Are you planning to move to the United States? Or want to send money to your family member or friends? Or maybe you want to pay your mortgage for your property in the states?
No matter what’s the reason, If you are sending money to USA from UK, you need to find the best way to transfer money from the UK to the USA – that is simple, cheap, and safe!
With over 700,000 British expats, USA is the second most popular expat destination for Britons. It is mainly because of the exciting US job market, top universities, and a wide choice of beautiful coast-to-coast destinations ranging from the beaches of Florida to the ski mountains of Colorado.
There are two ways to send money to USA from UK:
- High-streets UK Banks: High fixed fees, hidden fees, and bad GBP to USD exchange rate
- Specialist Money Transfer Service: Cheapest way to send money to USA from UK with low fee and mid-market exchange rate (rates you see on Google).
In this guide, we are going to compare all the options to transfer GBP to USD to find the best way to transfer money from UK to and USA. We are also going to explain how to transfer money from UK to a USA bank account.
Money Transfer to the USA from UK – Overview
| 💸 Most transferred amount | 1000 GBP |
| 🏆 Cheapest providers | Wise |
| ⚡ ️ Fastest providers | CurrencyFair and Wise (Tie) |
| 💰 Best exchange rate | Wise |
| 💰 Best for over $20,000 | Wise |
| ⚡ ️ Fastest transfer time | 1 Day (same day) |
| 💳 Pay-in options available | Bank transfer, Debit card, Credit card, Direct bank payment |
| 💵 Pay-out options available | Bank account (via international transfer), Bank account, Cash pickup, Card |
Best Way to Transfer Money from UK to USA
Best Exchange Rate
Best Way to Transfer over $20,000 (Cheapest & Fastest)
Transfer Time
Same Day
Pay By
Bank Transfer, debit card, credit card & Apple Pay
Info
£0 Monthly fee
Hold up to 50+ currencies
How to send money from UK to USA using Wise?
- Go to Wise’s website and create a free account.
- After logging in, go to the “Send money” option
- Check Wise fees and exchange rate to transfer GBP to USD
- Select the type of transfer (based on the nature of the transaction)
- Fill in the recipient’s US bank details
- Select your payment option and transfer money from UK to the USA
Fastest
Transfer Time
Same Day
Pay By
Bank Transfer
Info
Send to over 150+ countries
Wise (Formerly TransferWise)
Wise (formerly TransferWise) is very transparent when it comes to the money transfer fee. Wise is one of the most trusted money transfer providers with over 10 million users.
No doubt, that Wise is the best possible way to transfer money from UK to USA due to the low money transfer cost. The mid-market exchange rate (the real GBP to USD currency rates) and very low transfer fee make Wise one of the cheapest way to send money to the USA from UK.
Wise is also the fastest option to transfer money from UK to the USA with a transfer speed of 1 business day.
CurrencyFair
CurrencyFair was launched in 2010 being one of the oldest and the first money transfer provider to launch a peer-to-peer marketplace. CurrencyFair is one of the most trusted and top-rated options to send money to USA from UK with over $14b in international transfers.
CurrencyFair offers competitive rates and a secured platform to transfer GBP to USD at a fair price, good exchange rate and delivery time.
XE
XE is another well-known and top-rated brand that offers a fully secure and credible money transfer service to transfer GBP to USD. XE deals with 60+ currencies with money transfers to 170 countries.
Despite being one of the top-rated brands, XE is not the cheapest way to send money to the USA from UK, especially with smaller transfer amounts.
XE transfer time is also not the best when sending money to USA from UK – taking around 2-3 business dates to transfer GBP to USD.
High-streets UK Banks
Almost all UK banks offer international money transfer services to the USA, while some top UK high-street banks also offer US dollar accounts. But the banks usually offer a high fixed fee on sending money to USA from UK, and on top of that, you get an uncompetitive GBP to USD exchange rate.
With high fixed transfer fees and other hidden fees, using traditional banks is not the best way to transfer money from UK to USA – as it can be quite expensive to transfer money from the UK to the United States. It is often a wiser option to use dedicated money transfer companies to send money to the US.
Read More: Best US Dollar Account in the UK
Here is the fee comparison of top UK banks to international money transfers
| UK Bank | International transfer cost | International card payment cost |
| Barclays | 4% – 10% (depending on the currency) | 2.99% |
| HSBC | 1.5% – 8% (depending on the currency) | 2.75% |
| Lloyds | 3.5% – 8% (depending on the currency) | 2.99% |
What’s the cheapest way to transfer money from the United Kingdom to the United States?
The cost of sending money to the USA from the UK may vary from provider to provider. But it is a much cheaper option to transfer GBP to USD via a specialist money transfer provider compared to traditional UK banks in terms of transfer fees and exchange rates.
