Transferring money to US

M

MugsGame

Guest
Tangentially related to another thread - I need to transfer about $300 to some friends in the US.
They've suggested an AMEX travellers cheque posted "securely".
I'd prefer an electronic transfer.
What's the best way to do this?
- clearing time
- cost
They can provide bank details if necessary.
I'd like to avoid any extra fees being levied on their end.
 
Travellers cheque would be the worst option, as you'd have to sign both places before you send it - so it would be very easy for any interceptor to exchange it for cash. Any bank will sell you a USD draft for a nominal fee. If you need absolute security (and are prepared to pay for it) send it by courier and insure it for the value of the draft.

For $300, I'd risk registered post or similar.
 
Thanks RainyDay. Had forgotten how travellers cheques work (never used them) so just as well you reminded me!

I should have mentioned that the money needs to arrive within the next month. I've had "interesting" experiences with post to America in the past, so am not willing to rely on that. And courier seems excessive for the amount involved.

In theory electronic bank transfer should be faster, but maybe not given the clearing practices on both sides.

Other options:
Western Union?
PayPal?

Anybody got good/bad experiences of above?
 
Electronic transfer to the US will be expensive enough considering the sum involved. A standard transfer (2 days) will cost you about EUR20, maybe less, plus the bank charges for the person receiving the transfer (should you chose to pay them on their behalf), about EUR5-6 here but depends on the bank. A same day value transfer will cost about EUR10 more. Do you know anyone working in one of the banks? Staff can very often make these transfers at discounted prices.
It is a long time since I used Western Union but found it very effective. Prices may be more expensive than those charged by your bank.
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Aside from the charges, you may find that the exchange rate applied by Western Union is less favourable (to you) than other forms of exchange.
 
Re: ..

I've sent Draft's to the US lots of times, and I've noticed that recently packages from the US seem to be arriving quicker than they used to.

I've also been using PayPal more lately for sending cash and it works well, but you both need to be registered, if you're not already it can take a while.

For the sake of $300, I'd be happy with a USD Draft by Registered Post, and I'd be confident it would arrive within 1 month.

I reckon a week to 10 days at the absolute max.
Probably less.

-Rd
 
Re: ..

Just to follow up, I went with a direct electronic transfer in the end,
using my own bank, AIB. Their standard foreign transfer fee is EUR20.

I was unlucky, this actually took 5 whole working days:

* I submitted it to a local branch
* Transferred by internal post to branch where my account is
* 48 hours after submission, my branch rang me as a security check
(there was no section on the form for contact details, so if
my phone number on file had been out of date, this would have
delayed things.). They didn't tell me at the time, but I could
have avoided this step if I'd gone into my branch directly.
* Money then debited from my current account
* 48 hours later it arrived at recipient bank HQ
If I was lucky this would only have taken 24 hours
* Took another day to get to recipients account


AIB also have a priority option for EUR32 which should have taken a day or two off this.


Interestingly my US friends posted some documents to me last
Wednesday which arrived at home on Tuesday. So the mail service
does seem to be improving, and registered post would have got
there in time.

However, AIB wanted to charge me EUR4.4 for a USD draft, and I
guess registered postal costs would have taken that close to
the EUR20 anyway (not to mention the possible hassle if was
lost/stolen/delayed.).
 
..

But be carefull a lot of US banks acctualy charge for incomming foreign wire transfers fees of 20$ to 40$.

A bankdraft send by EMS Docpak (15€ at your local postoffice) is there 3-5 days later and your US contact does not pay any fees and the draft is treated as cashiers check and available within 1 day.

Mail from the US to Ireland got very fast but it is quite funny that some weeks it is fast and than it is slow.
I found that documents are best send as "Global Priority" mail for about 9$ for a flat rate envelop (4 lbs) and that is 2-3 days later here . I usualy get mine send on Friday and Monday it is here in Ireland. Documents are best send via USPS. However Parcels, gee, don't get me started on GLS (which delivers Airmail parcels here).
 
Re: ..

According to AIB the receiving bank charges were EUR7.50, which I had opted to pay (thought this was included in the EUR20 until I got a separate fee advice in the post a few days later.).

Can you get US bank drafts from An Post ?

For me it was worth the few Euro extra to only have to queue once, and be sure it wouldn't be stolen. Though I will feel ripped off if the recipients were charged another $20-40 on top of that!
 
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