What is the affidavits letter!

[Widge 0]

Shari you have my sympathy this process is a total pain in the ### . I have to transfer money monthly to the UK to pa a loan there and it is a total nightmare.

Paypal is perhaps the easiest method basically you set up account here daughter sets up account there and she requests payment Paypal does a transfer and even takes care of the exchange rate - there is no charge and the exchange rate is OK. ( I have a problem with this as My UK bank account has my USA Address so I cannot get the account verified so will shortly reach my transfer limits)

I used to use a card similar to Ikobo (Xoom) but they stopped doing the cards to UK - it is quite simple using eiter this type of service or a reloadable visa gift card esp if you have a card that alows internent access to check balance. You load it and then they just go to any cash point and withdraw so long as its in £10 increments the person withdrawing always knew what was on there did the rough calc and withdreww leaving tiny balance then i reloaded via online banking easy peasy.

I too am contemplating sending cash via post as I have NEVER had any mail to UK go missing the only problem with that is there is no bank here that does foreign currency which I have to admit blew me away

Good Luck whatever way you go it'll be a pain to set up but is then fairly easy to continue ...... if you find a simple method with good rates do share

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

1. open another checking account in the US (a free one)

2. send the atm card to the daughter.

3. deposit what you want in the checking account.

tell her not to keep checking the balance (it cost $$ to check). Also, just tell her to take it out in one shot versus 5 pounds at a time.

Checking the balance should be possible free online with proper access?

Washington Mutual also apparently offers free wire services worldwide. You could look into establishing some banking relationship with them and send wires directly to the daughter's account in the UK. Or you keep accounts at the same institution here and there - Citibank, for example. Account transfers within the bank should be possible with little or no fees...

[Shari 6]

Again, thanks to all. I think the easiest way would be the PayPal way. I really couldn't believe it was FREE, but it is. I have gone on their web site and checked it all out. Keith needs to make an accont, his daughter needs to make an account, and then we can transfer money to her where she can access it through her PayPal account and have it transferred to her checking account. And like Widge said, they do the exchange for you. Thanks again!

[mawilson 2,133]

Again, thanks to all. I think the easiest way would be the PayPal way. I really couldn't believe it was FREE, but it is. I have gone on their web site and checked it all out. Keith needs to make an accont, his daughter needs to make an account, and then we can transfer money to her where she can access it through her PayPal account and have it transferred to her checking account. And like Widge said, they do the exchange for you. Thanks again!

PayPal is free? Don't they charge a small fee when you transfer money from one account to another?

[Nikita2Charles 32]

I have an account with Etrade, You can withdraw your money anywhere in the world, and Etrade willl refund you the atm transaction fees, in addition to that they won't charge you a transaction fee for using another branch ATM.

So let say you take out $200, the atm charges you 1.50

Etrade will credit you +1.50, so basicall it's like taking out your money for free.

I have also read about HSBC online banking but haven't try personally.

[GarynMarie 0]

[quote I guess opening another checking account would be the best, but again, how do figure the exchange rate on what she can take out if she wants to get all the cash in it?. Thanks.

Simply google in exchange rates and you will be linked to many sites that will give you exchange rates. Dont worry about overdrawn-the ATM wont let her. As far as the money exchange goes-if you put in 100$ in the US and she wants to withdrawl it all I am pretty sure the ATM can give her the balance which will be displayed in UK money. Then she can withdrawl the balance amount. The ATM automatically converts US money into foreign money. EXAMPLE: I was in the Philippines last week and went to a ATM that excepted VISA, I had a Visa debit card and withdrew 5,000 peso. When I got back to the US it stated that $98 and some odd cents was withdrawn from my account. The ATM did charge me $1.00 though for the transaction. That I believe would be the cheapest way to send money. Western Union charges $15.00 to send $100.00 and I think about $22.00 for between $100 and $200.

[Aymerlu 3]

www.ikobo.com Sounds like what you're looking for. It works sooooo well... it only charges 11 dollars (or something like that) to deliver the card the first time. After that you can add up to 500 dollars a month and she can use any ATM machine to pick up the money... or she can use the card as a normal debit card in stores too. Try it out, I really love their service.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest. I wish I had've know about ikobo months ago! Super cheap to send money

[The_dip_sticks 0]

You can open a paypal account and request for one of the master debit cards to come in her name. Then all you have to do is load papypal account with funds every time you want to send her money. My hubby and I did this and the visa card worked well in europe and in the states. She can use the card to take money out of an ATM or just make transactions like a regular master card and the funds are debited from the paypal account that you deposoit money into.

