rachanatank

I will be moving to North Carolina from England in August to begin university (for four years). My tuition and fees will need to be paid from an American bank account I will set up once I get there. However I was looking for suggestions on what the best method would be to transfer my GBP to USD.
Any information would be appreciated! Thank you

fatbrit

xe.com

Bink

+1.

Do it in plenty of time as it does take a little while to set up the account. I use it frequently and have never had any problems. Found transfers from UK to US much quicker than the other way around too. I've been receiving funds I transferred UK - US in 2-3 days without having to pay wire fees.

sunnysideup

For comparison, if you do a straight bank wire transfer from your account in the UK to your bank in the US, there will be something like a 20 pound charge at one end and $15 at the other but it will probably be quicker - 1 day at most, sometimes same day.

So, can I ask which university? Lots of campuses in NC are really very beautiful. I've got friends from Duke and UNC.

rachanatank

I will be at University of North Carolina Wilmington!
I don't think quick transfers would be much of an advantage, I would know about transactions I need to be making months beforehand so it was the ease of use and best value I was looking for.
Thank you all for the replies!

Oh, also, would it be worth signing up to two companies, for example travelex and xe?

henryh

http://www.ukforex.co.uk/ usually has better rates than XE for larger (>$2k) transactions.

sunnysideup

Congratulations - I'm sure it will be an exciting adventure! I've never visited Wilmington - I'm more familiar with UNC Chapel Hill. I have ties to the University of Miami who play football in the same conference as the Tar Heels. I think Wilmington is a totally seperate institution. Should be nice close to the coast but keep an eye out for the odd tropical storm or hurricane in August/September. Good luck!

guitarmaan

I've been reliably informed that OANDA will get you the very best rate with the lowest transaction charge. I've done a test run using the site and can confirm it's not too complicated.

That's not to belittle other recommendations here of course. Everyone has their own personal favourites

lansbury

While some of the others might have a very slightly lower rate, some do not have a transaction charge. Seems OANDA charge $25 a transaction. That is very expensive.

guitarmaan

Depends on the amount you're exchanging. Sometimes the rate overtakes the set charge in benefit.

Exchange a £100K and the set charge is insignificant.

Change just a pound and a $25 charge is going to hurt!

scrubbedexpat099

I noticed I can now do it through Nat West on line, I have not checked their rates, they used to be competitive.

xe.com is what I usually use.

zany

I was using Worldwide Currencies in the UK until recently but informed that new U.S. regulations (since Feb 2012) state that all money services businesses outside the U.S. can not trade for businesses or individuals unless they have fully incorporated offices in the U.S. at federal and state level. Anyone else aware of this?