gedsy

Evening all,
Whats the easiest way to get funds over to N.Z. Who do you use?
Hifx keeps popping up, or do you just use your normal bank? Also, is it the done thing to open up a bank account in N.Z.before leaving the U.K. It seems the obvious thing to do. Any advice will be welcome on anything connected to this subject. Regards
Gedsy.

concretepump

hi were in uk ,and have just sent some funds to nz cost £25 though santander

but if you want to send large amounts asb nz have a branch in uk you can pay as much as you want into that account and will stay as £££££ then when you are in nz you can transfer as much as you want think from memory £30,000 is free small amounts are about same as transfer from uk bank

Persephone

If you're wanting to transfer funds over before you leave the UK then you'll have to set up a NZ account from there. I didn't but others on here have said that it is possible and fairly easy.

To transfer the cash over I have used a foreign exchange company- I used Halo but am looking at using HiFX to transfer some funds back to the UK shortly [holiday money!] They do give a slightly better rate than the banks which can work out to be a considerable amount depending on how much you're transferring. Very easy to use as well.

fychan66

we opened a bank account from UK and use Halo to transfer money over. they do charge £15 per transaction under 50k but they have better rates than the banks and it takes less than 24hrs

Jordan Tilley

Using a currency broker will certainly help you to maximise the amount of New Zealand Dollar you can purchase.

Some currency brokers can provide additional services that can help set up bank accounts in New Zealand before you go out there.

GBPNZD back above 2.00 for now!!

florabundi

Hi, we have opened a bank a/c with BNZ from the UK (Really easy) If you use moneycorp to transfer funds to BNZ, there are no charges. Hope this helps

The-Icon

is it easy enough to apply for a NZ bank acc from the UK?

peterleewaih

You can try using HSBC in UK & NZ, it is easy enough as it is easy access to their branches network in both places.

wendy_woo

Do you not need an National Insurance (equivalent) before opening up a bank account in New Zealand? I went into a bank last time I was in NZ and they said I would have to have a number? how did you do this?

florabundi

Hi ~ if you are in the UK, you can apply to open the bank a/c online. I didn't have to provide a national ins number but did have to provide our passport numbers. Hope this helps

jmh

I opened the account from the UK and transferred money into the account from there. They asked for my IRD number when I went in to give ID. I didn't have one at the time so emergency tax is taken until which time as you provide the number. Mine is an online account so I was able to do this without going into a branch.

Each bank seems to have slightly different ways of doing it. I found Kiwibank pretty easy to deal with.

ronanz

Hi gedsy. I'd definitely recommend a money transfer company. I've used Hifx twice now and got a really good rate. Depends hw much money you're transferring, you need to haggle a bit on the rate. It's really easy and they've got staff here in nz. They were recommended to me by a family member and have proven to be reliable and efficient. I didn't bother to open a bank a/c till I got here. Just used visa and cirrus on my bank card. Easy to open a/c just need passport. You'll need to provide IRD number once you get it.