florida12

Hi Everyone,

I need advice on transfer of monies from USA to UK.
My USA bf is sending monies to help with the fees of the medical and the interview. What is the best option and cheapest for himself to do this.
I am wanting the monies to go into my UK account, NATWEST, so is there a special option to take for this bank? My USBF is with US Bank

Thanks guys.

Pulaski

A bank-to-bank wire is going to have a lousy exchange rate and you'll get stuck with wire fees to boot at both ends. You need something like xe.com, xoom.com or similar remitting services, of which there are many.

The whole process works seemlessly on line, with you setting up the transaction, and specifying the account to credit the funds to. Just be sure to select "direct credit", "credit by ACH", or similar (there may be slight terminology differences between different remitters), and do NOT select "credit by wire", because the receiving bank will likely charge a fee to receive a wire!

Search for other threads on the same subject, and there are many.

florida12

Thank you. Seems so confusing. So its best, not go down the bank to bank route. I may have to set up an xe.com account. Does he have to set one up aswell?

Pulaski

Only the sending account holder needs to set up the account. They will ask you for several pieces of identifying information, including your address and date of birth, and they might ask you how large the transfers are likely to be, and how much money you expect to transfer. You can be very approximate in you estimates, but be sure to over estimate - so if you're actually planning transfer up to £2,000/$3,000 twice in a year, it'd be OK to tell them you expect to transfer upto £4,000/$6,000 at a time, and up to £15,000/$22,500 aggregate per year. If you exceed the expected amount they may pause the transaction to ask why the amount is larger. If, for example, you inherited some money unexpectedly, you might be asked for documentation to support your explanation.

The whole process is nothing to be concerned about, and quite normal, because it is all designed to restrict and/or identify the international movement of the proceeds of crimes and funding of terrorism. If you are not involved in either activity you have nothing to worry about!

florida12

OK. That would be my USbf. As hes the one sending money to myself here in the uk. I had a though and tried to look it up on here, but cannot find it. What if we use PAYPAL? Any good/safe?
If not, is there a current good transfer rate service out there, right now, or this minute?
I had googled this is to find out, but there is so many firms out there with the same money transfer service, its overwhelming. PAYPAL would be so much easier.
I need to find one that my BF can use for the next few weeks or so, however long it takes to pay up the rest of the fees for our petition. Thank you and sorry for my confusion. My bf is just as confused as myself.

Pulaski

I think you will find Paypal expensive compared to the other alternatives, but the alternatives will take a few days to set up. As your bf is in the US he has fewer options because of the requirements in the US for the businesses to be registered in each state.

I have used xe.com but I hear their exchange rates are not as good as they used to be (though still much cheaper than bank-to-bank wires). Lansbury, another frequent poster here has had much success with World First.

RICH

Paypal would work, and is probably the easiest & quickest, but probably not cheapest.

I only used it once to send £5 to my cousin in England to buy and deliver a card to my Mum when I forgot her birthday! I just needed his email address. He got the money instantly, before he even got the email I sent to say I had sent the money.

Brit In TN

When using Paypal if the sender clicks the little box that says the money is being sent to a friend/relative then there is no charge.
If the receiving person simply transfers the money from their Paypal account to the bank account that they listed when setting up the Paypal account then there is no charge. (It can take up to 5 days to transfer.)
To clarify, the transfer from your b/f's Paypal account to your Paypal account takes a few minutes. To get it from your Paypal account to your bank account takes a few days.
So basically Paypal can be easy and free but takes a few days for it to transfer into your bank account.

florida12

Excellent!! I think i'd go down the paypal route then. Don't I mind a couple of days as just for the petition fees, so not a problem.
My BF has to set up a paypal account from his end. As I have mine already. So, as long as he selects friend/relative there is no charge. And when I receive the funds, here in the UK, then have it transfer to my NATWEST account, no charge again?
Is this the current policy on paypal at the moment. Want to make sure this hasn't changed since you've done this. Brit in TN..

many thanks

BunnyGirl

Why don't you just check out the paypal page yourself?

https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees

florida12

Thank you Bunnygirl. I had actually sent a question on paypal and this was the reply from someone on the forum...not sure if this sounds like a more promising option for the both of us. Considering it is only for a small amount (fees) to be sent. So is it worth paying that one fee for.
Quote....
"All they need to send you funds is to have a bank account (not card) attached to their bank account but they would also need a "back up card" linked as well to reduce risk of the payment failing (paypals requirements).
Then they go to send money > MAKE SURE THEY THE SELECT FAMILY / FRIENDS option > put in your email address > select pounds sterling from the drop down box > and before they click submit it will tell them how much will be debited from their bank account in their currency ie dollars.
If they are funding it from their bank account then it is free apart from currency conversion fees, if they fund it from a card there will be a normal fee.
BUT make sure that they spell your email address correctly without any spelling mistakes, if they don't then the payment may go to someone else and you may not be able to get it back again.
HOWEVER if they don't want the hassle of adding / verifying bank accounts and card to paypal then why don't you just use western union or moneygram. I used those options when my son went travelling and required bailing out with funds (oh too often !!), and it worked really well, i even sent to Guatamala.

retzie

Careful - Paypal has transfer limits! Not only is there a time delay, but there is a maximum amount you can move to your bank account (I think it was $500 when I needed it). You may be able to do a second transfer, but then you'd have to wait a second time.

It was a while ago, but I remember it being very difficult to get this information before the transfer. I found out a lot of these things during the process, which was very annoying

Seriously, check out Xoom and XE. It may seem like a hassle, but this is their specific purpose. Also, you never know when you might use them again in future.

florida12

Retzie.. Thank you. Those 2 transfer options, Xoom and XE I probably shall tell my USBF to check into then. Seems like the favourable choices, on this site. Many thank.

GeoffM

Just a side note that the fee to withdraw to a bank account varies by country and amount. For some it's free, for others it's only free over a certain amount.

Bob

Xoom.com for a fiver, it's quick and good for small amounts or the occasional transfer. Anything large or regular and it's worth the hassle of sorting out XE.com or similar service.