Paul5455

i know there are numerous topics on transferring cash, but i developed a headache looking through every thread!
i just require a simple (ish) answer.

when i move to Canada, we will have a lump sum of possibly £10-15 thousand pounds. this is the only transaction that we will have for a while, until we sell our house in 2 years time, when we wil have another £30-40k to transfer.

what is the best way to transfer this to Canadian dollars?

is it via my bank, in to an international bankers draft, exchange to cash and take it out there etc etc

thanks..

Paul

Rob_999

Best rate is likely to be with an FX broker such as Customs House, Money Corp or HiFX. Very easy to use - take a look at their websites.

Brownstar

Yep, we did the same and a currency brokerage is your best bet. Money in your account within 24 hours and at a decent rate.

Sam-in-Okotoks

We have had good experiences with both Moneycorp and HIFX

nikki dreaming

Ditto, for similar sum, we used HIFX, really quick and easy

Getting There

We've used Halo Financial a few times. Never had any problems to date.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.

BristolUK

In all the threads I've seen like this I've never actually seen a comparison with doing it through existing bank accounts.

Has anyone done both types and with similar sized transfers at a time when exchange rates were fairly stable so an accurate comparison could be made?

Maybe there's a rule of thumb that suggests a transfer of a certain amount is cheaper with one particular method whereasd it's the reverse with a different sum?

Rob_999

At my bank here in Canada (TD) anything over CAD10,000 and they'll phone their special FX department to get a better rate, which I imagine is about the same as through an FX broker. However, the real advantage of an FX broker is that you can set a specific target rate to try and catch a peak in the market, plus put in stop losses to automatically trade if the rate slips below a certain level. At a bank you just get a quote and that's that - they just don't seem to offer the same kind of service.

I've made several conversions of GBP to CAD, and also USD to CAD and each time local bank quotes would have resulted in less than what I achieved through the brokers. All amounts were between CAD10,000 to 40,000.

Paul5455

thanks for the replies.
HIFX seem to have the best rates at the moment, so will look again when the time comes!

Windsor2

Bristol UK

People often want to know how they can compare the banks and the currency brokers.

For anyone intersted visit Moneysavingexpert.com run by Martin Lewis. No doubt you've seen him on TV being interviewed about how to save money on all aspects of personal finance.

The link below will take you to his website where he examines the whole foreign exchange market and tells what you should be aware of and who the main players are regardless of the amount you're sending.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ban...rency-exchange

Hopefully this is useful.

Best Regards

Mark Bodega
Director - HiFX

BristolUK

Thanks Windsor2...I shall look.