best way to move money

Also noteworthy - that if you have more than US$10,000 in an 'foreign' account and you are a US Citizen, the US Gov't requires that you file a form.
Lisa

NB. That is a total of $10,000 or more in all accounts (if you have $5k in one account and $5k in another, you have to report both). And you have to report if you have $10k or more money in foreign accounts at any time during the year. So if you move money into the UK and then immediately spend it on something, you must report it for the short time it's been in your bank account.

You can get the form online from the IRS website. It's easy to fill out.


ETA:Regarding the amount of money she leaves in the US. I had an additional bank account in the US with a very small amount of money and they started charging me admin fees so I closed the account. So she should check that her US bank doesn't require that she leave a minimum amount in the account to avoid being penalised.

hi morning,i have been to the IRS site,but not sure which form she needs to look at,does anyone know ?....thank you

I suggest that she not move all of her savings into the  UK all at once.

It's  useful to keep a bank account in the US, in case she ever has to pay off a US debt, collect money from a US source, receive a pension from a US company, receive US social security, etc.

I still have a US bank account. I wire money between accounts as and when I need it.

Did HSBC tell her that she had to close her US account? That sounds wrong.

I work at a UK bank, however I just started so some of this is beyond what I've been taught so far.  However I agree with the above.  It's also helpful to keep a US account because
1) If you travel to the US and use a UK bank card (for your current account) you're charged a fee per use and then a percentage of the amount spent on top of the exchange rate.  It would be cheaper to use a US bank card.
2) If you need to deposit a US check, a UK bank will take weeks to clear it and will charge a rather steep fee.

My advice is for her to talk to HSBC since there are HSBC branches here.  If they are able to set up an account for her that she can access on either continent then she won't need to worry about transfering the money and subsequent paperwork.

Here is how OCD I am...

I have 3 checking accounts here (1 for house bills, 1 for personal stuff, 1 for Wedding stuff and NEW account)
I have added my mom to all of my Wells Fargo accounts JUST in case I need her to go into a branch for me...

I also am keeping my US accounts and pulling out money once a month or so once I am there since the exchange rate is blah right now plus I am still paying US bills so I don't plan on yanking everything to the US.

Thanks for this thread though since I wasn't sure what to do with my 401K, well I am leaving it here.  Also I looked and Wells Fargo is in London if I ever wanted to trek the 5 hours down there.

Also I looked and Wells Fargo is in London if I ever wanted to trek the 5 hours down there.

Where did you see this?  I am bank with Wells Fargo in the US and was told by numerous people that there is no branch of Wells Fargo or Wachovia in London.  Apparently there used to be a Wachovia (who is now part of Wells), but I was told there are no ties at all now.

Natwest is a US bank - Maybe your current bank can help

NatWest is a UK bank, not a US bank.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/inatl/group/locations

This is where I saw it...

geeta - I swore I used to see Natwest in Wisconsin hummmm

International Savings Accounts with HSBC:


http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/savings/more/international-savings;jsessionid=00007yPAzsJo93lIDG9ojJ677ol:14f64qmvd

https://www.wellsfargo.com/inatl/group/locations

This is where I saw it...

That "branch" is actually a business office and will not help with any personal banking issues, unfortunately.

darn <snapping fingers> I am glad I put my mom on my account then!
I will ask Wells Fargo when I am in there for fun and see what they say ;-)

geeta - I swore I used to see Natwest in Wisconsin hummmm

Maybe it was another bank with a similar name.

Maybe it was another bank with a similar name.

About 10 years ago there used to be a bank called "Norwest" in Tucson. Perhaps it was that one?

Andy

I remember seeing Natwest in New York.

It looks like Natwest in the US became part of Bank of America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bank_mergers_in_the_United_States

(Scroll down to 1996.)

Assuming the Wikipedia info is correct.

hi all,the future wife in US is looking at HSBC passport account,has anyone used this,and whats the process on how this works?...she's got to open the account in the US according to customer care,but what happens when she gets to the UK?,had to ask here because customer care didnt explain it very good to her,does she just go to my local HSBC bank tell them she has a account in the US and what proof of identity would she need here in UK?....cheers again

hi all,the future wife in US is looking at HSBC passport account,has anyone used this,and whats the process on how this works?...she's got to open the account in the US according to customer care,but what happens when she gets to the UK?,had to ask here because customer care didnt explain it very good to her,does she just go to my local HSBC bank tell them she has a account in the US and what proof of identity would she need here in UK?....cheers again

This HSBC Passport page: http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/passport says at the bottom that debit card payments and cash withdrawals requiring a currency exchange cost 2.75%.

I just did a quick quote with xe.com and their cost was 2.20%.

So on a $1000 transfer that would save about $5.40.

I would be interested to see if anyone can beat 2.20% with no additional fees.

The HSBC Passport page also mentioned international money transfer using internet banking. I would double-check that this service does not include a wire fee. For international wires it can be as much as $40 *per transfer*, which makes it IMO very expensive indeed.

Andy