savannah_boy

I spoke with HIFX and countered by offering me a 3 month contract with a set rate and no fee but I am going to see what rates & overall costs XE & post office international give me when my accounts are set up .

Gannett

I'm using Post Office International Transfers as well. Despite all the hoops I'm having to jump through to actually get the funds to them (online banking with Barclays lets you do bugger all, having to wait for a phone banking passcode now ) the service the Post Office offers is first class: very cean website, the rate is constantly updated so you can hit the button when the rate stars to rise, and the times I've had to phone their helpline the people on the other end have been very helpful. Just a shame I can't just walk round to barclays and get everything sorted out!

Duncan Roberts

Just to update, the money arrived in my UK account "today." Actually the 19th in the UK but 18th here. It took 9 days from booking the trade to the money showing up, not really an issue for me but if you are on a tight time frame then it might be.

le10

I use XE Trade.

I have used them for several smaller trades ( a few thousand pounds )
as well as for my house sale proceeds ( a few hundred thousand pounds )

I have found them to be exceptional.

very good rates, no commission, no fees, quick transfer (worst was 3 days for the large transaction)

Paul.

Elvira

Was that with XE Trade? If so, it was highly unusual. I always have my money within 3 working days.

Did you do the 'wire' BACS transfer from your UK account to Customs House, and then 'electronic' from there to your US account? Maybe you did it some other way, or maybe it took longer because it was your first trade?

rpjs

I've just done an XE trade US -> UK which was a bit of a palaver, but it was almost all down to having to convince Chase that XE are indeed a reputable company that I have dealt with before and not a front for some guys in Lagos who claim to have an "in" into the Spanish Lottery. Hopefully now I have XE set up as a wire recipient with Chase it'll be easier next time I have to transfer US -> UK.

Chase of course had no issues about receiving money the first time I used XE to transfer UK -> US and First Direct at the UK end presented no problems. I'm pretty impressed with XE - they were very helpful with my issues with Chase and I'd recommend them. I wouldn't recommend Chase...

Jerseygirl

We have just signed up with XE because I need to transfer a large amount of money to Canada and the UK. They said wire transfer 1 to 2 days business days...electronic funds transfer 5 to 6 business days.

Elvira

I think it's the (free) BACS transfer in the UK which delays it by a day or two. CHAPS would be quicker but costs about GBP 30. For some reason they don't seem to do electronic transfers in the UK.

rpjs

There is a new "Faster Payments Service" in the UK which some banks support. When we sold our UK house back in March and transferred the (modest!) proceeds to the US we were able to use it to remit the funds to XE (well to their factors, Custom House) in a matter of hours. I've just been notified this morning by XE that my US -> UK trade is complete and I'm waiting for it to turn up in my First Direct a/c, so I don't know yet if they use Faster Payments to remit from Custom House to the destination UK bank or not.

Duncan Roberts

It was with XE, debit of my US account and EFT to the UK. I didn't think it was that bad because even when I've done EFT from UK to UK account it's taken a few days. there was a 2-3 day delay from the debit to the send though. We'll see how the next one goes.

savannah_boy

I am now trying to set up an account with Post Office International Money Transfers. The unique reference cost that they send has not arrived in the post to my UK address (my parents check it). I have tried various times to phone them but when I press '1' to speak to an adviser it just keeps ringing. I got emails from 2 people in the P.O asking me to phone them to clear things up (and I can never get through). I replied to one of the emails and it bounced.
They aren't giving off a good impression at the moment!

RayM

I'm confused by this thread. I often use HiFx and they've never charged me. In fact I used them yesterday and I can't see any charges for the service. Have I missed something?

savannah_boy

From their website:
How much does it cost to use HiFX? A. We believe in fairness and total transparency saving you money. There are no transfer fees for amounts of £3,000 and above. For amounts below this a £9 fee will apply.

I don't have the finances to send over £3,000 or cobble it together and send every couple of months Hence I am looking for other solutions.

RayM

Ah, ok, got it. Thanks for clearing that up.

savannah_boy

I have now opened an account with the Post Office International Transfers (who have an agreement with HIFX). I went online and did a comparision with the costs & rates that HIFX offer and guess what, they came out exactly the same!