bill drinkwater

Hi all,just had some paperwork through this morning from HIFX,doesnt make any reference to a fee,charge,or %,so how do they make money when you transfer through them,or am i just being dumb here? . Also whats the general feel about them,good or bad??thanks,Bill.

Oakie

I should imagine the rate of exchange you will get is marginally lower than the merchant exchange rate they will buy at. Although the differences are small, they make plenty of cash over large transactions.

I'm not sure how good they are, but seemed pretty helpful when I contacted them. They are one of the few I am looking at along with currency solutions and ozforex. The ozforex site offer transparency over the merchant rates and offered rates, so you know exactly how much money they are making. Go with one who is Australian accredited, as they need to be to transfer the money at the other end.

MarkandJulie

We used HIFX and had no problems at all

OzTennis

Yep, we've had very efficient and trouble free service from HIFX on a number of transfers. They work like a supermarket - deal in bulk on low margins. They might 'buy' A$'s etc at say $2.37 to £1 and 'sell' them to us at say $2.36 to £1. I don't know what their actual margins are but you get the picture. They don't charge a fee in addition to their margin on the trade.

Sometimes you can get a better rate than HIFX will offer so it pays to shop around. Their rate depends also on the amount you are trading, change lots of £'s and they'll give you a better rate. The likes of the Commonwealth Bank charges a flat fee (was £10 or £15 last time I used it) and sometimes will offer a better rate.

Financial regulations have changed in Australia so HIFX had to set up a Sydney office for people living in Australia to deal with (rather than UK office). Do a search on HIFX in this forum and plenty will come up.

OzTennis

wmoore

I seem to recall getting 2c / £ less than the published rate, which I was more than happy with

cranni

W e went with HIFX , great, did not charge a penny and money was here on the 4yh day, we got 2.55. i guess they make their money from the interest, that our money makes. Denise

OzTennis

Just to be pedantic they did charge you, their 'charge' was hidden in the slightly lower rate they gave you. The alternative would be to give you a better rate and charge a fee on top but the former looks a lot better from a marketing perspective doesn't it?

On WmM's point the 'published' rate is always the interbank rate, the consumer will always get a cent or two below this - just like comparing wholesale and retail prices.

OzTennis

bridiej

Must admit I found HIFX and Currencies Direct quite pushy - they kept phoning me up to check what was going on with our circumstances. I used Ozforex / Tranzfers for our exchange, they were really helpful (even though I insulted a Kiwi by asking him where in Oz he came from - oops!), gave us a decent rate and it was all done and dusted dead easy, no hassle

arkon

They get interest on everyones 10% deposit.

OzTennis

When I've spot traded I've had to send 100% within x working days - no time to earn much interest - and the funds are soon whisked away to our account in Australia? Do deposits relate to forward trades?

OzTennis

wmoore

Yes I think so. I paid 100% within a couple of days too.

arkon

Yes its the forward trades, we had a forward trade of nearly a year and the 10% deposit would have earnt them something.

bill drinkwater

Thanks everyone!

cranni

what does pedantic mean.

arkon

Got six legs I think.