When it comes to transferring money from US to UK, you have many options. Your choices range from international bank transfers to online remittance services. Let's look at some of the options you have when determining how to transfer money from the US to the UK, and corresponding factors such as transfer fees, GBP to USD exchange rates, transfer speed, and more.
Bank transfers are the most traditional and the most expensive way to send money from USA to UK. Banks typically charge a much higher fee compared to money transfer specialists. While bank transfers used to be the best way to send money from US to UK, the emergence of online remittance companies has introduced more efficient ways to do so.
The most common type of fee incurred is a transfer fee, in addition to that, some banks also charge a "conversion fee" for converting your send currency and receive currency.
Money transfer fees charged by UK's biggest banks:
Banks are still one of the most convenient forms of transfer. You can simply log into your UK account and initiate a wire transfer to your US bank account. If you are comfortable with high fees, you can use the convenience of a bank transfer.
If you feel like high transfer fees in addition to an already high exchange rate margins are unfair to both the sender and the recipient, send money through an online money transfer specialist. By the very definition, online money transfer specialists or service providers exist to make transferring money faster, easier, and cheaper.
Sending money through online money transfer providers also gives you the same level of convenience, saving you time and money.
The best way to send money to UK from US will depend on your needs. GBP to USD exchange rates are not the only factor that affects your remittance value. Granted that the exchange rates will be the biggest determining factor, however, most money transfer companies will not give you the mid-market exchange rates, which is the rate you see on Google or XE.com. Also, many of these remittance companies offer easy-to-use mobile apps to send money from UK to US.
Factors such as transfer fees, the speed of money transfer, security risk, transfer amount, medium of payment, and payout also have a huge impact on your remittance amount.
We recommend always comparing different offers by money transfer service providers before sending money internationally.
Here is a list of some of the best money transfer companies to send money from UK to US:
Most money transfer service providers process your transfer between 1-3 days. Speed is expensive because it usually comes with a premium fee.
Xoom and Skrill are some of the fastest ways to send money from the UK to the US.
Cash pickups are usually the fastest way to send money, your recipients can collect the money within 1-24 hours. Western Union and Small World provide cash pick-up services.
Unless you are sending money for an emergency, the fastest ways of sending money are expensive.
Sending money online through a money transfer specialist is the cheapest way to transfer money to UK.
Avoid direct bank transfers and money transfer agents. They tend to charge higher fees and offer the lowest exchange rates overall.
The cheapest money transfer specialist will depend on the day, amount of money being sent, speed of transfer. Compare them side-by-side before initiating a transfer.
The British Pound to US Dollar (GBP to USD) exchange rate saw positive gains towards the end of October 2021. The primary catalyst of movement in the GBP to USD exchange rate is likely to be investors' speculation of hikes in interest rates by the Bank of England (BoE), following a comment by the BoE Governor Andrew Bailey.
It is a timely announcement that will recuperate market confidence after we have seen the pound (GBP) fluctuate and grind at low levels owing to multiple factors that affect GBP exchange rates including Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic.
There are multiple factors that affect exchange rates. Let's look at some of the factors that might have an impact on GBP to USD exchange rates in 2022
USD is widely considered a "safe-haven currency". This means when other currencies backed by other strong economies such as the Chinese Yuan seem risky, USD will rise.
Brexit had an immediate effect on GBP, which declined in value by over 8% in the 24 hours following the vote. The pound has been volatile since the 2016 Brexit announcement. As things stand, the UK and the US are not due for election until 2024. The major play on exchange rates will be dependent on how fast both the economies are able to recover
The rally of the Pound to US Dollar exchange rate towards the end of October 2021 as investors speculate a hike in interest rates by the Bank of England (BoE), following a comment by the BoE Governor Andrew Bailey.
Bailey said, 'Monetary policy cannot solve supply-side problems - but it will have to act and must do so if we see a risk, particularly to medium-term inflation and to medium-term inflation expectations.'
While there is no announcement at the time of writing, we expect the BoE to make an announcement by the end of the year 2021. Going into 2022, high-interest rates, ceteris paribus, will have a dramatic impact on GBP/USD. On the contrary, if the Federal Reserve Bank increases the interest rate, USD will strengthen against the dollar.
GBP will most likely be under pressure in 2022. Slow recovery and uncertainty around new strains that may prolong the pandemic woes, uncertainties over Brexit, pressure to incorporate climate change mitigation plans into economic policies while the UK suffers the biggest economic recession amongst major economies.
However, the USD is still relatively weaker than the GBP. What does a strong GBP mean for an expat or someone sending money to the US from the UK?
If you are living and working in the UK, a strong GBP means you will get more dollars for your pounds. On the contrary, if you are living and working in the US, a strong GBP means you will get fewer pounds for your dollars.
If you are someone who sends money internationally, here are the top 3 tips:
We hope that this article helped answer your question of how to send money from the UK to the US. If you need to send money to UK from USA as soon as possible, we invite you to check out our comparison tool to see what online remittance companies offer this service. You can compare their rates, transfer speeds, fees, and more.