Reply With QuoteDo you have any friends in the US who can send one on your behalf?Originally Posted by Maris
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
Having previously receiving advice on this forum for international money transfers which saved me a few quid I was wondering if anyone knows the cheapest way to send a cheque for $10 to the USA. It’s to a government department so they are totally inflexible when it comes to the payment method and has to be a cheque unfortunately.
Do you have any friends in the US who can send one on your behalf?
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
I'm assuming you'll want it tracked and signed for? RM International service will take about 3 days and should cost about £6.
If you don't want to pay that, then a 1st class international stamp costs just over £1
He will still need to get a dollar cheque.
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
Since it's only $10, stick a $10 bill in an envelope and send it by mail. Less hassle than a cheque...
The OP said it has to be a cheque.Since it's only $10, stick a $10 bill in an envelope and send it by mail. Less hassle than a cheque...
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
I took that to mean that they have no means of accepting electronic payment. Cash is an alternative that is often overlooked. What's the difference...a cheque drawn on a bank...and a Treasury banknote promising to pay the bearer, etc...
Ah, I hadn't thought about that. And I have no ideas.
Why can’t they accept PayPal like everyone else? Stupid governments.
You can order them via your online banking, which I found out recently after going in branch to order one. Shame it’s going to cost more in fees than then $10 you need to send!
You can do a draft cheque through the US post Office website.
Thanks for the suggestion but I can only see domestic USA money orders on the site. Going by the cost of international transfers my bank will charge a fortune for a $10 cheque (check).
With the number of non traditional banks starting up I thought there might be an alternative but my cause isn't helped by the fact that cheques are an outdated form of payment (outside USA anyway).
For such a low amount it looks like I'll have to try and get a $10 travellers cheque from the Post Office and risk them accepting it.
Last edited by Maris; 14th November 2018 at 10:05.
They won’t accept a travellers cheque will they, thought they were somehow linked to your name so you had to be the person cashing it in? But I might have that completely wrong as I’ve not used travellers cheques for ages.
I’d try the send them a 10 dollar bill suggestion or maybe a kind person here who lives in the states can help you out?
If their website gives their bank details, send it there and ask the bank to put it into their account. Then again, you may not have the appropriate account info.
I did that a couple of times (successfully) when eBay sellers in Germany only accepted bank transfers...which were disproportionately expensive back then.
In the USA you can pay hotels etc with travellers cheques. Theoretically if I sign it twice before sending it anyone can cash it at the bank, similar to what the aforementioned hypothetical hotel would do.
No bank details, cheque only, simple as. Some American banks don't even deal internationally, it's another world over there in some ways.
Last edited by Maris; 14th November 2018 at 15:19.
You're not wrong there man...
When I had to pay USD by cheque from a GBP bank account, my bank at the time, NatWest, told me that I didn't need a dollar cheque.
The bank's instruction was to take a regular GBP cheque, cross through the pound sign and use the dollar symbol. In the description, to use the word 'dollars' instead of 'pounds'. Simple.
It worked every time I needed to pay in USD, however, the most recent occasion was over 25 years ago. A £10-£15 handling fee would appear on my bank statement 6 months later.
Living this side of the Atlantic I can tell you it is not that simple .
I have $ bank accounts with both Scotiabank and Royal Bank of Canada - there are no US banks here only Canadian off shoots .
I can’t just send a cheque to the USA to pay a bill .
Also I won’t accept a $ US bank cheque in my business - made that mistake once , my bank told me it would cost approximately $60 to clear the cheque and take 3 months .
Posting Permissions
