DavidM

I am tranferring USD to GBP and the XE rate seems to be between 1.5 - 2 cents above the going spot rate. i.e. spot rate is 1.94 and the trade rate is 1.956. Is this typical because I wired money from Lloyds 4 months ago and the rate markup was about the same.

dbj1000

Yes it's typical. Do you know somewhere that will transfer money at the spot rate? I certainly don't. XE aren't a public service, but they're certainly the best rate I've found for transfers.

DavidM

Some of the old XE threads have posts which suggest that. The fact is most institutions will give you the same rate spread if you have a sizeable amount. For instance Lloyds let me book my rate in advance of the wire. The benefit of XE trade is the great convenience of not having to show up at the bank and deal with the usual idiots there.

tonrob

Don't know about the 'most institutions' bit. Even if they let you "book your rate", my UK bank, HSBC, are a bunch of F***ing crooks when it comes to this - in fact, no-one I looked at on the high street could touch XE when I transferred my funds across.

DavidM

I checked the other internet brokers and they were all about the same, around 1.5c markup. However I moved 90k GBP from Lloyds on August 23rd. The average inter-bank spot rate that day was 1.98570 and Lloyds gave me a rate of 1.9891. Of course I don't suppose it would be as good on the way back since there's a 2-3 day delay from the US bank but Lloyds has always been honest with me.

Dan725

It may be the case on big transfers you could negotiate a better rate with your bank. I'm not sure if XE differentiate between large and small amounts - but certainly, if you are doing smaller transfers the rate is hard to beat, wheras your bank will charge you more, plus a fee.

cranston

The range on the 23 August 2007 was 1.9918 to 2.0093

pejpm1

I have a relatively small amout to move across...about 5-6k gbp...would XE be the best way to go? Also, if i had it wired...I presume my UK bank would charge a fee + poor rate, but would my US receiving bank (JPM Chase) charge any kind of fee or would they simply be receiving $ from Abbey in the UK?

tonrob

I was surprised at the comments from the OP about the good rate from a high street bank (even for the large amount) so I'd say for the price of a couple of phone calls shop around. Even for 5-6k GBP it's still $$ in your pocket.

My US bank charged a fee to receive. Unfortunately everyone who touches it usually wants some kind of slice so make sure you get the very best rate you can to offset this.

Dan725

By and large it depends how your receiving bank receives the money as to the fee. If you can ensure it is delivered by EFT, you can usually avoid a fee.

tony126

As Dan says transfer by EFT (via XE) and there is no charge. Well, I haven't been charged.

zargof

The other advantage of XE is if you are not concerned about the timeliness of your transfer you can make a bid for a better rate, and if you're reasonable with your expectations you can probably get it filled due to the fluctuations in the exchange rate over a few days. That's what I've found anyway.

Dan725

Transfer by EFT other than via XE trade usually incurs no receiving charge, either. Neither of my accounts with Wachovia or HSBC incurs a receiving fee as long as the money is sent by EFT - which does seem to be beyond the capabilities of some Brit banks, I might add, who insist on wire transfer.

tony126

I am with Wachovia as well and yes I concur.