I've done some searches on here for similar topics, but haven't really found the information that I need.

We are US citizens who live and work here in CH. We still maintain a US bank account, but since we earn money here, we need to figure out how to transfer money to our US account. How is this done? Is this something that we would do through our Swiss bank? I have absolutely no idea where to start.

Yes, and it's fairly easy.
I have credit suisse - i do an international transfer without iban. I've set transfers up in my template file (using internet banking). First time, you may need someone in the bank to help walk you through it.

You'll need your us bank info - physical address, account number and routing number, name of the account holders, amount of transfer. You fill in the form...

Mine looks like this - it's free text

Account holder name
Bank name
Bank address
Account: 12345678
Routing: 987654321 (i specify which is the account and which is the routing).

Us banks do not use iban numbers. They do use swift/bic.

You might check with your US bank for the appropriate routing numbers. They can differ for check vs. wire transfer.

If you do this a lot, something like xe.com as an intermediary might save money on the currency exchange.

My transfers are received by the US bank generally the next day. I've sent family members money to small banks and that arrives with a couple of days.

Yes, I did this (Credit Suisse to Bank of America) five or six times, but I was getting annoyed by the wire transfer fees (on both sides). I set up an account at xe.com and have transferred a few times through them, and am much happier - the rate is better, and there are no wire transfer fees. You can also set FX alerts, so you can transfer when the rate you want is available, too. I've also been happy with their service - I was nervous, admittedly, about sending lots of money to some random company, but they have been very responsive on the phone.

Excellent!! This is just what I was looking for. Thank you so much for your help!

Great!! This is very good to know. Thank you so much for your response!

In the past, I used to transfer money free of charge using PayPal. It took about a week, though, and I don't know if such can still be done.

A really poor exchange rate .

Use xe.com. The transfer from Swiss account to US account has been taking 2 days for me...crazy fast.

Another recommend for XE. I transfer from my Post Finance account (wire to their swiss address) into my Chase account (using the EFT deposit option), and don't pay fees on either end. It is also super fast.

I did use xe.com once and was assessed a fee of about $15US, so I never did it again. I 'll have to look into it.

What's the typical spread for xe.com?

Can someone with an account get a quote for a transfer of CHF1000.- to USD today? They're showing the mid at 1.07827 but I bet you will get as 1.05 or 1.04 USD to every 1 CHF

1000 chf = 1061.57 usd

Ok thanks.
The price is competitive compared to bank transfers (1.6 cents to the dollar as opposed to 3 or 4 cents) but could be a lot better like half a cent or something. Unfortunately there are only a few players in this business and they make a lot of money from people who don't know any better.

Check also swissquote, as you can exchange CHF to USD there and they charge around 75pips (0.0075) + fees for transfer ($10), or IB but as discussed in another thread this is not for one off money exchanges, they're really competitive though.

Not when one the money is transfered to PayPal in USD.

Banks in US have certain type of accounts that would waive transfer fee such as citibank gold. I am sure all other banks have these type of accounts. Just need to maintain minimum balance but those accounts also provide better exchange rates too. Not sure about transfer fee at Swiss banks though.

This may be linked to the delivery method chosen? $15 is what my bank charges for a wire transfer, but EFTs are free. I never paid more than the spread in using XE. (usually 1.5 cents to the dollar or so)

I also recommend XE Trade. I did a lot of research beforehand and found that they have the best rates around (unless you're sending many tens of thousands of dollars at one time). When directly sending a wire transfer from your Swiss bank to the US bank, you get hit with fees on both ends. But with XE, you wire some money from your Swiss bank to their Swiss bank, then they EFT the same amount from their US bank to your US bank. While it may sound sketchy, it works really well. For instance, I will receive my Swiss paycheck late Thursday evening, setup a wire transfer to XE on Friday morning, and have the money delivered to my US bank Friday afternoon/evening.

Good luck!

I agree. You definitely want to EFT. Wiring into a US bank incurs a fee.

There is a firm based here in Barcelona that I am going to use the next time I make a transfer to my US account. Have a look at www.kantox.com

They are very highly regarded amongst the early stage crowd that I work with. What I am not sure of if it is appropriate for individuals to use for sending a few thousand $s or €s. Will try and find out because the pricing looks pretty good.

fduvall

It's interesting if you move enough money- there is a yearly fee of €259 (or 295), i think from the small print.