SomersetGirl

Thanks John. Is there a charge for transferring with currency exchange companies? How would you recommend choosing a reputable company?

johnh009

Some may charge but you are still better off. I used HiFX who have an advertising banner on this site and found them to be very efficient. From Canada, they operate through the bank of New Zealand. Otherwise, I am sure if you ask on this site, you will get plenty of recommendations. For example, poster #12 also recommends a company.

If you scroll down the opening page on this site, you will see that "Windsor2" from HiFX posts in the vendor forums under "HiFX - International Currency Transfers".

SomersetGirl

Thanks again for your help John. I will definitely check into the currency exchange companies. We will be selling property in Canada and then buying in the UK, so need to make sure we get the absolute maximum for our money.

workhouse

If you've a lump of cash to move and have a Cdn HSBC Premier account with CAD$ and GBP sub-accounts, request your relationship manager to quote the best available FX desk rates for sample $k, $$k and $$$k amounts. Ask him/her to complete the txn (at the quoted rates) by withdrawing from your CAD$ sub-account and depositing into your GBP sub-account. You can then xfer from Cdn to UK account.

I've got better rates this way through HSBC than HiFX, OandA etc daily rates could offer.

john5655

I looked into using fx trading sites a while back

first of all the site I approached wanted to have an account opened before they would give me a quote, and once i contacted them they got very pushy about going ahead with this which i eventually declined. Basically you have to provide copies of passport and some other proof of residence/address

they kept calling me about this, but this gave me a chance to at least ask about the standard buy/sell spread for a currency transaction (about 1%) which, as it turned out was worse than HSBC in Hong Kong where I was living at the time and wanting to transfer from HKD to GBP (about 0.6%)

johnh009

If you can get a better rate through the HSBC as Workhouse suggests then that may be the best way to go.

Also, I am not sure if your money is protected when using a currency exchange company. Maybe the ones run by the major banks are. Recently Crown Currency Exchange went bankrupt and the depositors are fighting to get their money back. You would not want to put the proceeds of your house at risk.

http://crowncurrencyactiongroup.org/

SomersetGirl

Thanks for the advice Workhouse. I actually have an Advance account which doesn't require such a big balance as the Premier Account ($25,000 Cdn. vs $100,000 Cdn) but I will ask my Manager about this service. It works better to open the main account in Canada and the second account in the UK, than vice versa, as the balance required in the UK was 50,000 GBP. (I checked when I was there in September 2010).

SomersetGirl

Thanks again John. Good advice! This forum is so great..you guys are wonderful!

SomersetGirl

Thanks for starting this thread...it really helped me. Did it answer your questions too?

Gabgoeshome

lol ...yes it did , it also confirmed we are quite broke

Where are you returning to (if you don't mind sharing )

We are returning to Dorset ,I wondered if it might be the bit that boarders

SomersetGirl

Yes, I know that feeling!! We are returning to the West Country, probably Devon, maybe Dorset, definitely along the coast, depending on how the house prices are when we get back. All is dependent on selling our property here in Canada in Spring of 2011.

johnh009

You should do well on the exchange rate. We sold our house in Canada in December, 2009 and caught the peak of the market but the exchange rate has improved since then. If there is more quantative easing in the UK, it may get even better for you.

SomersetGirl

Congratulations John!! So, how are things going for you back in England....are you happy you made the move? Its a life changing decision that's for sure.