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Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Old Feb 13th 2005, 11:45 am
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Default Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Ok, just read a very interesting thread about the strength of the AU$.

We are planning to migrate to Brisbane area November 2005 - As our house is not a very expensive one in the UK and we have some student debts to pay off before we go, along with all the other moving costs (ie pet shipping, goods shipping, flights etc) we will probably only have 10,000 british pounds in the bank to take with us max (wish it was more but thats it i'm afraid!).

I am clueless as to what I do next and when - can I open an Oz bank account from the UK and transfer the money? What is the best way to take my money over there (I will obviously need instant access to that money when I get there for immediate costs such as a bond on a rented house and a deposit for a car.)

I am clueless about exchange rates - I gather that if we send money at the wrong time we could lose a fair bit of money from our savings (which we clearly can't afford to do )

I know that some of you guys are very good with money and would love any advice you can offer to me - I am a nurse and my husband is a senior design Engineer, we are young so are not very wordly wise with managing our money yet!

Thanks
Lynn
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 12:34 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Ok, just read a very interesting thread about the strength of the AU$.

We are planning to migrate to Brisbane area November 2005 - As our house is not a very expensive one in the UK and we have some student debts to pay off before we go, along with all the other moving costs (ie pet shipping, goods shipping, flights etc) we will probably only have 10,000 british pounds in the bank to take with us max (wish it was more but thats it i'm afraid!).

I am clueless as to what I do next and when - can I open an Oz bank account from the UK and transfer the money? What is the best way to take my money over there (I will obviously need instant access to that money when I get there for immediate costs such as a bond on a rented house and a deposit for a car.)

I am clueless about exchange rates - I gather that if we send money at the wrong time we could lose a fair bit of money from our savings (which we clearly can't afford to do )

I know that some of you guys are very good with money and would love any advice you can offer to me - I am a nurse and my husband is a senior design Engineer, we are young so are not very wordly wise with managing our money yet!

Thanks
Lynn
Have a look at http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk/modu...atid=2&topic=6

The exchange rate isn't great for buying A$ at the moment, you might want to transfer just part of your money
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 1:52 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Ok, just read a very interesting thread about the strength of the AU$.

We are planning to migrate to Brisbane area November 2005 - As our house is not a very expensive one in the UK and we have some student debts to pay off before we go, along with all the other moving costs (ie pet shipping, goods shipping, flights etc) we will probably only have 10,000 british pounds in the bank to take with us max (wish it was more but thats it i'm afraid!).

I am clueless as to what I do next and when - can I open an Oz bank account from the UK and transfer the money? What is the best way to take my money over there (I will obviously need instant access to that money when I get there for immediate costs such as a bond on a rented house and a deposit for a car.)

I am clueless about exchange rates - I gather that if we send money at the wrong time we could lose a fair bit of money from our savings (which we clearly can't afford to do )

I know that some of you guys are very good with money and would love any advice you can offer to me - I am a nurse and my husband is a senior design Engineer, we are young so are not very wordly wise with managing our money yet!

Thanks
Lynn
Hello,

When do you think you will be in Oz? As jimbo says the rate is not good at the moment, but that can change at any time.

It is worth setting up an Aussie account before you leave the UK and the amount of money you have should not make any difference. You should probably look at CBA or HSBC, but I'm sure other people on here can advise you of other banks.

If you can get a good exchange rate then I think you can bring in $10,000 (on you) when you arrive.

Regards
Alistair
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:08 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Thanks to both of you - we are not planning on moving until November 2005 but wanted to get things clear in my head in advance - probably won't do any harm to open up a bank account shortly and keep an eye on the exchange rate - although not really sure what to look for. Is it best to put money into Oz account in dribs and drabs or all in one go? Ie we probably won't have 10,000 pounds until the month before we go/ final pay in UK, but we could transfer money over gradually as we earn it

The Commonwealth bank seems to be one of the biggest in Australia but i've heard things about high charges for services so will need to do more research.

Is HSBC not more of an online bank account?

Lynn
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:15 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Thanks to both of you - we are not planning on moving until November 2005 but wanted to get things clear in my head in advance - probably won't do any harm to open up a bank account shortly and keep an eye on the exchange rate - although not really sure what to look for. Is it best to put money into Oz account in dribs and drabs or all in one go? Ie we probably won't have 10,000 pounds until the month before we go/ final pay in UK, but we could transfer money over gradually as we earn it

The Commonwealth bank seems to be one of the biggest in Australia but i've heard things about high charges for services so will need to do more research.

Is HSBC not more of an online bank account?

