Regarding your first point I recently used www.transferwise.com recently to transfer money from my UK bank account (GBP) to a US bank account (USD). It was pret

Regarding your first point I recently used www.transferwise.com recently to transfer money from my UK bank account (GBP) to a US bank account (USD). It was pretty quick (took 3 days) and I got a very good rate (taking into account the fees involved). I'd definitely recommend them.