spouse of scouse

We need to transfer about 40,000 pounds to a solicitor in the UK, who's acting for us in our purchase of an off plan apartment. There'll be 3 more payments we'll need to make over the next couple of years. We used our online Australian bank account to send the reservation fee and while the fee was reasonable ($22), the exchange rate was terrible, about 50p to the dollar. I've done some Google research and there seems to be a lot of - I don't know what they're called, exchange brokers?, who offer much better rates, around 57p to the dollar currently. Halo is one of them.

These are big transactions for us and we're a bit nervous. Does anyone know of a good company/exchange broker for this type of transaction? I'll put up a week's free accommodation in Liverpool for a good tip. Second prize is 2 weeks

Rhubarb65

Hi Spouse of Scouse,

I've used service called XE Trade from a company called XE.com. I've used the service 6 or 7 times to transfer funds, initially from the UK to AU and more recently in the other direction. I have always found them excellent and you should easily beat the rate given by your bank.

The initial set-up took a couple of weeks (identity checks for anti-money laundering, I think).

http://www.xe.com/xetrade/

spouse of scouse

Great info Rhubarb, cheers for that. Have just set up an online account with them, once they approve the ID docs we should be all set. Much appreciated

OzTennis

We used OzForex/UKForex for a very large transfer to a UK bank account - no fee, very competitive exchange rate and very efficient service. A 'no brainer' using them in my view FWIW.

Alfresco

There is also:

http://www.exchange4free.com.au/

Used them to Transfer from South Africa to Oz and recently UK to Oz.

Beoz

50p ..... thats taking the .......

I have a HSBC premier account with instant transfers at a decent rate between UK and Oz. For a small fee I can help you out.

Hino

+1 I'm another OzForex fan. The first transaction was a little 'long winded' but after the first it was plain sailing.

spouse of scouse

Thanks everyone, it's great to have some good recommendations. Beoz, you win a whole month in Liverpool. BYO flak jacket

LeeWillo

I'll second this. I use these or currencyonline every fortnight when I get paid to send money to UK account. It is normally done in about 3 days, although this time it took a week for some reason.

OzTennis

Ours took 2 days from memory but was for a large amount so don't know if it got better than normal service? We had a dealer appointed who kept in touch regularly by email and phone prior to the transfer so it was done at the best time to suit; booked a call for a certain day and time to deal and they called on the dot and so on, very smooth and efficient.

northernbird

I use Ozforex every month and they are fantastic.

astera

Best option imo. Just have a multi-currency account in both countries and Premier status, and then you can use the GetRate feature in Australia to convert AUD into GBP before sending the funds between your GBP account in Australia and your GBP account in the UK. With Premier status the funds are credited between these accounts instantly. And the transfer is free of course.

spouse of scouse

Sounds good astera, only problem is we don't have a bank account in the UK yet. Don't know if we could open one from Oz?

I put in an application for XE but I'm finding them really pushy, 2 phone calls on successive nights after 10pm. I'm going to have a look at Oz/UK forex since so many of our esteemed members use that.

Many thanks for the replies everyone, I really appreciate it

Beoz

If you can get a HSBC Premier account in Oz then they can open one up for you in any country. They offered to open a US one for me a few weeks back.

The catch is you need some funds to deposit with them first. Not sure of the amount but it's best to go and talk to them.

spouse of scouse

Cheers Beoz.