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View Full Version : Dealing with dollars

petemc
22-03-2009, 12:28
I have a couple of American clients now and they're sending me money in those pesky $. The problem I have is that Barclays like to take 4-6 weeks to process the damn cheques. I have a cheque on my desk for a nice some of money and its going to take 6 weeks before I can have it. This looks like its going to be a monthly thing too. I have a few choices with this. I can get the money straight into Paypal, but I'm guessing it comes in in dollars and possibly causes some crazy delay. I might be able to get a wire transfer but I'm not sure as that seems to be a mainly american thing. At the moment I'm getting a cheque. My bank has told me that I can set up an account in dollars that may help.

Probably a long shot but has anyone got any tips for monthly cheques in dollars?
Mondo
22-03-2009, 12:31
cash it in dollars in your account, then move it to your own account?
Feek
22-03-2009, 12:35
If you're happy to take the normal Paypal fees then transferring from one currency to another is instant. They don't charge for the actual currency transfer as far as I remember.
petemc
22-03-2009, 12:43
If Paypal is less than £9 then yeah sure. It costs £9 everytime I do this at Barclays. I think the issue with Paypal is the cut they take. Is it just when you transfer it to your bank or is it the deposit AND bank transfer?

Edit: Ok I've set it to Paypal in the hope that its quicker / easier. 6 weeks is a stupidly long time to be waiting for a cheque to clear.
Mark
22-03-2009, 14:29
I feel your pain. I've had the exact same problem with Lloyds. Possibly the quickest way to get payments through would be to find a US bank that has a UK operation (probably in London) and see if they can help.
Feek
22-03-2009, 15:22
Paypal don't charge to transfer out to your bank account.
Mondo
22-03-2009, 15:22
I feel your pain. I've had the exact same problem with Lloyds. Possibly the quickest way to get payments through would be to find a US bank that has a UK operation (probably in London) and see if they can help.

Bank of America ?
Rich_L
22-03-2009, 19:36
PayPal via eCheque has a maximum charge of £3/$5 but takes 7-9 days to clear into your Paypal account, plus a further couple, so say 2 weeks to clear.

Citibank offer USD accounts with instant transfer, not sure about paying in to the branch there though.
petemc
24-03-2009, 22:25
I think if I got a Citibank account I could get a transfer easily as my client uses Citibank. Its a bit annoying really. Takes about 2 weeks for the cheque to arrive and then up to 6 for it to clear. 8 weeks for a cheque. So lame.
Mark
24-03-2009, 22:36
Personal/small business banking isn't geared up to provide international business services, which is effectively what you've found you need. Most big banks can do this sort of thing, but it'll be geared towards bigger companies and so can be expected to cost a fair whack more than what you're probably paying now. The key is finding the right balance between cost and convenience for both you and your clients.