Captain Colonial Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Greetings Looking for some advice regarding doing a large money transfer from the USA back to the UK. The house my brother and I bought for our (now deceased) parents is in the final stages of being sold and the money realised split. Once this is complete, I need to move the money from the US to the UK at the most advantageous conversion rate with zero risk. I know of companies like Caxton FM and XE Currency who can do this better than flipping banks, but looking for any experience and tips members might have please. TIA! Quote
Doug Dastardly Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Can't help with the money transfer cap'n but....... be very careful that this doesn't trigger upgradeitis Quote
Captain Colonial Posted January 28, 2013 Author Posted January 28, 2013 LOL, nope this is going to knock several years off the mortgage, much better upgrade in today's economy. Quote
johngill Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Have aread of this you have to scroll down a way to get to large amounts http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange Quote
Norman Verona Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Scott, I use RationalFx and have advised several to use them. I can introduce you to the Boss, Paresh. I have 3 FX accounts but Rational always give me the best rates. My advice would be to get 3 or 4 quotes and use the best. However if you want help just PM me. The only problem I see is money laundering regs. I think you'll be OK with Rational as they take the view that if the money is going into or out of a UK bank account then they have already done the necessary checks. Quote
Mark Stanton Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Scott give me a shout if you need any info - I regularly use a couple of companies Quote
Wile E. Coyote Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I know of companies like Caxton FM and XE Currency who can do this better than flipping banks, but looking for any experience and tips members might have please. You do know that these aren't covered by the deposit guarantee schemes and the such like? AFAIK, none has gone "pop", but there is a small degree of risk there. Personally, if it was a sizeable sum, I'd get a USD account from a UK bank and have the funds transferred in there. If the sums involved are significant enough then you'll get quoted a rate by the trading desk when you want to flip it over to GBP. You can also take a view on which way the markets are going and hold until you get a rate you're happy with. If it helps, I can check out what rate I got with Lloyds a couple of weeks ago and you can see how that compared to where the markets were at that day? Quote
Captain Colonial Posted January 28, 2013 Author Posted January 28, 2013 That's very much my concern - no protection. Looks like a lot of research tomorrow...thanks for all the offers and input. Quote
Young Pretender Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I too would go for a USD account with a bank here. Otherwise you're hamstrung by whatever the prevailing rate is at the time which might not be favourable and could make a sizeable difference to you. Quote
AidanPlace Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 several large suitacases and a flight? Quote
alexander72 Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Scott, I can look after that for you......it will be safe with me..... :-) Quote
Norman Verona Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 In my experience banks are the most expensive to do transfers. I checked with my UK bank when we bought this place and, with charges and the rate they offered it would have cost us about 5%. I don't understand why the bank would be better with a spot rate than anyone else. The FX's quote spot and forward rates. The spot interbank rate is changing all the time, not day by day. Quote
Young Pretender Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I suspect that you wouldn't have to use the bank for the FX, just a safer place to hold your USD until you're happy with the market rates. Quote
M444TTB Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Just Western Union it to your local corner shop Or perhaps not! Quote
Wile E. Coyote Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 In my experience banks are the most expensive to do transfers. I checked with my UK bank when we bought this place and, with charges and the rate they offered it would have cost us about 5%. I don't understand why the bank would be better with a spot rate than anyone else. The FX's quote spot and forward rates. The spot interbank rate is changing all the time, not day by day. I used to pay ~5% all in when it was USD <-> GBP via a GBP account. Nowhere near that when it's into a USD account and then flipped across. BUT the big difference is the banks are covered by the deposit guarantee schemes. The FX only fellows are not. Quote
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