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Cheapest was to convert US dollar cheque to US dollar cash?

I received a cheque made out in US$, is it possible to use this to obtain cash US$ without paying to convert the cheque to Sterling, and then paying again to change back to dollars? Someone previously mentioned setting up a Citibank US dollar current account, but it appears you need to keep a balance of £2000 in this account, otherwise you are charged $20 per month service charge. TIA.

Reply to
Bryce Whiteford
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Bryce,

You can open a UK or US Savings account with Citibank - No minimum balance required.

Which ever currency account you hold with them, you can bank UK, US and Euro cheques free of charge.

Thanks Daniel

Reply to
Daniel

Daniel,

Thanks for that, but would I need to pay the $20 per month service charge, their website quotes "A monthly service charge of $20 on each US$ Current Account will be levied where the credit balance, across your UK Citibank relationship, falls below the currency equivalent of £2000. This will be calculated, at the end of the monthly period, by applying the currency exchange rate on that day to the average balances in your UK Citibank accounts"?

Reply to
Bryce Whiteford

You would with a current account, but if you hold a savings account, there is no need to maintain a minimum balance,

Daniel

Reply to
Daniel

Have you actually done this? Please explain how you have managed to pay US$ cheque into a Citibank Savings Account.

Reply to
see_reply_to_addy_but_it_aint

Yes, I've only recently opened an account, but done this successfully - If you already have an account it is in the paperwork you receive, otherwise it is listed on their site under 'Charges and Fees'.

Basically you just post off the cheque (as you would a UK cheque) with your account number and name on the back of it.

Thanks Daniel

Reply to
Daniel

Thanks, I still found it dificult to see how to do this from the literature so I called Citibank. As you say, cheques can be sent by post. But to an address which is *not* given in any literature I hold.

Now getting sterling from the foreign currency account looks expensive. Their latest rates and charges leaflet, under Foreign Currency Charges, states that they charge 3.5% to 4% for drawing currency different to the account currency. However under Funds Transfer Charges they state that payments in the UK between Citibank accounts in different currencies is charged at 0.9%

Do you have a sterling savings account as well as the foreign currency accounts, or how do you avoid the, in my opinion, expensive currency conversion to sterling charges?

Reply to
see_reply_to_addy_but_it_aint

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