Stevie P

Hi, can anyone give me advice on which method or company is best to transfer UK sterling to US dollars, for when I move permanently to the states.
I'd like to obviously get the best rates for my money, so any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

Dave2726

I have used TransferWise quite a few times now without any difficulties and have usually found it to be one of the cheapest options. Very easy to use too.

Stevie P

Thanks Dave I'll look into it 👍

Pulaski

Transferwise seems to be the FX broker of choice at the moment, but there are numerous others - Worldfirst, Xe, Xoom, OFX, and others.

If you put "transferwise" into the BE search function you will turn up many threads which discuss FX brokers and a number of related issues which you may have questions about, or may not even have thought of.

Stevie P

Thanks Pulaski, I'll check into the others also.
I'm actually wondering if exchanging my pounds for dollars whilst in the UK might be a better option, then bringing the dollars with me, when I fly over.

Pulaski

You mean physical bank notes? .... No, absolutely not, you'll get a dire exchange rate - think 5c/£ worse or more. There are also several other very good reasons not to bring cash (risk of theft/loss, US customs might confiscate it, banks don't trust new customers bringing a bag of cash to deposit, etc), but the poor exchange should be sufficient.

Stevie P

Yeah the whole deal of carrying a lot of money does make me nervous I have to admit. That coupled with what you have said about exchange rates, it doesn't seem worth the risk or certainly the losses I will incur.

petitefrancaise

We've used worldfirst for years.

S.Susan

I just used transferwise last week . No problem at all. Money received a day later .

aless02

I've used XE for years to repay my US student loan. It's always been excellent, though I have nothing to compare it to!

durham_lad

I just brought up both XE.com and Transferwise as I have accounts with both and used XE.com for years before discovering Transferwise. When I make a transfer I always bring up both sites to compare rates but choosing the best rate on the day, which has always been Transferwise since I started using it in January.

Currently, transferring £1,00 will get me $1,267 on Transferwise and $1,245 on XE.com. I also find Transferwise to be a very fast transfer compared to XE.com.

Stevie P

Thank you all for you're help, it's very much appreciated 👌

ivanidea

I've used OFX (formerly UK Forex) for my previous transactions, and have had no problem with them, and they have in those instances, provided the best price for me.

I've tried setting up an account with Transferwise, but they never complete the process.

hutchison

xe.com just turned me down. I have no idea why, they did not explain, just outright turned me down even before I could get proof of address to them (after they requested it). It may be due to the fact i am living in a temporary accommodation address in the US. Never mind, transferwise were very accommodating

Pulaski

You're new to the US but from the perspective of a financial services company you "don't exist" .... literally your profile of data is empty.

For anyone who is legally in the US, whether a born citizen or a legal immigrant, they quickly start to leave footprints here there and everywhere. Not only a SSN, but mailing addresses, phone numbers, driving license records, car registrations, house deeds, criminal records, degrees and professional qualifications, voting registrations, boat and aircraft registrations, and other data which can be accumulated in the US without most of the limitations of the UK Data Protection Act.

So Xe ran your name and address through whatever database they use, and what came back was zilch! zippo! nada! nothing!! You might as well have used a made up name, because as far as Xe can tell you literally don't exist.