Transferring large amount of money to the US

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Hi all

I'm trying to transfer $6000 to a US bank account. I'm a bit hesitant to use Paypal since I have heard they sometimes hold on to large amounts of money and refuse to give it back. I tried yesterday to do an international bank transfer from my Barclays account, but just now I have seen that the American bank has returned the money to me.

Has anyone any suggestions as to how I can get this money into the US account?

Thank you!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Why was the transfer rejected?

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Why was the transfer rejected?

I don't know o.o I just looked at my bank balance and the money has been credited back to my account by Huntington, the bank I was trying to send it to. No explanation or anything. I assume they just didn't want it or maybe I did something wrong. I don't know what I did wrong though, so I want to explore alternative methods. At this rate, I might go for a money order, but losing that in the mail would be a huge blow!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Did you go in person to the bank or try to do this all online?

I would go in person to the bank, ask about transfers, fill out paper forms, get the routing number and all that jazz from the UK account, and have them do it for you.

In my limited experience, money transfer has different rules in Europe and is far easier. Maybe the rules didn't match up and the US bank needs your permission to take a fee from it or something?

Edited February 28, 2014 by Harpa Timsah

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Did you go in person to the bank or try to do this all online?

I would go in person to the bank, ask about transfers, fill out paper forms, get the routing number and all that jazz from the UK account, and have them do it for you.

In my limited experience, money transfer has different rules in Europe and is far easier. Maybe the rules didn't match up and the US bank needs your permission to take a fee from it or something?

I did it online. I paid a £25 fee to my bank and a £4 fee to Huntington to make the transfer. I haven't had that fee back (of course ) but just the $6000 I sent, so there weren't any issues with the fees.

I think I will make a trip to my bank on Monday and ask them what has happened. Either that or look into using Western Union or something.

[MIDUVIL 34]

You can go on the Us bank site and check what they need.

And to transfer to a Us bank you need the IBAN number not the routing number.

Edited February 28, 2014 by MIDUVIL

[Ketsuban 1,034]

You can go on the Us bank site and check what they need.

And to transfer to a Us bank you need the IBAN number not the routing number.

I read that US banks don't use IBAN, but have something called a SWIFTBIC. I obtained his bank's SWIFTBIC and used that when I made the transfer. My bank didn't even ask for an IBAN for his bank, only the SWIFTBIC. My mother-in-law is saying I need to "link" the US and UK account, but I can't make any sense out of this finance stuff T_T

[MIDUVIL 34]

I need 10 minutes to check what I did, will come back

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Yes, there are many numbers needed. I get confused of all the names too.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I read that US banks don't use IBAN, but have something called a SWIFTBIC. I obtained his bank's SWIFTBIC and used that when I made the transfer. My bank didn't even ask for an IBAN for his bank, only the SWIFTBIC. My mother-in-law is saying I need to "link" the US and UK account, but I can't make any sense out of this finance stuff T_T

That's correct. IBAN is not used in the US. At least not yet. You can use the fedwire routing number (a.k.a. ABA number) and the beneficiary account name and number. The ABA numbers are available on the federal reserve bank's website - link below. Or you can identify the receiving institution via their BIC.

http://www.fededirectory.frb.org/search.cfm

I used xoom for transfers outbound from the US in the past. Cheap - just $4.99 per transfer. And very reliable. You can't send larger sums, though. Limit is $2,999.00. For larger sums which I sometimes remit also I use my bank and send a wire using nothing but the BIC and beneficiary account name and number at the receiving foreign bank. Works like a charm. Never had an issue.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Send it to me and I'll bring it to you when you get here.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Guys, I'm a total idiot. I just checked the PDF receipt I have against the account number I was given, and I'd added an extra digit by mistake. That would be the reason they refused it! Please feel free to mock me relentlessly

[MIDUVIL 34]

Sorry, like others said is not the IBAN number, it was my mistake. I have some problem with my french website so i can't redo the process. Sorry.

I did some transfer from my french account online to my husband account here.

So I don't know what to tell you, because I used the chips/ABA code and the swift code.

---

I give you my process, but I think that it's different from one bank to another:

-I went to my French website, link my account to my beneficiary account (was my husband account in usa).

-I want on my husband website, in the FAQ (how to wire money from overseas), to have the chips/ABA and the swift code.

-I fill out the information on my website and the transfer was done.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Guys, I'm a total idiot. I just checked the PDF receipt I have against the account number I was given, and I'd added an extra digit by mistake. That would be the reason they refused it! Please feel free to mock me relentlessly

[Lemonslice 4,838]

I've been using xetrade www.xe.com/xetrade - since I've been living in the US... I haven't been able to find a better option yet (calculating the rates+fees of other systems) - my limit is right under 10K$ at a time.