STEVE&TERRI

Hi, can anyone advice us how to take our money over to Australia,when the time comes.(should not be long now)
Friends of ours have emigrated just over a week ago,they opened a HSBC account here before they went,because they were told they would have no problem getting there money as they have these banks in Perth,anyway they have had a nightmare trying to get there money out.
My friend advised us to withdraw all our money out of our account (also HSBC)and just to take a bankers draft,to open a Australian bank account.I just think there has got to be a easier way to take your money over.She also advised me that HSBC in Australia charged her £24 for every £1000 she changed into $.
Can some one advice us the best and the cheapest way to exchange the £ to $ any help would be appappreciatedd thankyou
Terri

Buzzy--Bee

May I suggest doing a search on the forum for money transfer and bank accounts. These subjects have been discussed ad nauseam so you will find tons of info.

Good luck.

Buzzy

SBUK

We've just downloaded account application forms from ANZ..they seem straight forward www.anz.com/au

paulf

I just downloaded the Commonwealth bank application, was going to open a ANZ account BUT they want an Australian address too, and so cant do it.

Scotty123

£ -> Gold -> AU$

nah im only joking but it seems like a good idea :P

poppet

We have opened an ANZ account and left the Aus address part blank - they have written back with our account details. We are able to make deposits but unable to make withdrawals until we present our ID in person at an ANZ branch in Australia. Was all very straightforward - downloaded form from web and sent it by post. 2 weeks later letter was received confirming account details. So far so good! Can't yet comment on how easy it is when we get there as we aren't flying out for another 5 weeks.

Melbguy

Hi,
Before we came over we opened a migrant account with commonwealth. Basically you have an acount set up for you in london, then when you arrive in Oz you goto the main bank in which ever city you choose and an account is automatically produced and the money is bounced over. Costs about $25.00 but was very hassle free. WWW.commonwealth.com and you should be able to find their tel. number.

Centurion

Your friend knows how to loose money! Do not get bank exchange rates. They are terrible by comparison. Here's some tips:

Dont open a Commonwealth Account. We did and regretted it. They charge a lot and are known as a rip off bank. The only thing they offer is the ability to open an account from the UK which isnt necessary.

You can simply walk into any bank in Australia and open an account when here. There are plenty of choices and most offer non fee accounts. Then you simply contact an exchange broker, such as www.ozforex.com and get your UK bank to CHAPS the payment to the account details they give you. Give the broker your Australian details and 24 hours later you have a load of Aussie dollars.

After you do the large exchange then for anything smaller then use http://www.tranzfers.com They are the sister company to Ozforex and will give you a real time rate to exchange money which will beat the banks and will do very small amounts as well as larger.

Some banks which offer good products : National Bank of Australia, ANZ, Westpac, St George.

Its really really easy to do and fast and avoids rip of bank exchange rates and charges and means you dont have to open one of the limited number of accounts that you can open from the UK.

Some people on here seem to advocate HSBC in Australia. Personally I like a bank branch that is relatively near to me so when I have to transact in person (which does happen from time to time - draw large amounts or deposit etc) I can actually go down the road to do it. HSBC has 3 branches in the entire of Queensland and I dont want to have to drive into the city especially to see my bank!

No doubt others can offer more. Dont panic about it though. We found initially that our bank in the UK did everything by phone and we would just phone them from Australia to transfer money etc. Too easy.

ABCDiamond

Did they only open a UK HSBC account, and then try to access is from Australia ?

If so, that was the problem.
They should have opened an Australian HSBC Account aswell. When I did my transfer it cost £10 on the UK side, and Nothing on the Australia side, for a sum of $300k+

The same should be able to be done using the ANZ and Westac banks who also have easy to set up accounts for new migrants.

thribble

We opened a Commonwealth Account. Okay, the figures we were transferring were small-ish (we didn't sell our house), but we found them good. They were very helpful, and we had no problems at all. Except the obvious banking charges issues, which all banks over here seem to have.

Until a week ago. We'd transferred the second lot of money - allocated for bond on flat, etc, etc. It didn't come across as quickly as it should have done and has lead to a world of trouble - getting money out on Visa cards, which we now have to work out how to pay back as all our money is in Oz (aargh) etc. All compounded by the fact that the Commonwealth opening hours are 9:30 - 4pm. What on EARTH?!?!? There's no way you can get there if you're working. The other banks seem to at least stay open until 5. They could see the money had gone into the London account, they had the instruction to pay us dollars, but it hadn't been validated, so they wouldn't give us the money until 3:50 pm the NEXT day.

Basically, as soon as our broadband is connected, we're searching for a new bank. They're rubbish at realising that without the customer's money they're just a big building.

paulf

Quality information, many thanks.
One question though, do the UK bank need to be notified of this BEFORE the person leaves the UK?

ABCDiamond

If you need local branch facilities check out ANZ.
Not sure about other branches, but our local ANZ is open on Saturday from 10:00 till 2:00.

helpwithvisa

I wish somone had of told me about HIFX. they are currency brokers who take a commission (but still considerably less than the banks). Also, the more money you transfer, the better the rate you get. they will track the market and then advise you when would be a good time to exchange the sterling for A$.

As for HSBC, there are only a number of branches in Australia. Banks here generall like to make money out of their customers by charging collosal bank fees. Consider joing a credit union (we have our mortgage and our personal accounts with the CUA).

All the best with your future in australia
Andy Sinclair-Ford
sf-migration-australia.co.uk

ABCDiamond

Quite a few Australian banks now have accounts that charge $5 per month for unlimited transcations (ANZ and Westpac being two) and some have zero fees for a limited number of transactions, whilst others are fee free for both limited and unlimited transaction accounts.

You do need to shop around, and get the best deal. (Do not, like so many people do, just accept that they all charge high fees and accept it without checking other options).
It would probably help if people didn't always say that ALL Australian banks charge high fees, and condition new readers into thinking that is actually correct.

UK banks are also negotiable with exchange rates, do not just accept the normal bank rate. If you do transfer via a bank, negotiate the rate with the manager. This only tends to work if you have a reasonable sum to transfer, but they can and do equal or beat the money transfer specialists if they want to. It does depend though, IF the bank wants to

Welshie

I opened an ANZ bank account from the Uk and unlocked it when I got here. You can download application form on their website. You can transfer money into it from the UK too and just unlock it from the other side. You can phone them to check on the transfer too. We did that and also brought a bankers draft over with us to pay in as soon as we got here. It was dead simple and the UK bank charged us 15 pounds for it and it was for 200K. We also have a UK income being transferred over every month as an international standing order...costs hardly anything and ANZ give us their best rate to transfer to dollars every month. I bought over a bankers draft because the UK bank gave me a very good rate and I felt it was 'safer'. For a bankers draft you get a much better rate anyway than the standar daily rate.

There are lots of transfer companies too which will give you a good rate. Be wary though....and read into it all before entrusting a company you don't know with your money!! Do a search on here for money transfers...lots of people here have done it.

Good luck

Rachel