Lynn
Hi Lynn

I am with the HSBC in Oz and yes minimal charges if any and good rate of interest. Yes on-line but can pay in at any Australia Post Office and take out at most ATM's.

http://www.hsbc.com.au/

Worth contacting them as to how to open an account from the UK in Australia, I know you can do it Australia to UK.

Also Westpac do a Fee Free MasterCard, again I have one and has cost me nothing. I use it to spend Ozzie $$$ over here in the UK, though that avenue of pleasure has gone as the money has run dry!

Good luck
Merlot
 
Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:31 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by Merlot
Hi Lynn

I am with the HSBC in Oz and yes minimal charges if any and good rate of interest. Yes on-line but can pay in at any Australia Post Office and take out at most ATM's.

http://www.hsbc.com.au/

Worth contacting them as to how to open an account from the UK in Australia, I know you can do it Australia to UK.

Also Westpac do a Fee Free MasterCard, again I have one and has cost me nothing. I use it to spend Ozzie $$$ over here in the UK, though that avenue of pleasure has gone as the money has run dry!

Good luck
Merlot
Hi Merlot (my fav type of wine )

Thanks for the tips - HSBC sound good if you can deposit money at a post office and I like online banking/ phone banking - do they have any branches you can walk into? Do other banks cash machines charge you? (something that is becoming commonplace in the UK )

Think I will get a visa card and freeze it in a tub of water, don't want to repeat my errors as in the UK

Lynn
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:42 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Hi Merlot (my fav type of wine )

Thanks for the tips - HSBC sound good if you can deposit money at a post office and I like online banking/ phone banking - do they have any branches you can walk into? Do other banks cash machines charge you? (something that is becoming commonplace in the UK )

Think I will get a visa card and freeze it in a tub of water, don't want to repeat my errors as in the UK

Lynn
Hi Lynn

From memory I think I had 5 or so free ATM withdrawals per month but if I took cash out when I payed for say petrol or food, this was free, like the Pin & Chip bizzo here in the UK. I could use a range of other banks ATM's which was great.

Yes they have branches and getting more wide spread. My closest was Sydney CBD then they opened one in Chatswood. I only had to go down to them once for a bank draft, the rest of the time telephone or internet banking was great.

ING are over there with their usual high interest accounts, great for saving.

Yep, credit cards are a bit naughty but very nice

Best of luck
Your fav wine
 
Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:46 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by Merlot
Hi Lynn

From memory I think I had 5 or so free ATM withdrawals per month but if I took cash out when I payed for say petrol or food, this was free, like the Pin & Chip bizzo here in the UK. I could use a range of other banks ATM's which was great.

Yes they have branches and getting more wide spread. My closest was Sydney CBD then they opened one in Chatswood. I only had to go down to them once for a bank draft, the rest of the time telephone or internet banking was great.

ING are over there with their usual high interest accounts, great for saving.

Yep, credit cards are a bit naughty but very nice

Best of luck
Your fav wine
Thanks Merlot,
Sounds good to me, will check out the website and compare with Commonwealth bank.

Know anything about exchange rates? - what is a good rate to transfer my money - $2.?

Lynn
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:50 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Thanks Merlot,
Sounds good to me, will check out the website and compare with Commonwealth bank.

Know anything about exchange rates? - what is a good rate to transfer my money - $2.?

Lynn
Like you Lynn, bit of a pot luck type of gal This is why I am always broke!

I am sure a few of our rate watchers will point you in the right direction.

Good luck
M
 
Old Feb 13th 2005, 5:54 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

You can set up a Commonwealth Bank account whilst still in the UK:

http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk

Once the account is set up you can transfer some money to Oz (would suggest not very much at the moment) and this will automatically get the Australian end set up with you Oz account number etc being issued. Once you've got this info you can transfer money Down Under any way you like and are not restricted to CBA's fees, exchange rates etc.

They initially set up a sort of current account/savings account for you. This gives a better interest rate as they assume you will be putting your hard-earned in the bank and this is usually the result of house sales etc. If you keep more than $20 000 in the account you don't pay the monthly fee ($5) but, on this account, you do still pay withrawal fees. You can set up their equivalent of a pure current account and not pay the monthly fee nor withdrawal fees if you keep more than $20 000 in it. I only add this as my understanding of keeping bank fees down rather than suggesting we can all afford to keep loads of dosh in the bank.

Like many others, I use HIFX for money transfer. I was quite disappointed when I had to use CBA to transfer the first bit of money to open the Oz account as not only did they charge £15 for transferring (HIFX don't charge anything) but they also gave a poorer rate than HIFX.

Lynn, in my huge experience of financial matters (read almost none) it is best to transfer a bigger amount rather than piecemeal. The larger the amount the closer they can get you to the inter-bank exchange rate. HIFX exchange a minimum of £5000.

