Moving Money from US bank to UK bank

I have never had a Transferwise transaction complete in 1 day. It is sometimes next business day but has taken 3 to 5 business days. These are all ACH bank transfers rather than for fee wire transfers.

Next day happens too for me but I've never had to wait longer than that.

I'm sending really small amounts (in the 100's)  frequently, perhaps it makes a difference if you're sending higher value transfers?

I've only done ACH bank transfers, you'd have to have a gun to my head before I'd pay for a wire transfer! 

I usually use xe.com for small amounts, but noticed that BofA has a maximum amount i can transfer, I think $10,000, so i stopped into a local branch as we are hopefully moving over soon and need to transfer more than that, I was hoping to do it in one go due to the wire fee's.  They said I could only transfer to an account in my name and was not allowed to go through a 3rd party, so basically a bank to bank transfer, any ideas on what i can do? I might need to check with another personal banker as I don't know if what he was telling me was correct.

Try transferwise!    Seriously, give them a call, they are great!

I usually use xe.com for small amounts, but noticed that BofA has a maximum amount i can transfer, I think $10,000, so i stopped into a local branch as we are hopefully moving over soon and need to transfer more than that, I was hoping to do it in one go due to the wire fee's.  They said I could only transfer to an account in my name and was not allowed to go through a 3rd party, so basically a bank to bank transfer, any ideas on what i can do? I might need to check with another personal banker as I don't know if what he was telling me was correct.

I've used xe.com and Transferwise to transfer $10k with no fees including to my brother and sister (i.e. 3rd party accounts). When I transferred more than that it was Bank to Bank and to my own account, so you may be limited to $10k at a time if it is to a 3rd party.

Maybe others can chime in with more advice, I've only got my limited experience to go on.

I usually use xe.com for small amounts, but noticed that BofA has a maximum amount i can transfer, I think $10,000, so i stopped into a local branch as we are hopefully moving over soon and need to transfer more than that, I was hoping to do it in one go due to the wire fee's.  They said I could only transfer to an account in my name and was not allowed to go through a 3rd party, so basically a bank to bank transfer, any ideas on what i can do? I might need to check with another personal banker as I don't know if what he was telling me was correct.

I would have expected using a bank to be the most expensive way to transfer money internationally. Don't forget to compare apples to apples - the fees AND the "spread".

If the transfer is larger than your xe.com limit then just call them and ask to raise the limit. I've done it several times with no problems.

I'm a little confused about the fees on Transferwise. When I type in the cost to transfer 10,000 USD to GBP it says the fee is $84.28. Surely I must be missing something! I've never paid more than $50 total (fees from banks on both sides added up) for a wire transfer.

I'm a little confused about the fees on Transferwise. When I type in the cost to transfer 10,000 USD to GBP it says the fee is $84.28. Surely I must be missing something! I've never paid more than $50 total (fees from banks on both sides added up) for a wire transfer.

You can't just look at the fees, you also have to look at the rate you're getting. Banks will never give you a decent rate whereas Transferwise gives you the mid-market rate.
Do a like for like comparison to get the actual picture.

From the Transferwise website.

The real exchange rate

Banks and other providers often add a markup to their exchange rate while advertising low fees, which means you could be paying huge hidden charges. TransferWise transparently displays its fee upfront and deducts it before conversion. No nasty surprises. TransferWise then uses the mid-market rate, independently provided by Reuters without any markup. 

https://transferwise.com/pricing/usd-to-gbp

This explains it nicely.

The mid-market rate is the mid-point between the buy and the sell prices of the two currencies to an exchange rate – what the buyer is prepared to pay and what the seller is prepared to sell for. It is also known as the interbank rate.

A genuinely applied mid-market rate is universally regarded as the most transparent and accurate foreign currency exchange rate reflecting real time movements in the currency markets.

Banks and brokers habitually apply a “spread” to the mid-market rate, which is effectively a hidden charge that amends the quoted rate.

https://www.kantox.com/en/glossary/mid-market-rate/

Thanks, larrabee! I'm not sure which bank I'll be using in the UK, but will see if I can't dig up those exchange rates to get a better sense of the true price difference.

I'm a little confused about the fees on Transferwise. When I type in the cost to transfer 10,000 USD to GBP it says the fee is $84.28. Surely I must be missing something! I've never paid more than $50 total (fees from banks on both sides added up) for a wire transfer.

I always look at the bottom line to see the £s that I am going to get rather than individually look at the fee and the exchange rate. Two days ago I wanted to transfer $10,000 to my HSBC UK Bank from my HSBC US account so I opened up 2 windows and started the transfer with Transferwise and also with HSBC doing a "Global Transfer" HSBC-HSBC. Transferwise gave me ~£200 more so I clicked submit on Transferwise and cancel on HSBC. I don't even know how the fees and exchange rates compared, I only looked at the £s I was going to get.

Good idea! Out of curiosity, has anybody recently used World First to transfer money between the US and UK (or other way around)? I've read that Transferwise often beats them for smaller sums, but that World First is better when sending larger amounts (e.g., $1000+). Not sure if that is still the case.

I always look at the bottom line to see the £s that I am going to get rather than individually look at the fee and the exchange rate.

That's what I meant! I don't do the calculations myself! 

Good idea! Out of curiosity, has anybody recently used World First to transfer money between the US and UK (or other way around)? I've read that Transferwise often beats them for smaller sums, but that World First is better when sending larger amounts (e.g., $1000+). Not sure if that is still the case.

I'd not heard of them but it looks like you have to book a rate over the phone with World First. So you would have to give them a call to be able to do any sort of comparison.

Book your UK exchange rate

We can give you a quote as soon as we know how much you need to send(over £1,000), what currency you’re making the payment in and who you’re transferring the funds to. Once you give us this information, we’ll calculate an exchange rate. If you’re happy with it, you can book it to secure the offer. 

 https://www.worldfirst.com/uk/transfer-money/uk/

I've got nothing to add, but thank you for this thread! Transferwise sounds like a good way to go.

Quickly adding that World First isn't a good option for a first transfer, since they require you to have proof of UK residence. I tried setting up an account from their US website even though I no longer live in the US, and they immediately noticed my IP address was somewhere else and wouldn't let me move forward. In short, Transferwise appears to continue to be the best option for hassle free transfers!

Quickly adding that World First isn't a good option for a first transfer, since they require you to have proof of UK residence. I tried setting up an account from their US website even though I no longer live in the US, and they immediately noticed my IP address was somewhere else and wouldn't let me move forward. In short, Transferwise appears to continue to be the best option for hassle free transfers!

Good info. Thanks.