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Best Dollar bank accounts for UK business

by Jon12345
8 replies
I get half my income in dollars, which are normally just paid into my UK sterling bank account. Some of this money is paid in large lump sums (e.g. $2K) whilst others are small amounts (e.g. $20).

Also, I make payments currently using PayPal for many dollar services, mostly amounts lower than $20.

What I am looking for is a business bank account in dollars, where the transaction fees are low so that I can do smaller payments without any extortionate fees. Also, low general fees would be good.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Jon
#accounts #bank #business #dollar
  • Profile picture of the author Valdor Kiebach
    HSBC are always touting themselves as 'the worlds local bank'
    Go and call their bluff.

    Their recent advert went on about how 'in the future' even small business will operate on the global stage, well it isn't 'in the future' it is now.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Hi Jon,

      I'm in a similar position (except a lot more than 50% of my income arrives in dollars). Just a suggestion to think about, perhaps, but it may possibly turn out to be worth opening a US$ account at a Jersey (BCI) branch of one of the main UK banks: they've very acclimatised to people wanting to do this, tend to be fast and efficient about it, and can have very low charges if they "want your business" (it can even be worth negotiating with them, a little - not something they advertise!). Maybe worth trying people like HSBC/Barclays in Jersey?
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      • Profile picture of the author cooler1
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Hi Jon,

        I'm in a similar position (except a lot more than 50% of my income arrives in dollars). Just a suggestion to think about, perhaps, but it may possibly turn out to be worth opening a US$ account at a Jersey (BCI) branch of one of the main UK banks: they've very acclimatised to people wanting to do this, tend to be fast and efficient about it, and can have very low charges if they "want your business" (it can even be worth negotiating with them, a little - not something they advertise!). Maybe worth trying people like HSBC/Barclays in Jersey?
        When you say can have very low charges do you mean they charge a monthly or yearly fee for having a US$ Jersey account? If so, how much are the charges typically?
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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          Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

          When you say can have very low charges do you mean they charge a monthly or yearly fee for having a US$ Jersey account?
          I think some will give a year's business banking without any bank charges subject to remaining in credit (and/or - in some cases - maybe subject to having a certain balance; not sure about this). I believe the ones that offer an initial year without bank charges may "negotiate" that up to two years, either when the account's opened or at the end of the first year.

          Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

          If so, how much are the charges typically?
          Sorry - I don't know this. Was simply making a suggestion in case it helped to have a look at it: my "hard information" about this is probably over 3 years old, now, and in banking that's a long time.
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          • Profile picture of the author datingworld
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            I think some will give a year's business banking without any bank charges subject to remaining in credit (and/or - in some cases - maybe subject to having a certain balance; not sure about this). I believe the ones that offer an initial year without bank charges may "negotiate" that up to two years, either when the account's opened or at the end of the first year.
            well said Alexa,

            I did the same with Barclays, got 1 year without bank charges subject to a minimum of £1000 balance all the time.
            But they agreed that after year, they will look into my activities and if they are happy they might extend it to 2 years without bank charges [or very low fees if free service cannot be offered]
            I went to their head office in Canary Wharf [though it is quite uncommon they would offer such services in their headoffice but if you live in London, better you go there and try your luck]
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  • Profile picture of the author Donimo
    I completely agree that finding a bank which offers dollar balances is really important.

    I'm from the UK and my business bank is Barclays. However, every time I receive, or even send a payment in dollars I get charged some ridiculous fee.
    I'm going to call them about this soon, as when I created the bank I'm pretty sure they said it would be possible to create a dollar account at one point.

    HSBC may advertise themselves as the worlds 'local bank', but I would be really suprised if they didnt also charge that dollar fee.
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  • Profile picture of the author ErikNilsson
    Bank of America Has lot options for Business Accounts ... Just try them
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Smale
    I use Barclays as around 80% of my income is in USD. Their exchange rates (if you're ever moving money from USD to GBP) are far better than HSBC. HSBC offer terrible exchange rates and you'll end up losing a lot of cash if you move money around often.

    Only issue with Barclays right now is that their online banking doesn't work for their USD accounts - so you have to do all your transfers over the phone and in branch. Not going to be a major issue if you do it once a month but if you're moving money around often it's a lot of hassle.

    If you're trying to pay for services in the US from your USD account it's still going to cost you - you can't get a debit/credit card for your USD account and it is still an international wire if you send money to the US. The main benefit is you don't get hit by exchange rate fluctuations if you're earning/paying out USD all the time.

    Banks always offer poor exchange rates between currencies, so if you're moving reasonably amounts of money (at least $10k) into GBP regularly then you should also work with a FX broker who will get you a much better rate. If you're just moving smaller sums it's probably quicker/easier to use your bank. Just don't use HSBC as their rates are terrible!
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