Dollars to Sterling Banking Advice Needed

magic79

Hey all,

I've recently accepted a job offer for an American company working abroad which is going to pay me in Dollars, however I live and bank in the UK normally, or at least I will when I quit this new job, while I'm doing it I'll be away for a year.

So what I was hoping to get advice on, is what is the most financially cost effective way of turning my salary to sterling?
Which bank has the best exchange rate?
Should I hold onto it in Dollars and see if the pound drops?
Are there better services than banks to use as an exchange for high sums of money?

I forgot what else I meant to ask, but any advice on that would be really appreciated. Thank you

dj1471

Have a look at the TransferWise Borderless account and Fineco Bank.


There's no point converting to sterling while you're away, presumably your living expenses will be in USD (or another currency, you didn't actually say where you'd be living).

magic79

There aren't really any living expenses to mention tbh, the occasional coffee or pizza but that's about it. It's based in the middle east, nowhere pleasant.

Tranferwise I've heard of, from reading the topic on Fineco it would probably be too difficult to setup for my own personal circumstances, receiving letters etc.

Changing to Sterling for me is pretty important, if the rate were to rise to say 1.45 to the pound I'll lose a few hundred pounds each month.

Thanks for your reply.

eDicky

You can do nothing about exchange rate movements, chances of gain or loss against the pound are equal. Just try to avoid conversion by banks.

You may be able to open a USD account locally to receive your pay. Revolut could be useful for the conversion.

TransferWise 'Borderless' also provide personal USD account details to receive salary, conversion at interbank rate for 0.5%(?) fee.

John-K_3

eDicky wrote: »

You can do nothing about exchange rate movements, chances of gain or loss against the pound are equal. Just try to avoid conversion by banks.

Well, not strictly true. You can hedge against them, but it’ll cost a bit.