Transferring Money($20,000) from USA to Ireland

ysenthilece

Hello,

I am currently working in Texas, USA and moving to Ireland next month.
I am planning to transfer my savings to Ireland and wondering what the most economical way is.

I have looked at some options like wire transfer, western union and traveler's checks. Any advice from someone who has experience in this would be helpful.

Thanks,
Senthil

Bluefox21

While obviously just my opinion I think the Dollar is due a rise against the euro to around 1.35 over the coming months. US data improving while eurozone is being hammered (on a fundamentals front)..... countless will hold opposite opinion but u could do worse then keep it in dollars... if u need to spend it moving over for that amount of money u should be able to sort something out with your bank. Do you have an Irish bank account?

ysenthilece

Thanks for the advice. I will watch out for the rise.

I would need some money initially to get a car and settle down in Ireland.
I have been to Ireland only on a few short trips. So I don't have an Irish bank account yet.

JTMan

You need to sort out an Irish bank account as a first step.

If you want to convert the USD to EUR, when you have a EUR account open, use an online currency broker such as currency.ie, banks do not offer good rates.

Marcusm

for these sorts of sums, Western Union is the last thing you shuld think about. First you need to decide what curency you want to have the money in, will you be spending it in Irleand/Eurozone within a short period or do you expect to continue retaining savings.

ysenthilece

@Fungus: Thanks. I wasn't aware of currency.ie. Do they give the best rates or are they other companies like this?

@Marcusm: I will be spending this money in Ireland to buy a car and setup a house.
I am assuming it is better than taking a car loan whose interest rates seem to be over 10%.

JTMan

ysenthilece wrote: »

@Fungus: Thanks. I wasn't aware of currency.ie. Do they give the best rates or are they other companies like this?

They offer better rates than a bank. There are other online currency brokers out there.