Best way to fund new bank account

I am getting ready to move to the UK and need to know what is the best way to fund a bank account.  Am I better off taking USD and exchanging to GBP, then just taking that into the bank, or will a bank take USD?

I am thinking of banking with HSBC, if that makes any difference.

You might be loosing out because the pound (currently) is stronger than the dollar, by almost double. My opinion would be paying it in GBP rather than USD.

Get a second opinion to this as I'm no expert, and HSBC isn't my bank 

It depends how much you want to take.

Check out this thread http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=44773.0

Vicky

Thanks for the suggestions.  I will probably pull some $$$ out of my US account, swap it into GBP, and then deposit in the UK.  I know the $$$ is weak, but I don't have a lot of choice.  I don't want to not have money for over a month until I get paid in GBP! 

Why don't you just use your ATM card and pull it out when you reach the UK?  I did that to pay my deposit which was £1800 plus paid our first month's rent in cash because I didn't have a bank account yet.  I just took some out every day.

Why don't you just use your ATM card and pull it out when you reach the UK?  I did that to pay my deposit which was £1800 plus paid our first month's rent in cash because I didn't have a bank account yet.  I just took some out every day.

I used my US ATM card the first 9 months I was here and although the exchange rate was a nightmare it was fairly easy to get the money out.  My bank did charge me a fee for each withdrawl though, so I did tend to take the money out in chunks.  When I got here I paid for the whole 9 months of my student accomodation on my US debit card in one swipe and signature.

OR if you already have a bank account in the UK and have a lot of money to transfer you can use a agency like Moneycorp or XE to transfer the money in one big chunk.

I used my US ATM card the first 9 months I was here and although the exchange rate was a nightmare it was fairly easy to get the money out.  My bank did charge me a fee for each withdrawl though, so I did tend to take the money out in chunks.  When I got here I paid for the whole 9 months of my student accomodation on my US debit card in one swipe and signature.

Ah yeah, now that I think about it, I use Citibank in the US and I used a Citibank ATM here in the UK.  So I wasn't charged any fees to do it.  I definitely didn't have an exchange rate nightmare though - it is usually a much better rate you'd get at the airport or at a money changer.  And less than the ridiculous 3-5% some places charge you to use a credit card.

long shot- but if you have a US Bank of America Account- you can withdraw £ at Barclays for no charges.  withdrawl your limit every day until you have enough for the depsoit.

If you withdraw/transfer frequently your UK tax return will be a nightmare in figuring out the currency gains and losses now that the UK has eliminated the annual capital gains exemption for those not claiming the remittance basis of tax...

(You'd have dozens of transactions to report on your first UK tax return.)

I got the impression that the OP was just considering moving money that was already earned from the US to the UK, that was being held in a US bank account,  not necessarily income or gains that would have been earned in the current tax year.

ETA: In addition to all the exchange rate stuff, a bank will charge you for converting currency, so you should check who has the lower fee - your US bank or your UK bank.

If you use a firm like Worldwide they move the money over to a UK account they hold in your name, keep it in dollars until the exchange rate is good, and then will transfer the stirling to you when you have opened your account.  Their fees are minimal.


Vicky