transferring savings from saudi to australia

[HaroonRauf]

Hi

 

I am residing in Saudi Arabia and need to transfer my savings to Australia as am immigrating there. I already have an activated NAB account which I got on my first landing in Sydney.

 

I 'test-transferred' some Saudi Riyals (equivalent to 100 AUD) and although I got the money in my NAB account the exchange rate seemed very poor. Currently, when rates are going down, I transferred almost 1500 AUD but this time I ended up getting 1490 AUD (10AUD deducted!) and plus an even poorer exchange rate compared to open market.

 

I have significant amount I need to transfer and now am not sure what's the best method.

Also, considering the falling AUD value, I would actually like to keep my savings in USD.

 

Can I open a USD account (while outside Australia) and is there a way to transfer USD from Saudi to NAB's Aus account without having bank charges and a better exchange rate?

 

Regards

[toOZ2012]

Always convert the currency to AUD on your side. Don't let receiving banks do it - they have horrible exchange rates.

I always use forex companies to transfer money. Better exchange rates.

 

I think you can open US dollar accounts just watch for any fees. Since riyal is pegged to the US dollar you should be fine holding your funds in USD.

 

Do you believe the AUD will go lower? May be a little but not as much as in the last 2 years. Also AUD gets you better interest rates but I don't know if your USD nominated account will do that. Why not spread your risk by doing multiple transfers with smaller amounts over a period of time?

[CaptainR]

Chasing the exchange rate is something that will give you a headache. You will almost certainly be able to setup an AUD account in Saudi, which you can then transfer the money into before sending it.

When I left the Middle East (Oman) I found I got better rates in cash through the money changers in the malls, so we arrived in Australia with pockets full of cash... (declared obviously).