Transferring Money

[catsutton148 2]

Hi there,

So I am finally here in the USA with hubby wooohooo! Over the course of this past year we have managed to save up a good amount of money (to hopefully put towards our first house) in my UK bank account. I just wanted to ask people for their experiences or opinions when it comes to transferring money across to the US - It's just a little scary to transfer all my savings via the internet but I don't want to do it in smaller amounts because I will lose more money because of transfer fees and exchange rates if that makes sense?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. My bank (Bank of Scotland/Halifax) do offer international transfers but I just thought I'd check if people have had positive/successful experiences before and how they did it/who they used?

Thanks,

Cat

[amykathleen2005 441]

Is it possible to have someone else withdraw it all and close out your account for you? Then they could send it via western union.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Some previous discussion

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/432173-bringing-financial-assets-to-the-us/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/422409-things-to-take-care-of-before-the-move/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/417508-moving-money-to-us/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/349707-sending-money-to-a-us-bank-account/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/3362-international-wire-money-transfer/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/306924-transferring-money-to-us/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/433072-the-best-way-to-transfer-money/

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I have transferred funds from the US to the UK without any issue. Of course it was relatively minor amounts $500 - $1,000. It took about 4 days to process through. I'm sure it would be similar going the other way.

Would it be possible for you to just move it to a checking type account there, then write yourself a check on that account? It would take a few weeks for the banks to make the funds available, but it shouldn't cost more than the exchange rate and any fee the bank may charge for doing that. Another possibility, if you are planning to actually close the account over there, can't you just have the bank mail you a check for the balance?

Like I said, I've never really dealt with larger sums, just sort of thinking out loud

[Done--Really 331]

Why is this a question?? Banks send billions every day without issues. You simply do a wire transfer from your old bank to the new one. It typically costs $25 - $50 depending on the countries involved and it is 100% safe.

Western Union, MoneyGram, and so forth are for small ammounts--not thousands of $$.

[Boiler 45,482]

xe.com

[KLB 3]

Hi there,

So I am finally here in the USA with hubby wooohooo! Over the course of this past year we have managed to save up a good amount of money (to hopefully put towards our first house) in my UK bank account. I just wanted to ask people for their experiences or opinions when it comes to transferring money across to the US - It's just a little scary to transfer all my savings via the internet but I don't want to do it in smaller amounts because I will lose more money because of transfer fees and exchange rates if that makes sense?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. My bank (Bank of Scotland/Halifax) do offer international transfers but I just thought I'd check if people have had positive/successful experiences before and how they did it/who they used?

Thanks,

Cat

Congrats on being here and with your Hubby of course! I'm newly arrived, just over two weeks.

I used Moneycorp to transfer a large sum over, like you I was nervous about the transfer. They offered a much better rate than the High Street Banks/Building Societies could. Everything went very smoothly and it was here within 36 hours from me instructing my bank to start the process. It does put an extra cog in the system having to transfer through an FX Co. but certainly did not slow it down at all. My bank charged £30.00 for the chaps payment to Moneycorp. It certainly is worth looking at an FX co if you can getter a better rate than your own bank - sterling against the Dollar has been rising over this last week. At the end of the day it's what you feel most comfortable doing but if you do look make sure they are regulated and approved by the FSA!

Edited June 15, 2013 by KLB

[Ridcully41 1]

Is it possible to have someone else withdraw it all and close out your account for you? Then they could send it via western union.

this is just my opinion, but i have found that western union is ok for small amounts.However if your talking a sizable chunk of money i would not use them as they charge a huge amount your better of just using your banks own transfer system.one other thing, some not all banks in the UK won't close an account without the account holder being present.

Edited June 15, 2013 by Ridcully41

[lost_at_sea 995]

this is just my opinion, but i have found that western union is ok for small amounts.However if your talking a sizable chunk of money i would not use them as they charge a huge amount your better of just using your banks own transfer system.one other thing, some not all banks in the UK won't close an account without the account holder being present.

If you bank account is not charging you any fees to hold the account, I'd just leave it there empty doing nothing (turn off paper bank statements or set your address on it to somewhere in the UK you can forward from). You never know when you might want a UK bank account again, and opening one from outside the UK can be a pain.

[Ridcully41 1]

If you bank account is not charging you any fees to hold the account, I'd just leave it there empty doing nothing (turn off paper bank statements or set your address on it to somewhere in the UK you can forward from). You never know when you might want a UK bank account again, and opening one from outside the UK can be a pain.

thats true, even opening an account as a British citizen in the UK with all documents and paperwork can be a real pain, i would not like to do it from overseas.

[markonline1 11]

I'm just in the process of transferring money from my uk account into our US joint account. I used World First. Easy to set up an account and great customer service. The process was easy as. If you aren't happy doing it over the net, they have a free phone number so you can do it with the help of an advisor. No fee either if you transfer over a certain amount.

I wouldn't recommend doing it through your bank. Barclays quoted me a truly horrendous exchange rate. I am planning to keep my Barclays account open, and they were happy to accept a US address which they send all correspondence to now, I would imagine other high st banks would do the same.

Edited June 16, 2013 by markonline1

[Zoe&Chris 5]

I transferred a sizeable amount recently consisting of my savings and also the money to pay for the wedding. I used HiFX and it was super easy, no fees and got to his account in less than 48 hours. I did shop around the FX companies for rates, but definiely use a big one liker HiFX or XE not something no-one has ever heard of! They are definitely better than bank tansfers too as your bank will give you a much worse rate.

[Boiler 45,482]

They all charge fees for transferring money to US.