Transferring money AU-UK after leaving.

[LifeBeginsAt]

Hi folks,

We're leaving Sydney after nearly 4 years and moving back to UK in early November (we were on temporary 457/482 for duration - COVID busted our 190 chances so home we go).

We still have 2 UK bank accounts active which we kept open while away so at least that removes one complication for sending our money home.  I have already transferred some of our money back to the UK however for unavoidable reasons there will still be a fairly sizeable chunk of money to transfer after we leave (including DASP refund when it eventually arrives). 

My question is about how to set up things up before I leave to avoid problems transferring the rest of our funds when out of the country.  

While I'm in Australia, it's pretty easy to send money to the UK - the steps are:

1. I use XE/Transferwise/whoever is best/etc. to book the rate
2. I then use online banking to request my AU Bank transfer the money to from my AU bank account to XE/etc's local account
3. The bank sends me a code via text to my AU mobile number.
4. I confirm and off the money goes.

The specific problem I foresee once I leave is that my current mobile phone provider in AU does not permit international roaming so I need to set up an alternative phone number that can receive texts from CommBank when I wish to transfer the money (which could be several months after we leave). 

Has anyone advice on the best way to solve this?  The best I've come up with currently:

Option A: We have neighbours here who are very good friends and I trust them.  I could keep paying my AU mobile phone bill for as long as needed and leave my SIM card with them.  At the point I need to make a transfer, I forewarn them, they plug my SIM into their phone, send me the verification code, and off the money goes.  I then cancel my AU mobile phone account (it's a monthly rolling setup, so not an issue with contract).

Option B: Order a free UK pay-as-you-go SIM now and have it sent to in-laws house in UK.  They post it to us here in Sydney, and then (sometime before leaving) I update my contact details with Commbank here in Sydney, using my UK number as the contact.  For future transfers, I pop the free SIM into my UK phone and can receive CommBank's verification code.  This option doesn't cost any money as the SIM is free and also has the benefit of me being able to test it works before I leave.  Apparently 3's free sim offers free roaming in Australia so could use here for the last few days if absolutely necessary once I've cancelled my own AU number.

Option B seems to be the best but would love to hear if anyone has any advice/better options from their own experience or if you think I've missed anything that might cause issues.

Thanks!

Gerry

[Marisawright]

Option 1

Get your free SIM but when you get your UK phone, make sure it's a dual SIM phone.  That way, you can have both SIMs in your phone at the same time, all the time.  Swapping SIMs around is a pain and increases the risk you'll damage either one of the SIMs or your phone.

Option 2

You're with Commonwealth Bank.  Ask them about changing over to a Netcode Token.  It's a little device like a keyring fob.  It generates the number so you're not reliant on getting a number via SMS. You have to ring them up and tell them you'll be travelling where you won't be able to get SMS.   I am pretty sure it works anywhere overseas, but you should check with them.   

Once you've got the device, you'll need to use it every time you log on to Netbank and any time you would normally get a SMS. No need for another phone.

 

[LifeBeginsAt]

Hi Marisa,

Thanks very much - the netcode token is a brilliant idea and one I totally hadn't thought of.  Really appreciate it

Cheers

Gerry

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, LifeBeginsAt said:

Hi Marisa,

Thanks very much - the netcode token is a brilliant idea and one I totally hadn't thought of.  Really appreciate it

I got one when I was having trouble with my old phone.  The only problem is that I believe they're reluctant to hand them out these days so you might have a problem.  Good luck.

[AliQ]

5 hours ago, LifeBeginsAt said:

Hi folks,

We're leaving Sydney after nearly 4 years and moving back to UK in early November (we were on temporary 457/482 for duration - COVID busted our 190 chances so home we go).

We still have 2 UK bank accounts active which we kept open while away so at least that removes one complication for sending our money home.  I have already transferred some of our money back to the UK however for unavoidable reasons there will still be a fairly sizeable chunk of money to transfer after we leave (including DASP refund when it eventually arrives). 

My question is about how to set up things up before I leave to avoid problems transferring the rest of our funds when out of the country.  

While I'm in Australia, it's pretty easy to send money to the UK - the steps are:

1. I use XE/Transferwise/whoever is best/etc. to book the rate
2. I then use online banking to request my AU Bank transfer the money to from my AU bank account to XE/etc's local account
3. The bank sends me a code via text to my AU mobile number.
4. I confirm and off the money goes.

The specific problem I foresee once I leave is that my current mobile phone provider in AU does not permit international roaming so I need to set up an alternative phone number that can receive texts from CommBank when I wish to transfer the money (which could be several months after we leave). 

Has anyone advice on the best way to solve this?  The best I've come up with currently:

Option A: We have neighbours here who are very good friends and I trust them.  I could keep paying my AU mobile phone bill for as long as needed and leave my SIM card with them.  At the point I need to make a transfer, I forewarn them, they plug my SIM into their phone, send me the verification code, and off the money goes.  I then cancel my AU mobile phone account (it's a monthly rolling setup, so not an issue with contract).

Option B: Order a free UK pay-as-you-go SIM now and have it sent to in-laws house in UK.  They post it to us here in Sydney, and then (sometime before leaving) I update my contact details with Commbank here in Sydney, using my UK number as the contact.  For future transfers, I pop the free SIM into my UK phone and can receive CommBank's verification code.  This option doesn't cost any money as the SIM is free and also has the benefit of me being able to test it works before I leave.  Apparently 3's free sim offers free roaming in Australia so could use here for the last few days if absolutely necessary once I've cancelled my own AU number.

