Best US dollar account in UK for new freelancer

[JG Media]

Hi There,

I've recently gone freelance and looking to set everything up next week.

One thing I need sorting is a US dollar account, at the moment I'm working with american clients who are paying me via paypal... I then exchange/convert the paid amount from USD to GBP using paypal and I receive a total charge of 6.4% + 0.20p for paypals service.

This basically works out at about £300 a month in charges based on the estimated hours I will be invoicing at over the next 3 months and I would much rather have this in my pocket than paypals.

The clients are willing to pay me straight to the bank but I'm guessing I will need a USD account or I'll again face exchange/conversion charges from my bank.

What bank would you suggest? I've been told JP morgan are good but I can't find any information on their site for opening an account and I've also applied to citibank and waiting on the application pack.


Thanks

J

[lje]

I've had a personal USD account with Citibank in the past which worked well.

Alternatively Cater Allen does a USD business account - I haven't used it myself though.

[pmeswani]

Hi There,

I've recently gone freelance and looking to set everything up next week.

One thing I need sorting is a US dollar account, at the moment I'm working with american clients who are paying me via paypal... I then exchange/convert the paid amount from USD to GBP using paypal and I receive a total charge of 6.4% + 0.20p for paypals service.

This basically works out at about £300 a month in charges based on the estimated hours I will be invoicing at over the next 3 months and I would much rather have this in my pocket than paypals.

The clients are willing to pay me straight to the bank but I'm guessing I will need a USD account or I'll again face exchange/conversion charges from my bank.

What bank would you suggest? I've been told JP morgan are good but I can't find any information on their site for opening an account and I've also applied to citibank and waiting on the application pack.


Thanks

J

Have you asked your bank if they offer a Dollar Account? You don't necessarily need a USD account, unless you are planning on staying in a country that trades in USD as in addition to / as opposed to any other currency. If I were you, I would ask the client to pay into your business bank account (assuming that is how you are trading right now).

Try the likes of Santender, HSBC, Barclays, Nationwide, etc. Make sure you get an IBAN / BIC number and state that on your invoices.

Don't know if this helps at all.