Originally Posted by
NickB
I can certainly do much better if we are talking electronic transfers or other dematerialised operations but I would struggle doing massively less for purchasing physical banknotes.
Exactly... hence my suggestion to go through a Securities Account - in the US these are usually called Brokerage Accounts. Many times these accounts can have multi-currency accounts so you first do the trade in the "electronic realm" and once you have a balance in the currency, you draw the cash at the teller.
Don't know if your bank will allow this, but some banks do allow you to have accounts in various currencies as part of your retail banking accounts, HSBC through their Premier banking is one famous example, Citibank with their CitiGold service is another. Perhaps its best for you to first have your French bank open a US savings account, then do the ForEx trade electronically and final step draw the cash. Depending on what amount you need, it may even make sense to open the account just for this, and you can close the USD account after you draw the cash, this is especially smart if the bank will start to levy fees on that account should it remain open.... all this varies from bank to bank and from account to account. As you know, Banks say all their clients are equal but we know that some are more equal than others....
