Short and simple: I need to send a check or money order from here in the States to the UK for 100 pounds. What’s the fastest way I can do it: check from the bank, money order, Western Union, other?
You say ‘check’, we say ‘cheque’. Whatever the spelling, the check won’t do any good unless it is drawn on a UK bank. If it isn’t, then when the recipient here in the UK takes it into his bank they will either refuse to accept it OR it will take a very long time to clear because it will have to be sent all the way back to the States before it does.
There are Western Union offices here in the UK, but they are very few and far between and nobody I know has ever used one or would know where to go to find one. There may well not be one anywhere near your intended recipient.
An International Money Order would work, but your friend would have to take it to his nearest Main Post Office, not his bank, where it would work the same way as what we here in the UK call a Postal Order.
The quickest way to get money from the US to the UK is a direct bank transfer. You go to your bank and fill out a form, and they pay the money directly into your friend’s account here in the UK. It costs a fair few dollars, and costs more the more urgently you want the transfer to go through. You will need the recipient’s name, the name of his bank and the address of the branch which holds his account, his sort code and his account number.
International Money Orders are available at any Post Office. In my experience, those are the quickest and easiest, barring bank transfers. And in my experience with Ebay, I’ve sent money damn-near everywhere.
I have not tried an international money order, but I have gotten checks drawn in foreign currencies many times from places like Thomas Cook or American Express. They usually cost about $35 or so, and a check is given to you right on the spot.
You might want to check out your bank’s online services. My bank offers international transfers and foreign checks at rather good prices - around $20 each, if I remember correctly. The electronic transfers are the fastest way to go.
ianzin: Funny you should say “cheque”–I originally wrote “check (cheque),” but I ran out of space to do so!
Ravenman: Hey, I forgot about American Express. I’ll see if there’s an office nearby (I live in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metro sprawl). They are a little pricey, but they will do things in a hurry and that’s what I’m after here.
I haven’t been able to get through to the office I’m dealing with to see if they accept wire transfers, which my bank will do, and I’ll have to do it first thing tomorrow. I have a suspicion that they don’t (they don’t accept credit cards, either), so it looks like Amex or International Money Order is the next option.
Thanks a million for your help!