franfluff

Just wondering where the best rates are for exchanging £ into Canadian $ ??? We are finally flying on the 30th, landrovers and our stuff went in the container 2 days ago. Its really happening now!!! Flying dog through KLM too for the amazing amount of $200 xxx

chiefmissile

If its just for spends, or upto $10,000 then take a look here http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/

I usually order it online and then pick up at the airport, you then get a great rate that nobody else gets at the airport.

If you are looking to change more than $10,000 I use http://www.sgm-fx.com/ you will need to set up an account, but once its up and running, you can make transfers from your UK bank to your CAD bank the same or next day. The rates are much better than the banks.

Hope this helps

Good luck

Andrew

franfluff

Brill than k you, its definitely going to be at the airport now??? x

Steve_

Customs House Currency Exchange is the most popular one I think, www.xe.com - it is a Canadian company, or at least was until Western Union took them over but their main offices are in Victoria and Newmarket, ON.

Geordie Lass

I think HALO are pretty good. They act fast once you tell them to transfer that's for sure

franfluff

thank you all, got my $ and ready to go, flying on the 30th, VERY exited xxx

Pulaski

I use xe.com too. Great service, just be sure to select the "credit by ACH" option because if you select "credit by wire" your bank is likely to stick you with a wire fee.

Aviator

We use Western Union Business Solutions (formerly Custom House Currency Exchange) regularly, the service and rates are as good as anywhere. Problem is with folks trying to compare rates is they change by the second and so the deal you got at one FX broker may have changed at the other while you are looking around, so you never really know if you got one broker to give you a better rate.

Some include commission in the spread, others add it as an additional fee. Whichever way anyone thing they don't pay any fees is in a dreamland. FX houses make a profit and the person paying for that profit is the one doing the exchange.

The only way to do FX in my mind is to set a rate you want to achieve and book that rate with an FX broker, then wait for it to get there. Trying to get the 'best rate' is like chasing rainbows. The best I ever got on GBP was $2.62, which was pure chance and a fluke.

notcontrary

I’m looking for some urgent advice on GBP to CAD transfers. I am trying to transfer 250K from the Halifax bank in the UK to the TD bank in Canada and have run into problems. I live in Canada so I can’t walk into a UK branch. Halifax will only let me transfer a maximum of 25K per day via phone or internet banking i.e. it would take me 10 days to transfer all the money to a broker elsewhere in the UK who will then transfer to Canada. This seems utterly ridiculous and I’m considering flying to London at short notice. There is some urgency here because I need the money to buy property in Canada and I don’t want to lose the house.

If anyone has any advice or suggestions that would be really helpful. Thanks!

chiefmissile

http://www.sgm-fx.com/ give them a call, all you need to do is send them a scanned copy of your passport, then link your bank account with your currency account, should not take too long and you will get a good rate, no transaction fee and the money would be in your CAD account in hours.

Regards

Andrew

notcontrary

Thanks very much for the advice.

Aviator

Some FX companies will do an exchange with a direct debit mandate from your bank account. Alternatively, overnight Fedex a written signed authority to transfer the money.

notcontrary

Thanks for all your comments.

In the interests of giving back to the online community, I would like to explain how I got the transfer done in the end. I called the manager of the Halifax branch where my account was held. He was willing to authorize a large transfer if I faxed him:

- A certified copy of my passport (signed and stamped by a representative of my bank in Canada)

- A letter signed by me instructing the Halifax bank manager of

-The exact amount to be sent

- My full account details

- Bank name, bank address, sort code and account number of the foreign exchange specialist in the UK

Once the bank manager had the documents, he compared my signature on the letter to the one he had on file for me and then called me to ask me some security questions to verify my identity.

Once he was satisfied that everything was in order, he initiated a CHAPS transfer for same-day delivery.

I still find it incredible that a fax was the solution and that this level of scrutiny was necessary for a transfer within the UK. The transfer from the UK FX specialist to TD in Canada is much easier!

chiefmissile

I would be interested to know what rate you got from Halifax compared to the FX specialist?

Regards

Andrew

chiefmissile

Hi all,

Hope you are having a nice fall and looking forward to "Thanks Giving"? I have been lucky recently getting good exchange rates when changing £ to $. I just wanted to plug the FX company I use, and just wanted to let you know that they have been fantastic with rates and the ease in which the cash is transferred over, sometimes if I put the order in early enough, the funds are in my Scotiabank that day, but usually by lunch time the next day after the order. Their spread is about 1c or less off the market rate, depending on how much you are changing. if you want a hassle free exchange then contact the Virginie at SGMFX.


Virginie Marin
Head of Private Clients
SGM-FX Ltd
41 Eastcheap
London EC3M 1DT

Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1740
Fax: +44 (0) 207 220 1741

Website: http://www.sgm-fx.com/