International bank transfer

Littleblackdog47

Hi there,

I currently reside in the USA but am British by birth and lived there up until 2014. I still have a UK bank account (Nationwide) and will be coming into some monies soon and was looking at best way for transferring that money from UK to USA without too much cost?

Thanks in advance,
Dominic

mgdavid

A moneybroker such as CurrencyFair or Wise (formerly TransferWise). Easy to set up an online account, pay in the GBP, convert to USD (much better rate than banks, and no commission), then transfer the USD to your US bank account.

pokora

Check first that your uk account still active. If you are planning to empty the account and leave it dormant check the requirements to dont go overdraft with any fee or direct debit.

maxsteam

The safest way is to transfer from one high street bank (or BS) to another but the exchange rate won't be the best. If you can open an account with a bank that offers better rates (I use Fineco, others recommend Starling) they will give you both a good rate and bank protection. Foreign exchange specialists will give you the best rate (there are comparison sites) but the transaction will not have the same protection that you get by using banks.

supastar72

I have a better suggestion. Yesterday I purchased an expensive item from Hong Kong. The seller wanted payment in USD. My high street bank wanted a £25 fee plus any unknown fees, to be subtracted from the capital sum, as the payment had to go through an american bank. The exchange rate offered would have cost me £147 more than a better option. The payment would take 2-5 days. Now I have a Revolut bank account. I exchanged my pounds sterling at the interbank rate. Sent it to the Hong Kong bank. The transaction was instantaneous and the fee ZERO. Yes, no charge. High street banks are professional sharks.

Daliah

supastar72 said:

I have a better suggestion. Yesterday I purchased an expensive item from Hong Kong. The seller wanted payment in USD. My high street bank wanted a £25 fee plus any unknown fees, to be subtracted from the capital sum, as the payment had to go through an american bank. The exchange rate offered would have cost me £147 more than a better option. The payment would take 2-5 days. Now I have a Revolut bank account. I exchanged my pounds sterling at the interbank rate. Sent it to the Hong Kong bank. The transaction was instantaneous and the fee ZERO. Yes, no charge. High street banks are professional sharks.

You do not have a Revolut bank account, for the simple reason that Revolut is not a UK bank. They are an e-money provider, just like Wise and several others. Revolut are known for atrocious customer service, and their rates are generally no better than those of Wise, Starling Bank or Chase UK.

dj1471

Daliah said:

You do not have a Revolut bank account, for the simple reason that Revolut is not a UK bank. They are an e-money provider, just like Wise and several others. Revolut are known for atrocious customer service, and their rates are generally no better than those of Wise, Starling Bank or Chase UK.

I was with you right up until the last part of your last sentence… Revolut’s rates are often the best in my experience, having used them quite a bit for both USD and EUR transfers. I just sent a VND transfer and Revolut’s rate was again better than Wise (Instarem was the overall cheapest on this occasion).

Though you do have to avoid them at weekends due to the markup they apply and stay within the free exchange limit to avoid extra fees.

I’ve never looked at Starling but right now a 1000 EUR transfer is £3.14 cheaper with Revolut. Some might say that’s a small price to pay to avoid Revolut’s customer service, but I’ve yet to have any issues with them myself.

Keep_pedalling

Who is administering your mother’s estate? If it is a solicitor you might find the initial issue is the limited payment methods they offer you.