twowindsbear wrote:
Again, how does your money actually get to you, here in the USA? It looks like your SIPP sends your withdrawals & transfers & such go to a UK bank, & that bank transfers your money to you. Do I have that right? Contact THAT bank, that actually does the 'sending,' have them transfer the funds to your USA bank. It should be very quick, little to no fees and you'll get the BEST exchange rate. Good luck.
The SIPP pays out to a UK Building Society (BS), as in a type of bank, and the money is routinely transferred by me across to our American bank. I leave a small percentage of the sterling in the BS and balance comes across the pond! Leaving me to find a beneficial exchange rate!
Thank you for your good luck wishes.
PaulBrit wrote:
The SIPP pays out to a UK Building Society (BS), as in a type of bank, and the money is routinely transferred by me across to our American bank. I leave a small percentage of the sterling in the BS and balance comes across the pond! Leaving me to find a beneficial exchange rate!
Thank you for your good luck wishes.
It seems to me that the banks should be giving you the BEST exchange rate & you should not be having to find a beneficial rate! But, what do I know? My 'international banking' as been limited to making a few purchases for amateur radio equipment from a dealer in Turkey using a credit card for payment. I'm out of suggestions.
twowindsbear wrote:
It seems to me that the banks should be giving you the BEST exchange rate & you should not be having to find a beneficial rate! But, what do I know? My 'international banking' as been limited to making a few purchases for amateur radio equipment from a dealer in Turkey using a credit card for payment. I'm out of suggestions.
Well I have really enjoyed the conversation, and your last spiked my interest in a different field. For while I was in England I was G3PUK.
PaulBrit wrote:
Well I have really enjoyed the conversation, and your last spiked my interest in a different field. For while I was in England I was G3PUK.
I've bought a few kits from Hans at QRPLABS, if you perhaps recognize him & his business.
73, my friend DE WD4IRK in Kentucky
Lucian
Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio
You never get the daily spot rate. When you send pounds here, you get the selling pounds rate, when you buy dollars with pounds you have here, you get the buying rate. The pound and all currencies can change daily. Last week the pound moved 3 cents in two days. Other times it stays the same for weeks. If you were changing 30,000 pounds and it changed 3 cents, that would have meant a loss or gain of $900 over those few days and that is a lot.
Just an example but not accurate, so you understand the way currencies work plus you have different bank charges from different banks. If the daily spot rate is $1.28 for a pound and you want to buy pounds with your dollars, the bank will sell you those pounds at a rate of $1.35 so you never get the spot rate. If you wanted to sell your pounds to buy dollars, the bank would give you a rate of $1.15 for each of your pounds.
There is a selling rate and a buying rate for a daily spot rate, and those two rates are vastly different. It makes little difference if you are buy a few pounds or selling a few dollars but when it is in the thousands, there is a big loss to you and the banks always win.
On top of that some banks also charge a foreign currency transaction which is often about 1.5 percent, so they charge you that percent of the value of the exchange. Then some banks even charge you a handling fee on top of the currency exchange fee. All these fees add up to a lot of money loss when exchanging large sums of money. Check with several banks to see what they charging policy is. Another fee that banks charge and varies greatly is a wire transfer fee.
One on my banks charges $15 and the other charges $65 for every wire transfer that comes in. Further to this, the bank outside of the USA charges a sending fee for wire transfer and the USA bank will charge you a receiving fee, for accepting your money. It's a con really and there is not much that can be done about it, you will pay out a lot every time money moves between countries.
Lucian, thanks for your comprehensive reply.
It makes me feel fairly comfortable with my Building Society account where I can submit UK funds for a transfer to my own US bank. Just a question of waiting for the right exchange rate. I used to get about 1 pound to 1.48 dollars but at present it is 1 pound to about 1.25 dollars, although I haven't checked today.
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