Spd42

Hi all,

New to the site and first time posting. I’m sure this has been covered many times over but
couldnt seem to find anything through the search query.

My grandmother recently passed at 99, after a long and happy life. She was gracious enough to leave me some money and I was wondering what the best way is to transfer 20k GBP to my US bank account? I don’t think a wire from the account it’s being held in would be allowed.

Thanks

Olly_

Wise gets recommended a lot on here. I've used them multiple times and have never had any issues.

Nutmegger

The executor can arrange a transfer directly to your account from the estate. He or she should also provide a tax form at that time.

Jack_Russells4ever

Use Wise to transfer the money. It was formerly known as TransferWise. Their fees are very reasonable. Much cheaper than any bank.

RICH

Why do you think this wire would not be allowed? It is not necessarily the cheapest option, and it would be subject to scrutiny, but it is perfectly legal at face value.

durham_lad

+1
I use Wise very often.

If the op does not have a UK bank account he can open a Wise account denominated in GBP with UK bank sort code and account number, have the money paid into there and transfer it to his US bank for a very low fee.

tht

why would such a small wire be subject to any more scrutiny than a Wise payment…

The key with any international payment including if it’s to yourself is to add ans much information in the available fields as possible. Here add:
“Inheritance from great aunt xxx”

when I would wire salary from Ireland or UK to US I would add something like “Jan post PAYE salary to self for bills”

Over $10k does not mean “scrutiny” 2 wires of $5k to same person or one of $9,900 would likely face more scrutiny….

Spd42

thanks…
i should’ve mentioned I do not have a UK bank account so this helps.
I’ll look into Wise.

durham_lad

Let us know how you get on as it is always useful to cite success stories for folks in a similar position. I have done it in the USA and have pension money paid into my Wise account with a US style routing and account number and my daughter has been using a Wise £ account into which she transfers money from her US bank and then has paid UK solicitors etc from that account while still living in the USA. She has now moved here and has a UK bank account but Wise made the transition very easy indeed.

Spd42

Yes, will keep you posted… thanks for the info and advice!

PetrifiedExPat

+1 Wise for me

Pulaski

This! .... And applies also to Wise.

Probably not too much of a concern until you get over, maybe $20k, but I would contact my bank ahead of receiving a large credit from overseas and let them know to expect it and where it is coming from, and why - try to impress upon whoever you speak to, to make a note in your electronic file.
​​​​​​ Maybe, maybe not. Cash is the classic concern for banks, but overseas wires are probably #2 for raising a red flag, regardless of whether it is 2 x $5k or one of $9,900. ..... Some countries have some sort of regulatory or reporting threshold on wires at $5k, so $5k wires are relatively common from those countries.

tht

Guess it depends on your definition of “scrutiny” I think monitoring of transfers is a good thing. Anything legitimate can be explained… so worst case a few days delay… and the upside is it helps deter tax avoidance, human trafficking and international drug trade, financing of sanctioned individuals and regimes (as decided upon by the “world police” aka “Team America F yeah… “…

Pulaski

If it ain't at least six figures (USD) there isn't much "monitoring". Transaction data is collected and dumped into a database (per regulatory wire reporting), then if someone gets a tax audit, or is subject of a criminal investigation, they go looking in the database, but routine day-to-day "scrutiny" of "small" wires/ transfers ain't happening.

That said, for anyone else reading this - do not think you can circumvent the regulatory reporting requirements - as Tht already aluded to above, breaking up your transfers into small amounts is one sure way to attract the unwanted attention of your bank's compliance department! And the biggest problem you face is that by the time your bank gets curious they lose any interest in your explanation - IOW the bank will not contact you to ask about it, they will dig around what they know or can find about you and draw a conclusion, and you will never know what conclusion they reached!

Nutmegger

You haven't explained why you think this. Is the estate in the hands of an executor? If so, they wire transfer funds out of an estate account to the legatees all the time, including overseas (I speak from experience).