[homesick_american 1]

Hello all. Now that my husband finally got a job he wants to start sending some money over to his 17 year old daughter. He personally wants to send cash through the mail, though I have told him this is a risk because if is it lost or stolen its just too bad. We found out it would cost $45 just to transfer $, but we we want to send a little each month and that would eat up too much of it. We thought about buying her a Visa gift card but you can only use those in the US. We can't do traveller's checks because the same person has to sign them that buys them. He thinks writing a check from our US checking account would be too hard to cash over there for his daughter as she doesn't have a checking account. Any suggestions?

American Express gift checks...they can be cashed at any American Express office at no cost to the recipient.

[dani_christine 0]

also, with the paypal debit card, you can add back up funding, so that if she doesn't have enough money in the paypal account, it would debit directly from a regular bank account.

[ceriserose 1]

www.customhouse.com

EFT (Electronic Funds Transfers) from one bank to another are free. I've been using it for months between my account here in the US and mine in Canada. You can send it to a savings account (you said she didn't have a checking one).

Paypal has had some negative press in the past when ebay users have had their bank accounts frozen and a lot of difficulty getting them reopened...not trying to make things more difficult, but you may want to check out where they are with that.

Best of luck!

P.S. International Money order would also work for sending something physically to her.

[Mrs. Forgetful 2]

You most likely chose PayPal, but I just wanted to comment on this option.

1. open another checking account in the US (a free one)

2. send the atm card to the daughter.

3. deposit what you want in the checking account.

tell her not to keep checking the balance (it cost $$ to check). Also, just tell her to take it out in one shot versus 5 pounds at a time.

Using ATM's in other countries can charge up to $10 per transaction. You have to see what your banks fee for foreign ATMs run, then you also have to figure in the foreign ATM itself.

Edited September 19, 2006 by Mrs. Forgetful

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

You most likely chose PayPal, but I just wanted to comment on this option.

1. open another checking account in the US (a free one)

2. send the atm card to the daughter.

3. deposit what you want in the checking account.

tell her not to keep checking the balance (it cost $$ to check). Also, just tell her to take it out in one shot versus 5 pounds at a time.

Using ATM's in other countries can charge up to $10 per transaction. You have to see what your banks fee for foreign ATMs run, then you also have to figure in the foreign ATM itself.

Some banks charge $0 per transaction. Be informed...

Credit/Debit/ATM Cards and Foreign Exchange

[William33 110]

Typically, foreign ATM's/Banks get their fee from the exchange rate, usually slightly lower than the posted Forex rates. Most US banks charge $1-2 for an international ATM transaction.

If you are getting charged $10 per transaction, time to find a new bank and quick.

With respect to the OP question about exchange rates, you can track those daily. In my case, I always leave a sizeable "buffer" in the account. This way, you will never come up short.

You most likely chose PayPal, but I just wanted to comment on this option.

1. open another checking account in the US (a free one)

2. send the atm card to the daughter.

3. deposit what you want in the checking account.

tell her not to keep checking the balance (it cost $$ to check). Also, just tell her to take it out in one shot versus 5 pounds at a time.

Using ATM's in other countries can charge up to $10 per transaction. You have to see what your banks fee for foreign ATMs run, then you also have to figure in the foreign ATM itself.

[Mrs. Forgetful 2]

You most likely chose PayPal, but I just wanted to comment on this option.

1. open another checking account in the US (a free one)

2. send the atm card to the daughter.

3. deposit what you want in the checking account.

tell her not to keep checking the balance (it cost $$ to check). Also, just tell her to take it out in one shot versus 5 pounds at a time.

Using ATM's in other countries can charge up to $10 per transaction. You have to see what your banks fee for foreign ATMs run, then you also have to figure in the foreign ATM itself.

Some banks charge $0 per transaction. Be informed...

Credit/Debit/ATM Cards and Foreign Exchange

I work for a bank. I think I am informed enough as it is. I know that you can be charged up to $10. Not saying you will, but you can be. I used to work at a bank that charged $5 for foreign ATMs.

Why is the link for health care?

Edited September 19, 2006 by Mrs. Forgetful