Hello, I’m trying to fund an account from UK and following the Incoming Wire instructions:
Please include the following text:
FFC LPCA-<account_number>
where <account_number> is replaced by your Alpaca account number, such as “FFC LPCA-999999999”
However, my bank has a limit on the number of characters that can be used so I can only fit the account number without the “FFC LPCA-” reference before it.
Will my money be transferred safely if I include only my alpaca account number in the wire reference?
Separately, I’ve also tried to setup a (Transfer) wise.com USD account and per the alpaca ACH instructions which state “can link your bank account by routing and account numbers (micro-deposit).” but both times I’ve tried to transfer funds the deposits are cancelled without any explanation why.
I’m wondering if any other UK residents faced any of these issues and if they have overcome them?
Hello Shane, it’s been quite some time, so first a caveat that the following steps, which did work back then, and could have changed.
First,you create a wise.com account, and then within the wise.com account, create both a GBP currency account and a USD currency account.
Next, transfer the trading funds from your regular UK bank account to the wise.com GBP account, then transfer the funds from the wise.com GBP account to the wise.com USD account, so you now have GBP funds converted to USD funds.
After that, you transfer the funds from the wise.com USD account into your alpaca account.
When you want to transfer funds out of Alpaca, just reverse those steps, so from your alpaca account to wise.com USD account, to wise.com GBP account, to regular UK bank account.
It was easier to do it this way because the wise.com USD currency account has the same kind of details as a regular US banking account, so it’s easier for the alpaca account to integrate with the wise.com USD account, and it also gives you more control over (and possibly better exchange rates) than a bank wire.