We compared all the top-rated providers to find the cheapest way to send money to USA from UK.
The cheapest provider to send 1000 GBP to the United States is Wise (formerly TransferWise) where you can save up to 25 GBP compared to the other top providers and up to 35 GBP compared to the top UK banks.
For a transfer of over 25,000 GBP, Wise again is the cheapest provider to transfer GBP to USD.
What is the fastest way to send money to the United States?
The fastest provider to transfer money from UK to the US is also Wise (Formerly TransferWise). Your money would arrive in the recipient banks the same day.
Currencyfair also takes 1 day (same day) to send money to the United States.
In general, most of the top-rated specialist money transfer providers have a faster delivery time with an average of 1 to 2 days, whereas high-street UK banks may take up to 3 or 4 days to send money to the USA.
How to Choose the Best Way to Send Money from UK to USA
To identify the best way to transfer money from UK to the USA, you’ll need to consider 4 important factors while choosing your preferred international money transfer provider.
Transfer Cost
If you want to find the cheapest way to send money to USA from UK, you need to consider the money transfer cost. You have to look at the fixed transfer fee and the exchange rate.
If you choose a UK Traditional bank to transfer money from UK to the USA, then you may end up paying a high fee and hidden markup on the exchange rate.
Specialist money transfer companies like Wise (formerly TransferWise) offer a low transfer fee along with an FX conversion at a mid-market rate.
Transfer Speed
How fast do you want the recipient to receive money in the US? Banks transfer can take a few days to send money to the USA from UK, while the average transfer time for most specialist transfer companies is 1 day (same day).
GBP Payment Option
How would you like to pay for the money transfer from UK to the USA? The payment option may vary depending on the providers but most of the top-rated providers offer a range of options such as bank transfer and debit card.
Remember that the transfer fee may vary based on the method used to send money to the United States.
Safety
While all banks and building societies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), money transfer specialists don’t necessarily have to be regulated at all.
We only recommend money transfer providers that are top-rated and safe. These providers are regulated by the rules of FCA, which considers your money separate from their own business capital – the process that is known as “safeguarding”.
What is a good exchange rate to transfer GBP to USD?
A strong GBP to USD exchange rate is US$1.40 (considering if the GBP is performing strongly against the USD. The above rate is known as the ‘psychological resistance level’.
However, a GBP to USD exchange rate of US$1.35 or above is still considered to be strong.
Due to the pandemic, and the inflation due to the war in Ukraine that impacted the inflation rate and cost of living in the UK, the GBP to USD exchange rate has dropped below US$1.2. Therefore, any rate above US$ 1.3 is considered to be a fair deal with the current crisis and market conditions.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Are you looking for the best and easiest way to send money from the UK to the USA? Here is the step-by-step process to make a payment from the United Kingdom to the United States to transfer money smoothly – with low transfer fees, a good exchange rate and a fast delivery time.
How to Send Money to the USA from UK?
How to Send Money to the USA from UK?
- Register with your preferred money transfer provider
First, you’ll need to choose your preferred money transfer provider based on your needs. You have to consider 4 things – The transfer cost, transfer speed, GBP to USD exchange rate, and payment method.
Once you have selected your preferred provider, you’ll need to register and create an account and complete the verification to pass the money laundering check – which is mostly done within a few minutes to a couple of hours. - Confirm the GBP to USD exchange rate and transfer fee
Once you’ve created an account, you’ll need to confirm the exchange rate offered to you. You can monitor the GBP-USD rate to secure a fair exchange rate deal.
To send money to the USA from UK, you also have to confirm the money transfer fee. The biggest advantage of picking a dedicated money transfer service is the low transfer fee, compared to the high fixed fee charged by high-street UK banks.
Most international money transfer providers like Wise (Formerly TransferWise) would tell you the final amount that the recipient would get (with the current exchange rate and transfer fee deduction). - Pick your preferred method of GBP payment
Once you’re happy with the quote (transfer fee and exchange rate), you’ll need to transfer the fund using the payment options offered by your preferred provider – such as bank transfer, debit and credit card. Each payment method may have a different fee structure to transfer money from UK to the USA.
- Send Money to the USA from UK
The final step to send money to the USA from UK, is to enter the details of the recipient’s bank account which includes the US bank account number, account name, routing number, and other local bank details.
- The recipient receives their money in US Dollars
Finally, the money would be transferred to the recipient’s bank account within the time frame given by your preferred provider.
What bank details are needed to transfer money to the USA?
sending money to USA from the UK requires the recipient’s US dollar account details to make sure that the transfer goes smoothly.
You would need to provide the US account number, name of the recipient, and a nine-digit routing number that identifies the location and branch of the recipient bank