One idea you might want to tuck away is forward buying. Since you're not going until Nov you have got a fair bit of time to get the best deal you can. With HIFX forward buying you put down 10% and agree the amount you want to exchange, what rate you want and when you want to complete the deal. Don't worry about the date too much because you can always slide that (as I have done a few times recently) until you know you will have the money. So, say you wanted to exchange £10 000 in November. You could say you want 2.7 as the exchange rate. As soon as they can get you 2.7 they will and that's that done. The 2.7 rate stays until you cough up the 90% and they will send the AU$ wherever you want (free). If the rate never gets to 2.7 then you can always just spot buy but with 9 months you might as well try playing the market and getting a better rate than is available right now.

Have a look at the Commonwealth Bank website and see what their accounts are all about. Once we get out there we will set up one of the current accounts, in addition to the savings account and use their Internet banking facilities to move stuff around to our advantage.

http://commbank.com.au

Hope this has given you something to think about but I have to say, the people at HIFX are very good at explaining things and, so far, haven't let me down with their knowledge and thoughts for future buying

Cheers,

Not NN but her 'other half' who's bored in America
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 6:04 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by Night Nurse
You can set up a Commonwealth Bank account whilst still in the UK:

http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk

Once the account is set up you can transfer some money to Oz (would suggest not very much at the moment) and this will automatically get the Australian end set up with you Oz account number etc being issued. Once you've got this info you can transfer money Down Under any way you like and are not restricted to CBA's fees, exchange rates etc.

They initially set up a sort of current account/savings account for you. This gives a better interest rate as they assume you will be putting your hard-earned in the bank and this is usually the result of house sales etc. If you keep more than $20 000 in the account you don't pay the monthly fee ($5) but, on this account, you do still pay withrawal fees. You can set up their equivalent of a pure current account and not pay the monthly fee nor withdrawal fees if you keep more than $20 000 in it. I only add this as my understanding of keeping bank fees down rather than suggesting we can all afford to keep loads of dosh in the bank.

Like many others, I use HIFX for money transfer. I was quite disappointed when I had to use CBA to transfer the first bit of money to open the Oz account as not only did they charge £15 for transferring (HIFX don't charge anything) but they also gave a poorer rate than HIFX.

Lynn, in my huge experience of financial matters (read almost none) it is best to transfer a bigger amount rather than piecemeal. The larger the amount the closer they can get you to the inter-bank exchange rate. HIFX exchange a minimum of £5000.

One idea you might want to tuck away is forward buying. Since you're not going until Nov you have got a fair bit of time to get the best deal you can. With HIFX forward buying you put down 10% and agree the amount you want to exchange, what rate you want and when you want to complete the deal. Don't worry about the date too much because you can always slide that (as I have done a few times recently) until you know you will have the money. So, say you wanted to exchange £10 000 in November. You could say you want 2.7 as the exchange rate. As soon as they can get you 2.7 they will and that's that done. The 2.7 rate stays until you cough up the 90% and they will send the AU$ wherever you want (free). If the rate never gets to 2.7 then you can always just spot buy but with 9 months you might as well try playing the market and getting a better rate than is available right now.

Have a look at the Commonwealth Bank website and see what their accounts are all about. Once we get out there we will set up one of the current accounts, in addition to the savings account and use their Internet banking facilities to move stuff around to our advantage.

http://commbank.com.au

Hope this has given you something to think about but I have to say, the people at HIFX are very good at explaining things and, so far, haven't let me down with their knowledge and thoughts for future buying

Cheers,

Not NN but her 'other half' who's bored in America
Thanks very much NN's other half - I was talking to NN earlier on today
Bored in America - what an awful life!!!! Your poor wife is busy at home taking the pinecones out of the xmas decorations

Seriously though, thanks for the great advice, will be checking that all out and love the idea of setting an exchange rate and playing the game a little - especially as we have plenty of time on our hands - am going to print your suggestions up.

Thanks again,

Lynn
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Old Feb 13th 2005, 9:50 pm
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Default Re: Taking british savings to Oz on PR - clueless!

Originally Posted by lynnlovessun
Thanks Merlot,
Sounds good to me, will check out the website and compare with Commonwealth bank.

Know anything about exchange rates? - what is a good rate to transfer my money - $2.?

Lynn
Hiya Lynn,

As you have some time between now and November, you can wait to see if you can get a better rate and lock it in with a forward contract (as NightNurse said). Personally I think anything over 2.5 is good. You will be lucky if the rate goes to 2.6 and waiting for 2.7 would be gambling.

I used HIFX and was happpy with them.

Regards
Alistair
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