garywarby

HI,
My partner and I hope to be in Brisbane in about 10 weeks, there are many reasons for the move quality of life blah blah blah! but the opportunity has arisen because the of the housing situation in the UK. We have no savings, however the profit on the house means that we will clear approx 23K, after paying off Grad loans and various other forms of debt (parents and such) we should be over there with about 13-15K.

We are looking at the move as a permanent one (4 yr Visa) and will probably apply for PR after 2 years or so. My partner Clare is a Radiographer so hopefully will get work fairly quickly, myself I don't care what I do! What we are struggling with is what to do with our little nest egg! It's not a llot of money, but it is to us! Do we change it all?Change some? or leave it in the UK and use it as and when? Because we are paying off our mrtgage early we have been stung with a redemtion fee, we are tied in with RBS until 2006 so we have to pay an extra 2K, B*******!

I have been told that changing £'s into $'s in OZ is more benefiial because UK banks take abigger piece of the pie! Can anyone confirm or deny!

Please Help!

Kiwipaul

I cannot advise where is the best place to change money. But the best method of moving money is to use a telegraphic transfer.

You do need a bank account in Oz to move the money too, but speak to your bank and find out which bank they are associated with in Oz. They will then be able to open an account up in Oz for you before you leave.

They can then transfer the money for you whenever you request it and it costs about 15 pounds and it happen virtually overnight.

Stan J

I tend to get a Banker's cheque drawn in the foreign (British or Australian) and lodge it in the bank account shortly after arrival. As it takes a few days to clear you'll also need access to some cash to tie you over.

Some 'Bureau de Change' whether banks or otherwise take fees from the spread (the difference between buy and sell rates) and some have a fixed charge and others a mixture.

As banks tend to cluster in the high street you can always do the rounds and enquire as to who will offer you most dollars for pounds.

You may have future need for a UK bank account (eg to pay voluntary national insurance contributions) and you may
need to consider the tax implications of maintaining bank accounts in the UK ...

http://www.australia.org.uk/ausuk/html/banks.html

garywarby

Thanks guys,
I will take on board what you have said, and investigate further!

bored_bean

xe.com also do telegraphic transfers and are up front about their rates. I'm seriously considering them.

Alan Collett

Have a chat with one of the specialist currency firms. Their exchange rates are almost certainly better than the High Street banks and many don't charge a fee for remitting funds to Australia: they make their money on the small turn that is the difference between the rate they offer you (as I say still better than the rates from the High Street banks) and the rate they obtain on the money market.

I'm comfortable recommending Halewood International in Windsor - if you are interested call the Private Client Desk on 01753 859159.

Hope this helps.

MaggieLou

Try looking at westpac.com as they seem to be fully loaded for us brits with all our questions.
Maggie Lou