Transferring money to the U.S. from Germany

Hey Guys,

I need to transfer about 5000 euros to my US account. Whats the cheapest and fastest way to do this. Western Union has a limit of 1000 euros, and they charge like 50 euros for this. So its too much!!

Electronic bank transfer is a way but I am little apprehensive about the time and US fedral IRS. I have my account here with Sparkasse and US with Chase.

How feasible is to get traveller checks, how much they would cost??

-Goliath

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I use XE.com but setting up an account is not quick but will yield you the best rate overall.

I did a bank transfer (DB) to my Canadian account a couple months back. I keep my Can Visa so I actually have a CC, not the 'mandatory debit' of my DB visa. Transferred 3keuro, no problem. Cost me 11 euros here plus 15 CAN$ there. Took 24 hours.
As for the IRS, well in canada you can have up to 30K a year income and not declare it. So I'm not worried. Maybe the US has something similar?

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KT

Ask either or both of TT's advertised currency transfer brokers for a quote.

I don't understand your concerns about the IRS, ratndeep. The amount of currency you can personally bring with you out of the U.S. is regulated, and customs/immigration officials can search you, but whether in those circumstances or when electronically transferring funds I don't follow why the IRS would care. Perhaps they'd be suspicious if you were transferring 5000 Euros every day for a year, but not as a 'one time' transaction.

As to whether any limits apply to electronic foreign currency exchange funds transfers, many institutions impose their own limits, but does anyone know whether this is regulated by law?