lansbury

They are all about the same within a tenth or sometimes even a hundredth of a cent of each other. So unless you are BP moving the cost of the oil spill it isn't going to make an awful lot of difference to the total amount of dollars you get.

Hellopaul

I usually find there's at least a 1 or 2 cents difference between different exchange companies, which when you're moving £5000 is fifty to a hundred dollars. For the sake of a phone call, it is (to me) definitely worth it. For anyone buying a house, moving £100,000, 1 cent difference is a thousand dollars.

Some companies also charge fees of up to £15 to send, and some US banks charge up to $30 to receive an international wire transfer. If you pay these fees, you're using the wrong companies/banks! (I know HiFX's main selling point is zero fees).

I haven't used xe for currency transfers, so can't comment on them.

lansbury

But compare like for like. That is all companies that don't charge a fee against each other and companies that do charge a fee against each other. They do not differ anything like the amount you claim. I have looked at the company you claim is the best, I have an online account with them and HiFX and them are never more than tenths of a cent apart either way. So for you to claim HiFX gives very bad rates casts considerable doubts on the credibity of your other claims. Worldfirst also charge an exorbitant £10 to transfer a regular monthly payment to the US, even MoneyCorp who were charging £4 for that service do not seem to charge anymore.

Also using the telephone doesn't get the best rate. If you are concerned about squeezing the last cent out of the transaction trade online when the UK offices are closed. The rate is aften better when just the Asian markets are open and you cannot get those rates calling London offices on the phone because they are closed.

As you say it makes a difference if transferring large sums and often the companies who charge a fee give a higher exchange rate which can mean even after the fees are paid you end up with a higher total amount of dollars. I hope people wishing to transfer money look at several of the companies offering such a service and pick which is best for them in the circumstances and not rely on somewhat biased recommendations given by some on here.

Hellopaul

I'm just talking from my experiences - for the occasional transfers of £5000, I've found that World First have no charges and the best rates compared to HiFX, Sterling Exchange and one other which I've previously used many years ago and can't remember the name.

And yes - I wholeheartedly agree with your advice that people should shop around - my main gripe is that I have met people who use BANKS to transfer money or do weird stuff like pay UK cheques into foreign banks and wait for weeks (literally) for it to clear. And they refuse to change their ways, then complain about the exchange rates and bank charges...