Can't she just do a bank transfer? That has to be the easiest way to do it. Either to her own US account or to yours if that won't cause you problems with tax etc.

She needs to talk to her bank - they will advise her on the best way to go about it. She is leaving it all a bit late mind!

If she gets a check from her UK bank and deposits in the US they will take a large fee for changing currencies and will probably want a sizable number of days for the check to clear.

Agree it would be easier to ask them to transfer to her account in the US. She will still pay fee for changing currencies, but will have immediate access to the money.

If she has an HSBC account in the U.S. she can probably just do an electronic transfer. The next best way is to send a wire transfer to a parent. The third best way is actually Western Union. Both a wire transfer or Western Union are going to cost about $20.

Or she could simply bring cash. I realize it seems antiquated, but she can legally carry up to $10K in cash and not even have to declare it. But she'll avoid the currency-exchange fees much easier with an electronic transfer.

Thank you. Really, PayPal is her best answer because they charge no fee for changing currency. I'm sure they make it back on the exchange rate but it's simple to make the exchange. They may limit the amount that can be sent though. She's looking into that now.

taking the cash will be cheapest, then she only has to pay the exchange rate converting from sterling to dollars, either before she leaves the UK or in the USA.

Transferring electronically, or by cheque, will incur additional charges; either the cost of the electronic transfer or processing a sterling cheque in a US bank, plus an exchange rate conversion

Use a bank wire transfer. Takes about 3 days, costs about $30, and is secure. I've done this a number of times from different countries to and from the USA.

Hoo boy, wouldn't trust Western Union.

Cash would really be king here if she doesn't opt for the wire, and she'd probably get a better rate in the UK because UK banks are far more accustomed to flipping currencies than US banks so the rates tend to suck less (don't equate "no fee" with "no charge").

And $1600 isn't that much. She may be asked about money, but unless she's carrying wads of hundreds and getting off a flight from a drug portal, she should not run into trouble.

Unfortunately, you can't just cash out and stick it all in a diplomatic pouch . . .

I should have mentioned that you get the interbank transfer rate with a bank wire transfer. This will save you several percent in exchange *commission* and/or spread if you take the £s in cash and exchange it for $s.

Could she close the account by using http://www.xe.com/xetrade/ and have the entire account transferred over to a U.S. Bank?

She ought to be able to do a bank transfer for less than $30 (mine charges £15) from her computer, if she's nervous about carrying cash.

Though Western Union involves taking cash to a convenience store (or the competitor, MoneyGram, requires her to take cash to a post office) they're both completely trustworthy. The (very considerable) security risks with both are to do with sending money to someone you don't know: that doesn't apply in your case.

HSBC has some of the lowest rates for bank transfer (it's on the website)

Western Union is trustworthy AND expensive, for pete's sake.
HSBC has American locations. Just found out about that because of the money laundering they did. Do a bank to bank wire transfer.

I may be missing the absolute obvious here but could she not just take her ATM card to the US draw the cash out over 4 days and leave a standing instruction with HSbC that once the balance is cleared, they should close the account down,

ATMs are usually the most cost effective method of international transfer. Western Union is silly expensive and usually for desperate or criminal activity.

Dickie_Gr, I do think she could use her ATM card in the U.S. and use that method to clear out the account, but I don't know if it can be closed here or if it has to be done in the UK.

But I completely disagree with your opinion about Western Union. The company now offers many more reliable and reasonably cost-effective ways to transfer funds legitimately. And a lot of people use the service for international transfers, not just the desperate and criminals. That's simply not a fair description of the company's customers. The cost is comparable to a wire transfer at a bank and allows someone who can't accept a wire transfer to get funds quickly and efficiently.

my experience is that the US end of the deal is often the "hidden cost" and hence Western looks relatively low cost, but it is a couple of years since I had to do it commercially. It may be that the company has turned the corner and become a customer-friendly corporation but its brand image is still one of a dinosaur

I bank with HSBC and they are one of the few global banks.

They will need a signed letter to enact the closure. Ring them from the US using their international number which I have, this will close the account.

Last time I entertained WU around 3 years ago the total transaction costs amounted to 8%. I was neither desparate or a drug dealer.

Don't close the account! Leave a few pounds in it... one never knows when it might come in handy. Setting up a new account in the UK unless you are a resident is impossible as far as I know.

I agree the easiest thing to do is just use an ATM once home. Don't use Western Union... as far as I'm concerned they are reliable but she'll lose money on the exchange rate.

"Don't close the account! Leave a few pounds in it... "

As long as there aren't high fees, I agree w/ ParisAmsterdam. I can't count the number of times I've wished I still had an acct in the UK. Could come in handy for future travels or even some on-line purchases.

The problem with taking the money out at ATMs in the US is that, unless she decides to keep the account it will be impossible to withdraw the exact balance of the account.
If she decides to keep the account she needs to check on any fees, and how long HSBC will let the account sit dormant before they decide unilaterally to close it.

"Don't close the account! Leave a few pounds in it... one never knows when it might come in handy."

That might work if she maintains a UK address and keeps the account active. If she doesn't, where would the bank send the statements? After a period the account would be declared dormant and she would lose the money. I doubt they would be willing to send correspondence to a foreign address unless the account was set up expressly for that purpose.

Hetismij2, the period before going dormant for current accounts is usually a year, or 3-5 years for savings accounts. It's up to the individual bank.

"If she doesn't, where would the bank send the statements?

Many banks will send e-mail statements. One of my banks has discontinued paper statements unless one specifically requests them.