Sending money to a relative in the US, fee free?

[JABB]

I have been administering the estate of distant cousins ( Brother and sister of a third deceased sibling ) and are about to split the proceeds between them.
One is in the UK and the other is in the US.
Is there a free of fee way to transfer the funds to the US? It would be private bank to private bank transfer?

[AW10]

The cheapest is to use someone like Wiser. Using a U.K. high street bank to convert to $ will be expensive.

[Car bon]

I always use my Revolut card (although a payment card it also does good FX and allows bank transfers). Wise is also a good option.

Generally the main 'high street' banks are the most expensive. Some will quote low fees, but then apply a poor exchange rate instead....

[JABB]

Looks like it will be expensive.
I hadn’t quite realised

It should be approximately £250000

[Car bon]

I did a similar amount with a Revolut Metal account, in smaller batches, but back to back. Once one had cleared I did the next. Cost me basically nothing as I already had the Revolut account, but even that wouldn't have been too much - and the FX rate the best I could find. I did have to go through the usual checks & prove source of funds, but was quick & painless.

Wise should offer a similar rate, but will have a one off fee.

Presumably the charges will be the responsibility of the recipient - so maybe give them the option to try to find something better ? Could their bank receive GBP and then do the FX at their end ?

Don't overly focus on the fee - keep an eye on the rate - all you really care about is the total USD received.

[AW10]

You may run into issues with money laundering checks, particularly through an online method, when the amount is as large as that. Try TorFX where you speak to a person - slightly more expensive than the likes of Wiser but quite possibly better chances of success. I used them to bring a large sum of Cdn $ into the U.K. from a legal settlement and once provided with some documentation as to the source it was easy peasy.

In my experience most small to medium US banks don’t want to know about a currency other than USD and just sending GBP can result in an unpredictable outcome.