BtotheR

I'm sure this has been asked a billion times but I can't find any threads of it and it would be good for a really up to date account.

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations/experience on companies on moving a large sum of money back to the UK (from house sale) that have competitive exchange rates and are SAFE. We are looking to move it from New Zealand but most companies are international. Could be best to just go through our bank to my UK bank account, but it would be good to know good alternatives that could get us better rates.

Much appreciated

MidAtlantic

There are many specialist transfer services that are usually much better value than main line banks when taking account of the exchange rate and fees. This list will give you a start. I have used TorFx for large amounts and Transferwise for smaller amounts and received extremely good service from both. That was for GBP to USD.

https://moneytransfercomparison.com/

spouse of scouse

Agree, bank exchange rates are invariably woeful and the fees are high. A reputable foreign exchange broker's the way to go. In Australia I used OFX to transfer funds from Oz the the UK, if the amount is over AU$10,000 there are no fees at all and the service was great.

BtotheR

Thank you MidAtlantic and Spouse of Scouse - much appreciated. Have been tempted to just go through the bank for ease but have always thought they have worse exchange rates. Torfx I have heard of a couple of times, will check out OFX - out of interest when they say no fees do they then charge you to withdraw the money from the account at the other end? I'm waiting for a quote on Torfx but until then I can't see this detail?

spouse of scouse

I wasn't charged any fees at all - I've transferred amounts from AU$10,000 to $300,000 into my UK Halifax account, it's just an every day savings account and I can withdraw from it whenever I like with no fees - except if the ATM I'm using charges a fee.

Just to let you know, OFX (used to called Oz Forex, but handles all types of currency exchanges) requires you to set up an account with them before you can transfer money. You only need to do this once, it's a bit of a faff because you have to supply a couple of types of ID (I scanned mine and emailed them, they were fine), and then they give you a quick phone call and that's it. I'd imagine that other FX companies would require a similar process.

Once you have the account, you can go onto their website any time and 'book a deal'. That simply means that you enter the amount you want to exchange and the online thingy (don't know what it's called!) tells you how many GBPs you'll get. It's like a quote, you don't have to accept the first one you get, as it changes by the minute according to the fx market. Sometimes it'll go up a little bit, then you'll try again and it'll go down.

If you're exchanging a fair chunk of money, see what deals offered online by following the process above, then call OFX (numbers are provided when you sign up) and try to negotiate a better rate. It's easier than it sounds, just say you were hoping for a little more. They'll probably say no at first, in which case you can thank them for their time and say you just want to check another fx company (have the name of one handy), and if that company can't give you a better rate, you'll come back to OFX (or whoever you choose to deal with). It's surprising how they always seem to come back with a better rate when you say that

If you have any more questions I'll be happy to answer if I can.

PrairieWriter

I'll be following this thread, as we will need to either transfer money to buy a house into an account in the UK, or buy the house with funds from our US account. Whichever is cheaper, frankly! Well, clearly security matters, but so does losing/not losing several thousand dollars...!

BtotheR

Thanks again SOS - I filled in the form on TorFX and they called me from London last night and seem pretty onto it. A family member also suggested www.1stcontact.com who they have actually used no problems too.

Will let you know how I go.

Novocastrian

I've said this before but I'll say it again. Whatever the transfer lfees are the main issue is the completely unpredictable fluctuations, hour to hour, day to day in the exchange rates.

Stop worrying. Be happy.

BtotheR

Not really that informative Novocastrian - I think anyone with a degree in 'The Bleeding Obvious' could work that one out.

Novocastrian

I agree that it's obvious. Why then do people worry about it so much?

MidAtlantic

Because you have some choice over fees/exchange rate used. The difference in exchange rates used by different providers can amount to a few thousand £s on a large sum, like the OPs house sale proceeds.

durham_lad

Exactly. I transferred $20k yesterday using Transferwise, ACH from my US bank so no wire fees, resulting in £14,795 to my bank. It was in my UK bank this morning. I could do another $20k today if I wanted and so for large sums it really depends on how fast you want it. Of course you are at the mercy of the exchange rate fluctuations so while you may get a slightly better rate for a one off very large transfer of, say, $200k, you still may have been better off moving that money over earlier in smaller chunks (dollar cost averaging).

BtotheR

Exactly MidAtlantic thank you. Unfortunately Novocastrian, quoting old cliches isn't helpful when if I try these companies recommended who can offer a little difference in exchange rate, can make a significant difference when its a large sum of money compared to what banks offer.

I'm all for getting involved on the thread - just unhelpful repetitive garbage is of no use to man nor beast.

ianandhelena

Novocastrian

But it is of use to people who realise that no matter what, you really are dealing with a lottery over which you have no control. For a large sum (say in excess of $1 million) a wire transfer bank to bank usually incurs a fee of about $50. The exchange rate the bank will give you for such am amount is essentially the same rate as a broker. The bit you have no control over is the rate.

Example: 2 years ago I agreed on a sale of my house in Toronto for a certain sum in April. The funds were provided after the legal stuff was done in late June, during which period the destination currency had depreciated by 7% against the source currency.

C'est la vie. I'm still rich.