Money confusion
Mar 25th 2019, 10:20 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 10
Money confusion
Hi everyone,
well ill my son and I got my k1 fiancé visa and we are moving out the Seattle area next week ( By the way, are the jitters normal at this point ?)
I'm not the sharpest tool
in the box, so please forgive but I one question.,
I have a Halifax bank account with a fair bit of dosh in it, plus two military pensions going in each month. The bank say I can keep my account open, change the address to my daughter for ease. Use online banking etc and I can transfer sums to and from for a payment of £8.95 per. Transfer. If this is the case, I'm wondering why people use Tranfserwise etc?
Sorry to be dim
a
well ill my son and I got my k1 fiancé visa and we are moving out the Seattle area next week ( By the way, are the jitters normal at this point ?)
I'm not the sharpest tool
in the box, so please forgive but I one question.,
I have a Halifax bank account with a fair bit of dosh in it, plus two military pensions going in each month. The bank say I can keep my account open, change the address to my daughter for ease. Use online banking etc and I can transfer sums to and from for a payment of £8.95 per. Transfer. If this is the case, I'm wondering why people use Tranfserwise etc?
Sorry to be dim
a
Mar 25th 2019, 10:37 am
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: NC, USA (ex Yorkshire)
Posts: 4,375
Re: Money confusion
Because Transferwise is often cheaper than bank charges.
Do you know what sort of transfer that is? Is it an international wire?
You'll want to check to see if there are going to be any fees on the receiving side if that is the case.
Transferwise actually performs a domestic ACH (think regular bank transfer) on the US side and the UK side so either bank shouldn't tack more fees on
Do you know what sort of transfer that is? Is it an international wire?
You'll want to check to see if there are going to be any fees on the receiving side if that is the case.
Transferwise actually performs a domestic ACH (think regular bank transfer) on the US side and the UK side so either bank shouldn't tack more fees on
Mar 25th 2019, 11:27 am
#3
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Athens GA
Posts: 2,133
Re: Money confusion
Look at the exchange rate AND the fee to give a fair comparison and you will normally find that Transferwise is the best deal.
Mar 25th 2019, 11:39 am
#4
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Location: NC, USA (ex Yorkshire)
Posts: 4,375
Mar 25th 2019, 12:01 pm
#5
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Joined: Jul 2015
Location: Watford
Posts: 1,147
Re: Money confusion
I have kept my Halifax account opened, I just used my brothers address, I put money in there for my trips back to Blighty, had no problems.
I use the Halifax to USBank or vice versa transfer, never bothered with Transferwise, never had any issues, but then i'm not moving millions!
I use the Halifax to USBank or vice versa transfer, never bothered with Transferwise, never had any issues, but then i'm not moving millions!
Mar 25th 2019, 6:34 pm
#6
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 10
Re: Money confusion
Thanks Guys...
I changed my address on my bank account to my daughters in England.. but my bank said I should close it ??
Do I have too ?
I changed my address on my bank account to my daughters in England.. but my bank said I should close it ??
Do I have too ?
Mar 25th 2019, 6:47 pm
#7
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Athens GA
Posts: 2,133
Re: Money confusion
I bank with Bank of Scotland, which is part of Lloyds, and have kept my UK account using my US address, with no problems.
Mar 25th 2019, 7:00 pm
#8
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon
Posts: 9,965
Re: Money confusion
I wouldn’t close it unless Halifax force you to.
Once you leave the UK it is impossible to open a UK bank account, but if you get stuck Transferwise have a borderless bank account which has a UK sort code and account number. The only downside to that is it isn’t insured the way bank accounts normally are.
Once you leave the UK it is impossible to open a UK bank account, but if you get stuck Transferwise have a borderless bank account which has a UK sort code and account number. The only downside to that is it isn’t insured the way bank accounts normally are.
Mar 25th 2019, 7:07 pm
#9
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,439
Re: Money confusion
So your £500 sent from a bank in the UK charging a £9 fee and say a 3% conversion fee, and assuming a headline rate of $1.25/£1, would send you £491 x 0.97 x 1.25= $595.33, and then your bank in the US would likely charge you another $15-$20 to credit the wire to your account, leaving a net credit of $575 to $580. Whereas Transferwise, which I believe charges 0.5% would send you £500 x 0.995 x 1.25 = $621.87, with no charge for the credit in the US.
So under the assumptions I used, using Transferwise would net you around 7% more dollars than using a bank charging a £9 fixed fee and a 3% conversion fee.
Last edited by Pulaski; Mar 25th 2019 at 7:45 pm.
Mar 25th 2019, 7:50 pm
#10
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Eee Bah Gum
Posts: 4,128
Re: Money confusion
Hi everyone,
well ill my son and I got my k1 fiancé visa and we are moving out the Seattle area next week ( By the way, are the jitters normal at this point ?)
I'm not the sharpest tool
in the box, so please forgive but I one question.,
I have a Halifax bank account with a fair bit of dosh in it, plus two military pensions going in each month. The bank say I can keep my account open, change the address to my daughter for ease. Use online banking etc and I can transfer sums to and from for a payment of £8.95 per. Transfer. If this is the case, I'm wondering why people use Tranfserwise etc?
Sorry to be dim
a
well ill my son and I got my k1 fiancé visa and we are moving out the Seattle area next week ( By the way, are the jitters normal at this point ?)
I'm not the sharpest tool
in the box, so please forgive but I one question.,
I have a Halifax bank account with a fair bit of dosh in it, plus two military pensions going in each month. The bank say I can keep my account open, change the address to my daughter for ease. Use online banking etc and I can transfer sums to and from for a payment of £8.95 per. Transfer. If this is the case, I'm wondering why people use Tranfserwise etc?
Sorry to be dim
a
When doing a transfer I can have 2 tabs of my browser open, one with TWise and one with HSBC, then I can start the transfer in both places and see which one is going to give more £s, and TWise is always much better so I hit submit and then hit cancel on the HSBC transfer. No additional bank fees on either side unless I want the money same day with Twise and then I could wire the money to Twise, but it is never that urgent for me.
