hydrographer2004

So the title says it all really.

We want to transfer GBP into CAD before our move in January - moving chunks here and there in order to spread the current exchange rate risk.

We have researched opening a Canadian bank account now and weirdly are having massive problems doing so - is seems much harder than I thought it would be.

We were interested in Scotiabank but read on the forum that they dont permit forex transfers from an account not in your name.

Given that the bank account forex rates are much poorer than forex companies we obviously don't want to use our bank rate.

So does any one know a way of transferring GBP into CAD and holding it until we arrive in Canada?

For example is this a service offered by some of the forex companies?

Thanks

weves

This is what I did:

I exchanged money using the currency fair platform: https://www.currencyfair.com You can keep CAD there as long as you like, but if you prefer to move it to a bank read on:

At the same time I did these steps:

1. Opened a HSBC advance account, I believe this to be a prerequisite to the next step.
2. Once I had this I was able to open an HSBC currency account. This is an account held in the UK but contains another currency. Currency Account | HSBC UK
3. Then I transferred out of currencyfair into my HSBC CAD account (cost 4 CAD).
4. I got a statement in CAD from HSBC which is great for proving funds.

Later on, I was able to open an HSBC account in Canada, this cost 50 GPB, but meant I had a cashcard ready to use before I left for Canada. Because both accounts are HSBC, transferring between the UK CAD account and the Canadian checking account is totally free.

The other card I used as back up and I use on every holiday is Revolut: https://revolut.com/

haggis88

Has this changed recently?

I did it to Scotia through a FOREX company in 2012

Just change it in cash and carry it with you? So long as you declare amounts over $10,000 to customs, you're fine

ookie123

We used a FOREX company in the UK to transfer to our Scotiabank in 2013 and 2014 with no problems.

dave2003

When I moved from Canada to the UK I opened an international account with HSBC in Canada. This gave me checking accounts and credit cards in the UK and Canada. It was a lot of paperwork. However, HSBC usually requires a fairly large initial deposit to open an international account.


For transferring money between Canada and the UK, I wire money from either the UK or Canada bank account to an account I set up at a Forex company-giving much better rates than the bank. You may want to check out the Forex company's terms for "holding" or forward purchasing. However, be aware-money held in a Forex account is not usually covered by the bank guarantees regarding security of your deposit. I have never had a problem though.


As for Scotiabank, I have had an account with them for about 45 years-and found them to be a pretty good bank. I would have used Scotiabank for my international transactions, but they do not have branches in the UK, except one in London for the super wealthy.

christmasoompa

As per the info on the FAQ etc, your posts are being automatically moderated simply because they contain a link. So they'll go in to the mod queue waiting to be looked at, and as soon as one of the mods gets a chance, we'll take a look.

But your links appear to be a specific referral link, which I'm afraid isn't ok. So I'll edit them to just take people to the main website, please do use that in future.

HTH.

weves

I checked the rules, they clearly state no referral links in signatures, but says nothing about in posts.

christmasoompa

Quite possibly, although as it mentions it specifically in signatures it's presumably fairly obvious that it's not ok in posts either (as advertising in signatures is ok generally). Regardless, it's not something that we allow.

Please feel free to give the recommendation, but make sure you just use the general link.

Thx.

weves

Notes on Scotiabank:

- You need landing documents, e.g. COPR.
- The account is very limited until you arrive.
- You can do one single deposit, from an account in your name (You cannot transfer from an exchange firm like currency fair for example.)
- You cannot access this money until you present yourself at a branch in Canada.
- You cannot use online banking until after you visit the branch.
- They say they will give you a statement/letter for proving access to funds.

The strict rules are presumably for money laundering reasons. Other banks, RBC are very similar. HSBC canadian checking is the only exception I know of, and it still requires quite a bit of paperwork and an UK HSBC account. HSBC Currency account is simple however, anyone can do this at any stage of immigration.

I decided against opening scotiabank/rbc etc as I don't like losing control of a large amount of money. I was worried about what I would have to do to get it back if things went wrong with my immigration process.

hydrographer2004

Thanks for your help so far - so it looks like the bet option might be to open an HSBC account and transfer the cash over.

Still interested in how everyone else got around this problem...

Almost Canadian

We opened an account with TD Canada Trust remotely from England. Just a regular chequing account.

We were able to make as many deposits to this account as we wished. We did so using a forex service in England.

TD told us that they would not permit us to make any form of withdrawals until we presented ourselves in the branch in Canada and provided them with the requisite ID.

Once we had done so, we could withdraw whatever we wanted to.

It wasn't difficult then, I doubt it would be difficult now. I suggest that you call a specific branch and speak to them as to what they require from you.

weves

I do not recommend you transfer cash over GBP to CAD using a bank. The rates will be terrible, and they are bad enough as it is. Your best bet is:

Your bank GBP -> Currency Fair GBP balance (free)
Currency Fair GBP balance -> Currency Fair CAD balance (great rate)
Currency Fair CAD balance -> HSBC CAD balance (4 CAD withdraw fee, possibly per 9500 CAD*)

You will save huge amounts over Your bank GBP -> HSBC CAD balance.

The HSBC CAD account is required if you are nervous about leaving your money in currency fair once converted or require documentation about your CAD balance for landing or applications. But I encourage you to research currency fair, they are very sound, I have used for 8 years, and I was happy keeping 10's of thousands of dollars there for months before HSBC was opened.

*I say per 9500 because there could be intermediary bank fees for greater amounts, so I transferred mine out 9500 per day. Do not do more than this, they may be delayed or sent back due to currency fair, I think it's a limit on the SWIFT network.

Siouxie

Moving to Canada - Open a Bank Account - RBC

parthiban

This. I just opened a bank account while I was in Canada last week but I was told that I could have done it from the UK if I hadn't travelled.

And then it's simple enough to transfer cash into the account using a service like Transferwise.

weves

hydrographer2004 What is your immigration status? Do you have a landing document yet, e.g. COPR?

In all of my research, any Canadian bank, HSBC included requires to see a landing document.

Totally no good if you want to lock in the rate now, not at some unknown date in the future.

However, the HSBC currency account, because it is still UK based requires no such document.