BritGuyTN

sorry - clarification

I use natwest online banking to transfer it to xe.com uk account

they do the international bit andthen eft it into my usa account

no charges at either end

BigDavyG

Ahh - I get you.
Can't eft it into my uk account unfortunately (only available for payment to US/Canada accounts) and refuse to give my bank £30 for doing f**k all in accepting the wire.
Mind you the 5 day thing is good news - hopefully my current estimates are worst case scenarios.

BritGuyTN

don;t know for sure but I would say you should be pleasantly suprised

BigDavyG

Cash has now gone from my bank account but xe.com haven't got it yet.
At least I now know that they were able to validate the bank account but now the sweat begins.
Status still waiting according to xe - would be nice if they get the cash before the weekend.

BigDavyG

As promised here's the lastest update.
I started the trade on Thursday morning, giving xe the cash via eft. They got the cash on monday and completed the transaction then and there.
Draft has now been mailed but could take up to 14 days to arrive in the uk.
I opted for the slowest but cheapest methods of transfer which means that the rate i got including all fees was effectively 1.79 - don't know if this can be beaten anywhere.

If you want to speed things up you could wire them the cash, and they could wire it to you but that would prob mean at least $60 extra in fees.

Final update when i actually get someone back home to bank the draft but at the minute i'd say that i'll be using them again.

Roadster280

I just used xe today to transfer the deposit on my house from the UK to the US. I calculate that I saved £200 over my UK bank's rate, and £600 over my US bank's rate. Well worth the effort (if the money turns up, of course!). That should offset the Cheltenham and Gloucester wanting £100 for a reference, with change.

BigDavyG

Draft arrived home today.
So there you have it 8 days in total (and that's after me chosing their slowest options) to shift cash back to the UK at a rate of 1.79 with no extra fees.
Think I'll be using them again.

Bob

That's pretty good going considering a cheque can take that long to clear around here *l*

Pulaski

There is nothing at al to stop you, save for your own common sense and the amount of money that you are prepared to lose.

In all honesty the rewards are likely very small, and the risks considerable. To see a 10% shift (likely 8% gain after charges, assuming that you are on the right side of the equation), you would have to wait a number of weeks, or even months. If I remember correctly during the late 90's the $/£ rate drifted very slowly done from arounf $1.60/£1 to around $1.40/£1 over several years. You would have been waiting a long time to make any money on fluctuations.

Even the banks that trade currency have a hard time making money from taking positions - it is, after all a "zero sum gain" i.e. you can only make a profit if someone else makes a loss.

CaliforniaBride

did you get the position?

Eskimo

my nostrils couldn't take it

CaliforniaBride

Bit to pure for your brummy nostrils!!