Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Hi, I have money that I need to bring from England to the US. How can I find out which non-bank foreign exchange (FE) provider in England is safe to use?

I read in an article posted in the home page of this forum that England FE providers are not regulated (article: Exchange rates and transferring funds - the insiders guide: "Some jurisdictions, like the UK, do not regulate non-bank foreign exchange providers").
BUT, I read in a posting on 16 March 2010 here that alanlangstone suggested opening an account with Ashley Ingle at excelcurrencies.com to transfer funds. On the website of excelcurrencies.com they do note that their company is regulated and give a registration number.

Can anyone advise me where I can go to screen the England non-bank foreign exchange companies?

Thanks,

PS. Ashley Ingle is probably a very reputable person/company, but I don't know him or his company and need to see this reputation on paper! :)

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

We have used UKForex several times and are pleased with their service and rates offered.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

currencyonline.com (HiFX who post on this board)

xe.com

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Why do you specifically need a "provider in England"? There are several good online providers, and there must be a dozen threads in the last week or two dealing with foreign exchanges and moving money back and forth between the UK and the US.

Ian

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Even if they are UK based the money might not come from there.

I use currencyonline.com which is HiFX based in the UK. I send my UK pounds to a UK bank account in London, the dollars are sent to my US account from the Bank of New Zealand.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Always used ukforex.co.uk, awesome service, cash gets where it's going very fast, especially if you bank with Barclays in the UK (as they do).

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

ive used xe.com lots of times - very happy with the service.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Ooohh, it is good to hear which companies you've used. I'll contact them and find out the best deal. I bank with HSBC. I am glad I came upon this forum. Thanks for the help.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

I need $5k start up cash in hand for when I move to the states, but thats way too much for most high street retailers.. I see the list on here;

http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert...money/#results (may not show the results unless you just enter a test number)

but the cheapest places have very amateurish looking websites and want bank transfers.. im not sure if i trust them! Any advice?

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

See the posts above where we have mentioned the currency brokers used by members here, not those who charge and only one of which was near the rate the brokers mentioned would give.

If you want cash in hand it is going to have to be in a High Street bank etc.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

I swear by using HIFX.
Their service is excellent and they always answer the phone quickly and answer questions efficiently.
I'm currently in the process of buying a house here and need to withdraw all my UK funds from various banks and accounts.
As much as I have had headaches getting my money out from Halifax, Natwest etc, HIFX have been excellent.

Each bank has their own limit as to how much you can transfer....HSBC is 10,000 pound, Halifax is 15,000 pounds.
I called HIFX to warn them that I was having trouble getting my funds into their account and they said it was no problem, they'd keep me locked in at the agreed rate of exchange for about two weeks, which is great considering the exchange rate has since dropped.

My advice is check them out, you won't be disappointed!

:D

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

I too have a HiFX account - which I have never used because their rates are so very bad. Most of the transaction is done online, so there's no opportunity for haggling the rate.

I also have an account with Sterling Exchange, but I always use World First (http://www.worldfirst.com) just because they'll always beat any other quote. I don't work for them - but maybe I should ask for some recommendation fees, I've recommended them so many times on this forum! I normally transfer £5000 or more at a time get a good rate and avoid fees. The process is incredibly simple - phone them up (using Skype), agree a rate, they email me link to a form on their website where I type in the recipient bank details (unless I've moved money to that account before, in which case I skip this step) then I trasnfer money via internet banking (or phone banking) to them. About 3 days later the $$$s appear.

If you need $cash, and you can get to Oxford Street, London, then use the dodgy looking geezers at the back of the tacky souvenir shops - they'll beat EVERYONE! I've used them a few times and yes, the cash is real! I don't know how much cash they have there - you might have to fix a rate and come back the next day for $5K.

An interesting note - nobody will take this advice - from my experience (having lived abroad for many years, in different countries) people will just use what is most familiar and continue to do so for many years, throwing their money away. You are probably thinking "well, it may cost a few more quid here and there, but I'm happy with Barclays...HiFx...or whatever". Crazy.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

You have to be joking having used them for a number of years and often checking their rate it is as good as you will get anywhere.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

Just checked them, xe and worldfirst are just about the same.

Re: Foreign Exchange Providers in England?
 

for smaller amounts off cash ..some delivered free..

http://www.comparetravelmoney.com/index.asp