look in the referrals board.

As for 'waiting for a better conversion day', how will it be foreseen if and when this will arrive..?