Money questions!

Hey guys! So recently I've been talking to my mom about what she can and can't send to me when I move to the uk. And she brought up an interesting point. Can she send me a cheque from the us to the uk? Would it have to be a certain type of cheques? Has anybody done this before? Let me know!!
She's not comfortable with sending larger amounts of cash in the post, and money transfers tend to be expensive sometimes!

Thank you!

Sending a check isn't a great idea. It will take forever to clear in a UK bank account, and you will lose a lot of money in the transfer from dollars to pounds. It would be better to electronically transfer the money by wire or online through a service like xe.com.

If you maintain your US bank account, she should be able to make deposits directly to your account if she wants.  You can then extract the funds here via a cash point.  According to Clark Howard (brilliant but practical US economist), the cheapest exchange rate is found by simply withdrawing cash at an ATM.  There may be other consequences to this that I have not fully investigated yet, but in the short term this may be a good option for you.  Some banks will allow you to change your mailing address to the UK.  I use VyStar which is just a little credit union in the deep south, and they changed my address to the UK on my account and were very accommodating with the whole thing.  Their online banking allows me to set up email alerts to tell me my balance on set days, even every day if I want, and alerts for other things as well, and I can deposit a check by scanning it in online as well, so it makes long-distance banking almost sinfully easy.

Alternatively, if you set up a Paypal account here (UK), and get the attached debit card as well, your mother should be able to send money to your paypal account which you can then convert directly to £ within the account and use your card like any other card.  This won't be accepted everywhere, but it is accepted most places.  I've purchased airfare this way, but I can't get a hire car with this card.  Makes little sense, I know, but as long as your mother isn't your only source of funds, this shouldn't have too great a negative impact on you. Just don't set up the paypal account until you get here because a US account won't work well in the UK and you can't move the account from one country to another.

Or.... make sure you have a bank account before you go that is housed in a bank that operates in both the US and the UK, so your account will transfer when you do.  And then just go with option 1 from there.

I've only been here a few months, and am not here permanently yet, so there are many many people on this site who will likely have better information than I do, but these things have worked for me so far.  Maybe they'll at least get you over the hump, so to speak. 

My bank account in the US closed ages ago, so when I send money to my mom for whatever reason, I just transfer it online through my bank's website. There should be an option for overseas transfers. You'll both get charged, but for me it's the easiest/simplest solution and it transfers within a few hours, saving everyone worry and hassle.

My bank account in the US closed ages ago, so when I send money to my mom for whatever reason, I just transfer it online through my bank's website. There should be an option for overseas transfers. You'll both get charged, but for me it's the easiest/simplest solution and it transfers within a few hours, saving everyone worry and hassle.

This is a good idea, but when I looked into it just 1 year ago, none of my banks allowed overseas transfers through the website (had 1 credit union, a chase and an ING (now capital one)). I asked if they could add the feature and they said for my own safety,it was not allowed. They insisted the money must be wired. If it's a large amount of money, and you need it quickly, that might be a good way, but I've found the bank exchange rate to be brutal...western union or another reputable wire transfer service might be better. Considered xe once, as they had one of the best exchange rates.

+1 on Clark Howard, I've followed his advice on just using ATMs when I travel, but it may be worth finding a bank that has a universal presence to minimize or eliminate ATM and foreign transaction fees. I've been docked a few times by the international bank with foreign exchange fees. If it were me, and you're looking for a long term way to deal with this, I would have my mom deposit in a US account (but check they have an ATM near you in the UK) then use the ATM card on your end. Even then, please check with the bank that you will not get charged fees.

Alternatively, my specific plan when I move over is to rarely use cash, or dollars if I can help it. I'll use my capital one venture visa card, which has no fees on foreign transactions and pay it off immediately with money held in a US account. But I'll use my UK account most of the time. If people insist on sending checks to the UK, I'll have my chase account open and use the app which allows me to remotely deposit the check.

I can send money from my HSBC account to my BofA account (the ING/Capital1 doesn't accept foreign transfers). The fees are less than 1% of the total I send over, total, and the exchange rate is comparable to the published one you'd find elsewhere.

My husband prefers XE as you do get slightly better rates, but it is less convenient and takes longer.