John R. Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:
> What do people here recommend? In the past, I've used the Japanese Post 
> Office, Lloyds Bank, and some other bank (can't remember which one 
> offhand).
> 
> I haven't sent money for a while, but, as I recall it, the handling 
> charges may be only the tip of the iceberg. More important - especially 
> if one is sending large amounts - is the exchange rate.
> 
> If I recall correctly, the post office simply used to check the exchange 
> rate for that day and convert the money from yen into dollars or 
> whatever at the going rate, with no percentile or commission. Is that 
> still the case the case these days? I did a bit of googling, but 
> couldn't seem to find the info.
> 
> Lloyds, on the other hand, is currently offering an exchange rate of 
> 214.46 yen to the pound sterling, whereas http://www.xe.com/ucc/ gives 
> today's rate as 211.145 yen to the pound. That would add up to a 
> difference of some 65 pounds sterling ($120) per million yen. Lloyds 
> also charges a commission of 2000 yen per currency exchange. But then, 
> this seems to be their exchange rate for cash; it isn't clear from their 
> website what rate they would apply to an international transfer.
> 
> Can anyone confirm which method offers the best *overall* value, 
> including both handling charges and exchange rates?

Check out the following news article and do your own research:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/24/yourmoney/mtransfer.php

I've recently set up a couple of regular transfers to a couple of 
accounts through this system but one in a row isn't representative.  On 
average, it appears to be the cheapest if not the fastest.  As long as 
you stick with major countries and major banks it gets around a lot of 
the hassles and the fees.

CL