When I moved to Colorado Springs in 2000, I opened an account with American National Bank. They were called something else then. Anyway, I've had a good experience with them and they've handled all my banking, personal and business.
Recently, I've become associated with some top-notch consultants, a couple of whom are based in the UK. We're collaborating on a project and it turns out that my company, Surehand Inc., will be the primary contact for the project. I'll invoice the customer and the other consultants will invoice me. It should work out well.
The problem is, I have to get money into the hands of the UK guys. The only option I've found is to use wire transfers. I haven't had to deal with them much, so I looked into the cost.
A couple of weeks ago, I was downtown for business and stopped by the American National Bank main office. Figured I could get some information about wire transfers and one more problem would be gone. I was directed to a personal banker, a young man, who seemed a bit annoyed or impatient with my questions. The bad news: each wire transfer will cost $50 and it's a manual transaction.
Today, I stopped by the local branch where I conduct my business. There was a flicker of hope that the young, impatient man was wrong. This time I wound up with a personal bank who seemed pre-occupied and ready to knock me off her todo list as soon as possible. The news was no better and this time in print: $55 per wire transfer.
Okay, so I'm a little annoyed at how I felt I was treated. But I'm a bit more shocked at how small American National Bank now appears to me. I like them, but in this day and age, who wants to pay $55 per transaction and drive to the bank to do it?
I've explored two other options: Citibank and Chase. Both have fees less than $55 but Chase is significantly less. And the lady who helped me was nice. I'll switch banks to save $30 multiplied by however many wire transfers I'll make over the next couple of months.
Does anyone know of a better option?
UPDATE: Rich Mercer mentioned that he lives in the UK and Telligent wires him money via Wells Fargo. I opened an account with Wells Fargo and found the people at the nearby branch to be very friendly and helpful. The wire transfers to the UK have been successful and the cost has been $30 per transfer.
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Sean Winstead