Sold house. Brother gets 1/2. Best/cheapest way to send to his USA bank

[Deleted User]

So i sold my parents house recently. My brother gets half and im trying to figure out the best and most affordable way to send it.   I have a Lloyds bank account, a Revolut and Monzo.  I have used Lloyds for 14 years.   I noticed that Revolut is giving $1.37 for an exchange rate VS Lloyds which is a measly $1.32    The difference will be over $3k between the two and i think thats too much.  Lloyds isnt even close to being competitive.  My Revolut account is fairly new and i have not used it really.   Would it be OK to deposit my house cheque in my Lloyds bank and then transfer my brothers share to Revolut, and then send from Revolut to my brothers USA bank?    Im not sure i want to scan a large cheque into the Revolut app because they may freeze the account since it is a new account.  It just may trigger a red flag.   
Otherwise is there a more streamlined way of getting the money over to the USA without getting eviscerated with terrible exchange rates? (i.e. Lloyds)  


 

Ayr_Rage

Have a look at Wise.com too

[Deleted User]

Ayr_Rage said:

Have a look at Wise.com too

Yeah, i have wise too.  Never used it though. You just send from Lloyds to Wise and then Wise to USA bank?  I dont recall Wise needing much security when signing up. No NI# No selfie pic, ID, etc.  Maybe they ask for that later?

Mr_Blue52

I was in the exactly same position. I transferred half the proceeds to my brothers Wise account & he transferred the money to his US bank account when the exchange rate was good. 

Exodi

I'm third in voting for Wise, I use it all the time both for personal and work.

I wouldn't even bother comparing to high street banks, as you've found out, the difference is usually significant. 

Voyager2002

For a large amount such as this, it would be worth trying to negotiate with Lloyds. See if they are willing to match Revolut.

Before you pay the cheque into your own account, ensure that you have documentation showing your brother agrees to the procedure. Technically, paying someone else's money into your own private bank account could be seen as misappropriation.

[Deleted User]

Voyager2002 said:

For a large amount such as this, it would be worth trying to negotiate with Lloyds. See if they are willing to match Revolut.

Before you pay the cheque into your own account, ensure that you have documentation showing your brother agrees to the procedure. Technically, paying someone else's money into your own private bank account could be seen as misappropriation.

Lloyds would negotiate?  Hmm? worth a try i suppose.  Im the sole executor and he knows what im upto.  Cheques in my name, so it should be ok all around.  

robatwork

Voyager2002 said:

For a large amount such as this, it would be worth trying to negotiate with Lloyds. See if they are willing to match Revolut.

Before you pay the cheque into your own account, ensure that you have documentation showing your brother agrees to the procedure. Technically, paying someone else's money into your own private bank account could be seen as misappropriation.

They won't. High st banks continue to offer terrible commission and exchange rates for this kind of transaction.

Another vote for Wise. 

Mr_Blue52

[Deleted User] said:

Mr_Blue52 said:

I was in the exactly same position. I transferred half the proceeds to my brothers Wise account & he transferred the money to his US bank account when the exchange rate was good. 

I did a test amount on Wise for £75k and its 0.29% fee (£215) and a rate of $1.3721  It still a better deal than Lloyds, which shaves off another £3k with their crappy exchange rate.  ($1.32)   Lloyds is awful. 

I just transferred the funds to my brothers Wise account in sterling & he then moved the money to his US bank account. You can have multiple accounts in different currencies, therefore you don’t need to worry about exchange rates. 

If your brother sets up an account with Wise in sterling, then he might get a better rate with his US bank when he transfers the money from Wise.

sausage_time

You can see the costs here.

https://wise.com/gb/send-money/send-money-to-the-usa

Your brother would not necessarily need a US Wise account.  You should be able to send directly to his US bank account using ACH routing details (kind of like UK sort code/bank account details).