OK, my company have told me that it looks like I'll be able to move to NYC in late feb, early march. They have said that my annual bonus will be paid in £'s though, so I will then have to transfer it across to my as yet to be created US bank account. I will also want to bring across some savings with me. By the time I've paid UK income tax and paid off a rather large credit card bill, I think I should be moving across roughly £10k over to the USA. What is the best way of doing this. I've heard about people usign XE, but I read that they were unreliable. I've also heard that it might be a good idea to get a bank acocunt with someone like Citi who have a presence in both the US and UK and who may let me maintain accounts in both countries and make it easier to transfer money.....anyone done this? Can anyone offer advice?

Thanks!

Use them regularly and never had a problem. In fact I don't recall anyone ever saying anything bad about them.

I typed in xe trade money transfer and came up with a couple of forums where people said they were unprofessional and not very good....I just went back and checked and they were posts from a while ago so I presume they must be ok now...

I used Moneycorp when I bought a U.S. house and they were pretty good. Also don't necessarily take the first rate they give you. I got one rate from them- 'phoned my own bank who then bettered it. When I 'phoned Moneycorp to cancel the transaction they gave me an even better rate. You have to open an account and go through a process but it was relatively simple

that was probably regarding the geo-cities style web design they used to have...as for the service, it's pretty much top notch.

plenty of threads on the subject on this site about them.

If you are in the East coast then you have more option than just Citi, such as Natwest etc. I transferred $20,000 to Bangladesh and washington mutual charged me $35 flat rate. You can also do Paypal don't know about the exchange rate though.

You can get free international wire transfers with Washington Mutuals free checking account. They charge a $10 fee for receiving transfers though.
XE has always been the best for sending money from UK to US for me...

XE has been perfectly reliable and easy for me too. Rates also good.

I use HiFX... Ok, so I have only used them once, but I do plan on sending more money over with them next week.

Hello
I'm curious.
I have checked several forums regarding funds being transferred from overseas to US, and it seems like most posters DO NOT use their banks, but use a service like XE.
I'm not clear on why?
I called Wachovia Bank, as an example, and was told for someone to transfer fund from overseas into my US bank account costs $15.00, no matter what the amount of the transfer. (and currency converson fees , I was told, were included in that $15 fee) I was very clear and asked them several times, what other fees could I be charged, and that was all they said.
I have yet to hear from Washington Mutual regarding their fees, but it's probably low as well.
These services who specialize in transferring funds, seem, to be much more expensive.

I understand if money is transferred to your bank account, you are then going to have to explain to IRS,pay taxes on,etc. but I imagine wire transfers using other methods also inform the US also, yes? no ?
I'm not putting down the other service, simply trying to understand.

I also want to know, what things should I be aware of when giving information for the wire transfer from overseas to make sure no additional fees are charged to me. ( banks did not give me any information here , simply said it's a possibility)
I just wanted to know what things to inform the other party who is sending funds so I can be sure to tell them what to do so as to not incurr fees on my end.
Any and all help appreciated.

You would probably initiate this payment from a foreign bank - they would probably charge you as well.

How so? XE is free

You don't have to explain anything to the IRS and don't have to pay taxes on it.

Regarding your last point, I know when I did this from the UK, they said I could pay the entire fee in the UK, so I would not be charged in the US - not sure if this works out cheaper or more expensive though.

I have no problem wiring money FROM the US (with Citibank) to anywhere. The problem in my case arises when trying to wire money FROM the UK. The banks there are totally clueless, it takes forever and they charge you an arm and a leg. If I had to move a large sum I'd certainly think twice about it.

Hmm, thats a very general statement saying the banks are totally useless. I used Barclays several times to wire money before I had setup XE and never had a problem. As long as you have all the details you need, it should be easy.

I don't use XE but from what others have said they charge a flat rate of $10...my bank charge $20...also XE are supposed to give a better exchange rate. If I transfer money from the US to the UK or Canada it usually takes 24/48 hours....I believe XE takes about 5 days...so factor in 2/3 days loss of interest.

Never had a good experience myself. I have worked with international banks for years so I know all the required info, but trying to get them to put it in the right place would drive me crazy sometimes. I have nearly punched someone out trying to explain an IBAN before.
I know that I was generalising. I'm sure many people have had good experiences with their UK banks. I'm not one of them.