HUP

Don't know if this has already been posted but I just thought I would let you know of something that happened recently.

I am in Australia and have an account with HIFX in the UK. I rang them to organise an exchange of some sterling to dollars. When they found out that I was in Oz already I was informed that they were not allowed to do the transfer for me. Some new Oz government rules apparantly. I was told that if they did it they could be fined several million dollars. It would appear that to use HIFX from the UK you had better not tell them you are in OZ. I am sure some of the more business brained on the site will supply more information.

JAJ

It sounds odd to me. I would be cautious about believing anything like that without having a reference to something official to back it up.

There is no foreign exchange control in Australia and hence no legal problem with Australian residents having foreign bank accounts or trading in foreign currency, as long as tax obligations are met.

Alan Collett might know more.

Jeremy

HUP

This was what I was told by HIFX. I had used them several times before in 2003. They said they could not do the funds purchase and transfer for me and that I would have to set up a trading account with HIFX in Australia.

Go Banana's !!

I was told something similar when I got here. HIFX said that I could not sue the UK office but had to register with the Sydney one instead due to regulations over here where there are none in the UK.

In the end I didn't use them as they missed the deadline on a deal and I used Neale Hoden at http://www.customhouse.com based in Perth and a friend of the family. They were excellent and we met face to face to discuss my needs. He said he would be happy to act for any other Expats.

Contact number is:

(08) 9325-1544

Warren

mlbonner

I guess you meant use and not sue

I use Tranzfers, having not used HIFX I don't know exactly how it differs, but I've just checked the Trazfers website out and there's no mention of this on it. Thanks for the heads up though

JAJ

I would never take what you're 'told' as definitive unless they can provide a reference to something official.


Jeremy

bondipom

Sounds like HIFX wanting to split the market into geographical regions. It may make it easier for them to charge differing amounts.

JAJ

Someone from HIFX posted on here a number of months ago, perhaps it would be nice to get their side of the story.

In the meantime - shop around. Commonwealth Bank's migrant service may well be a good alternative.

Jeremy

HUP

Never said it was definitive they just flatly refused to do the transfer . Even when I said I could pretend to be in England.

KBREMBO

So how you getting your bucks then?

We have bought $ with HIFX but have no bank account in Oz yet,we arrive in Melbourne in 2 weeks.We were told they transfer it FOC to your Oz bank acc.

Regards

KB

Alan Collett

I have exchanged emails with hifx on this issue in the past, and I understand it is a regulatory matter ... those of us who have to deal with regulators will understand that the rationale behind certain instructions/requirements are often far from comprehensible ...!

The bottom line is that if you are in Australia and would like to arrange a transfer of funds from the UK to Australia using hifx you should contact Naomi or one of her colleagues in Sydney on 02 9279 1123 - please feel able to mention you were given her name by Alan of Go Matilda if you want an intro. Apparently hifx (Australia) has a trust client bank account in the UK (at Barclays in Slough, I recall), which is separate to the trust client account used by hifx (UK), to which you remit funds prior to the monies being transferred to your chosen bank account in Australia.

Best regards.

HUP

Thanks for that Alan. The mother in law will be pleased. I presume that I will have to set up another account with HIFX Australia though?

In answer to the post asking how we got our money we did our major transfers in 2003 and there wasn't any problems then.

Windsor

G'day

As requested, I can confirm that this is true. Its a catch 22 situation: we open an office in Sydney to make it easier for clients to transfer money once they are in Australia (so you dont have to call us in the UK at inconvenient local times) and we now fall under the very regulated eye of the Australian authorities. This should give you some confidence as we had to jump through many hoops to open our Sydney branch.

Bottom line is that our UK team cannot trade a client who calls us from Australia. But it's no probelm, as Alan Collett says, just speak with Naomi or Darren in Sydney. You will have to register with them but as you know, its simple to do. HIFX Sydney office is very competetive on price so give them a buzz: +61 (0) 2 9279 1123.

Before we had an office in Sydney this wasn't a problem as the Australian authorities were not watching us. It is all for your benefit as the Australians are very keen to protect their citizens from unscrupulous financial institutions. Which must be good.

Happy new year.

Alexander Wright
HIFX Windsor

Bix

Tis the fear of money laundering you see.

If that did happen in Aus there would be a major shortage of banknote currency. You know what those toploaders are like

Pollyana

No, washing them is fine, but when you peg them on the line they fade to a different colour.....