siliconpete

Was happy to see I got a tax refund from HMRC in the mail in the form of a cheque, since it would be several months before I made it back to the UK I decided to get it deposited on my US checking account with Chase not realizing what a complete nightmare it is to deal with incoming foreign money.

It seems any amount over $300 needs to go through additional security screening and will only get deposited once they've received the funds. On the receipt I got it mentions 4-6 weeks and possibly longer.

Has anybody dealt with this before and has some information about how long it typically takes?

Sally Redux

I only know that trying to deposit a cheque for $150 from Oman nearly caused civilisation as we know it to break down.

Hotscot

In this day and age when computers can enact millions of stock transactions a second...

md95065

6 to 8 weeks sounds about right (assuming that it ever happens at all) ...

You do realize that this includes the time necessary for a dispatch rider on horseback to take the check to the nearest port, board a steamship bound for England where he will attempt to exchange the check for gold coin and then get back on a ship to the US ... (at least I think that's the way that the US banking "system" still works)

Seriously, you should just have mailed the check to your bank in the UK so that it could be deposited in your account.

civilservant

I actually received my refund from HMRC on Thursday also, but had it paid directly to my UK account.

mwdake

In my experience 20 - 30 years ago it would take forever to get a UK check deposited and credited to my account.
In the past 10 years or so I have deposited UK checks in to my bank account several times. They were not huge amounts but more than $5000. My bank did not bat an eyelid and even gave me immediate credit to my account based on the current exchange rate. I have been with the bank for some time and there was sufficient in my account to cover the deposit.

Occasionally I will send a US check from my account to family in UK or NZ telling them that their bank will accept it but it might take a while. Usually it shows on my account 3-4 months later.

DebzinUS

The last time I did this was a small inheritance check that converted to about $1500. It took at least two months with BB&T.

Bob

6-8 weeks is about right...plus the fee for doing it being a big chunk.

Would have been easier to mail it to a family member who could just deposit it for you...

watchamacallit

I received a cheque from the Uk for 600 quid a couple of years back and just paid it into our bank, it took a coupe of weeks for the exchange to be correct but there were no problems.

NatashaB

BOA claimed it would take weeks but it showed up as cleared funds the next day. They did charge about $40 for it though - much easier to pay it into a UK account and have the funds transferred to your US account via xoom.com or similar.

Pulaski

Agreed, I would do just about anything to avoid depositing a foreign check in the US. The bank charges are absurd, the exchange rate is likely to be poor, and the time delay in the check clearing, considerable.

Note: the bank giving you credit for a check is not the same as having cleared funds. If a check bounces the bank can and will take the money back, as many victims of Nigerian fraudsters have discovered when the over-value check they received bounces after they have already wired the over-value amount to Nigeria.

NatashaB

Good point. Although it was from HMRC so I would have been very concerned if it had been returned due to funds not available!

Bob

The way things are going these days though....

scrubbedexpat091

I've only ever deposited Canadian cheques into account, which technically is foreign, but the bank seems to not care or the rules are different for Canadian vs foreign, but they treat it the same as a US check thus far.

mwdake

I have never had to pay a charge to deposit a foreign check with my bank. Sure they probably make a bit on the exchange rate but it was no different than asking them to convert cash to $ and the exchange rate they gave me was not that much different than the rates published on x-rates.com.

As I said before, I have been with the same bank for a long time and maybe my account type does not charge for foreign deposits.