Hi all,

My boyfriend and I have just bought a house in Ottawa and I need to transfer some of my UK savings to go towards the downpayment.

I was wondering if anyone could advise the best way of transferring large sums of money to Canada? I am with HSBC in the UK and could easily just transfer the money online but I have been told I would lose a lot less money if I used a broker? If anyone has any suggestions on good companies to talk to I would really appreciate it!

Thanks,
Suze

I've used these guys a lot. You get a good rate and they are reasonably efficient in getting the money to you.

After a deal, you pay them via a Barclays account, so HSBC -> Barclays is a free tansfer and usually pretty quick.

https://secure.ozforex.com.au/introd...-transfers.asp

Thank you!

Hi there. We've used these guys a few times - www.satworldwide.co.uk including when we transferred the equity from our house sale over. Found them really good.

Thanks - that website looks good too! I'm just checking a few of them out this afternoon. Has anybody used HiFX or Currencies Direct? Both seem to be offering a slightly better exchange rate but I never know if there's likely to be a catch!

i initially used hifx....I wasn't impressed by their rate

I WAS going to do a spot rate comparison, but hifx is closed for the day :-S

I'll do one on Monday if I remember :-)

Hi

I'm thinking of using HIFX. Seem really efficient and good customer service on the phone. We are waiting for completion on our house before we fly out in May and then transfer once we have a Canadian Bank account. How easy is it to open an account? What docs would I need. Thanks for any advice

NikiG

i do this from time to time. When I first looked into it Hifx seemed to have best rate - I haven't compared them against any others for a while, but they usually seem to be a decent rate compared to banks etc.

I ended up setting up account through the Post Office (can't remember why - maybe just because I knew them!) and I'm pretty sure its actually Hifx that runs it for them.

Haven't had any probs. Sometimes I do get charged a $15 fee, but I just email them and they refund me. If transferring before noon the money is in my bank account in Canada same day.

yes, hifx are quick, but expensive

Hi we used Halo fianance and they where brilliant really.....

ok here`s a quick comparison;

hifx 10,000GBP = $CAD 15,453.00
ozforex 10,000GBP = $CAD 15,577.00

diff = $124