The good news for anyone moving to Australia is that we have seen an improvement in the GBPAUD rate, albeit a slight one!

This morning’s price is 1.5572. That’s a healthy increase on the 1.50 price toward the end of October. Australia's central bank decision to cut interest rates this month is a move toward a more neutral monetary policy. The Australian mining boom is still posing the risk of needing to have interest rates back at a more restrictive level. From an investors perspective it closes the gap between the UK’s interest rate(0.5%) and the Australian interest rate(4.50%). It’s still more attractive to hold Aussie Dollars because of the huge difference in yields.

Back over in Europe the German Chancellors comments that the Eurozone is in its worst state since World War 2 created more uncertainty yesterday. Funds are flowing back to the safe haven currencies of choice, the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen. Although two new technocrat governments have been formed in the Eurozone, with both Greece and Italy appointing new prime ministers, it seems that investors are ever more concerned about contagion. This could drag on Australia as its economic performance is so connected to global growth.

Any questions or thoughts on the Aussie Dollar?

What discount do you give BE members?

Hi Bix,

All British Expat members get free transfer fees. A saving of £15.

Happy to discuss directly if you have any further questions.

Jordan.

But I don't pay any transfer fees now so that's not a saving.

Will you guarantee being 10% below any other rate I can find?

Don't be unreasonable.

If you think you are not paying any fees to transfer money then I think you are kidding yourself. The fees might be hidden but they are there.

So what you are saying is that Jordans offer of a free transfer just means he will hide the fee elsewhere then.

Our standard charge is £15 and owing to our partnership with British Expats we wanted to extend an offer to all members.

We are always very transparent with our rates and try to obtain the customer the best price that we can via your own personal dealer.

Hi, that's a neat sum-up!

I'm off to Perth imminently, to work. Not emigrating, just going there to work on an oil & gas project. I will need to transfer AUD to UK GBP, about GBP 8,000 per month. I would be very grateful if you could advise me which is the best value and least hassle forex company to use. I will want to be able to do everything online.

Cheers,

Check out the currency exchange page below on BE for more info!

http://exchangerates.britishexpats.com/

Any questions please let me know, i'm also happy to discuss off-line.

I am saying that no financial institution offers free money exchange as a matter of course and if you think you are already getting that then you are mistaken.

So if my current provider hides a transfer fee withing the currency quote as suggested by Bermuda and if they still offer a more competitive rate than Moneycorp what does that mean?

No, I am not naive.

I realise all costs have to be covered in some way otherwise there is not a sustainable business.

All that actually counts to me as a consumer is the bottom line irrespective of what language it comes wrapped in.

The truth is you will have to negotiate your own FX deal with your provider to get the best rate.

I do a reasonable number of transactions each month and use two online providers. I compare rates between these players and the banks and negotiate. I look at the total exchange, not the rate or the fees - both elements.

For £8000 the difference between worst and best of the major providers and high street banks will probably be in the order of $200-$300. It's therefore worth playing a couple of providers off against each other to get the best deal. Having got a good deal, keep monitoring the rate now and again as invariably it will get worse over time.

That is very valuable feedback, thanks very much!

If you want others to compare to, I've always found www.tranzfers.com to be very reasonable; helpful staff, quick transfers - been using them happily for 11 years