Option B seems to be the best but would love to hear if anyone has any advice/better options from their own experience or if you think I've missed anything that might cause issues.

Thanks!

Gerry

Hi Gerry,

We are in the same position. My mobile is on a pre paid plan with NO international roaming, but, since arriving back here in the UK,  those codes from the bank are still coming through, and other texts as well.

As for transferring some funds, we use OFX and I set them up in my list of BPAY recipients before we left Australia, so I can do regular transfers / payments here in the UK without the need for a code.

The network token Marisa talks about is a great idea, but that was not an option with my Australian bank.

Good luck with your move.

 

[LifeBeginsAt]

55 minutes ago, AliQ said:

Hi Gerry,

We are in the same position. My mobile is on a pre paid plan with NO international roaming, but, since arriving back here in the UK,  those codes from the bank are still coming through, and other texts as well.

As for transferring some funds, we use OFX and I set them up in my list of BPAY recipients before we left Australia, so I can do regular transfers / payments here in the UK without the need for a code.

The network token Marisa talks about is a great idea, but that was not an option with my Australian bank.

Good luck with your move.

 

Cheers AliQ, that's another good idea - I don't use BPAY personally as I am a luddite/hadn't bothered or needed to but will definitely look into that as an option as that would take the need for any verification code out of the equation altogether.  I suppose if I set up a number of these things, I have some back ups in any case! 

Thanks again for the tip - hope you are settling back into UK life ok.  We're very much at the where will we live/work/oh god it rains every now and then how will we survive stage of planning

[Cup Final 1973]

Hi Gerry, just another thought.  We moved back to the UK in May and I updated our details with Bank of Melbourne but they won’t accept my UK mobile on the account.  Perhaps you should check that Commbank will.  I use BPAY and have included SENDFX in my recipients so don’t need a code but if ever there’s a problem I have a phone number in Melbourne to ring.

[Marisawright]

13 minutes ago, Cup Final 1973 said:

Hi Gerry, just another thought.  We moved back to the UK in May and I updated our details with Bank of Melbourne but they won’t accept my UK mobile on the account.  Perhaps you should check that Commbank will. 

I'm with Commbank and from memory, the only way they would allow me to update my mobile number was to actually walk into the branch.  Which obviously, you can't do if you're already overseas.   Which is why I think the Netcode thingy is a better bet - no need for a phone number.

[MacGyver]

On 25/08/2021 at 08:28, LifeBeginsAt said:

Hi folks,

We're leaving Sydney after nearly 4 years and moving back to UK in early November (we were on temporary 457/482 for duration - COVID busted our 190 chances so home we go).

We still have 2 UK bank accounts active which we kept open while away so at least that removes one complication for sending our money home.  I have already transferred some of our money back to the UK however for unavoidable reasons there will still be a fairly sizeable chunk of money to transfer after we leave (including DASP refund when it eventually arrives). 

My question is about how to set up things up before I leave to avoid problems transferring the rest of our funds when out of the country.  

While I'm in Australia, it's pretty easy to send money to the UK - the steps are:

1. I use XE/Transferwise/whoever is best/etc. to book the rate
2. I then use online banking to request my AU Bank transfer the money to from my AU bank account to XE/etc's local account
3. The bank sends me a code via text to my AU mobile number.
4. I confirm and off the money goes.

The specific problem I foresee once I leave is that my current mobile phone provider in AU does not permit international roaming so I need to set up an alternative phone number that can receive texts from CommBank when I wish to transfer the money (which could be several months after we leave). 

Has anyone advice on the best way to solve this?  The best I've come up with currently:

Option A: We have neighbours here who are very good friends and I trust them.  I could keep paying my AU mobile phone bill for as long as needed and leave my SIM card with them.  At the point I need to make a transfer, I forewarn them, they plug my SIM into their phone, send me the verification code, and off the money goes.  I then cancel my AU mobile phone account (it's a monthly rolling setup, so not an issue with contract).

Option B: Order a free UK pay-as-you-go SIM now and have it sent to in-laws house in UK.  They post it to us here in Sydney, and then (sometime before leaving) I update my contact details with Commbank here in Sydney, using my UK number as the contact.  For future transfers, I pop the free SIM into my UK phone and can receive CommBank's verification code.  This option doesn't cost any money as the SIM is free and also has the benefit of me being able to test it works before I leave.  Apparently 3's free sim offers free roaming in Australia so could use here for the last few days if absolutely necessary once I've cancelled my own AU number.

Option B seems to be the best but would love to hear if anyone has any advice/better options from their own experience or if you think I've missed anything that might cause issues.

Thanks!

Gerry

Does your Australian bank require an SMS code to transfer money to an Australian account? If not, you could set up a transferwise account and use it as an intermediary. Send money from Aus account to your Aus transferwise account, then convert/send from Aus transferwise to your UK transferwise account. Once in the UK account you can tranfer it to another UK account. The benefit of this method is all trasnfers are local to local (the conversaion/overseas transfer occurs within your transferwise app)

[LifeBeginsAt]

Thanks all for your advice.  Just as an update for anyone else who's in this situation again. 

For the bank transfers issue, I'm going to do a few things:

First up, I've ordered a free sim card from 3 in the UK, sent to my inlaws address in UK.  The sim card needs to be put in a phone in the UK in order to be activated first, before it can be used overseas.  My father in law has done this now and is in the process of posting the sim to me here in Sydney.  My intention is to try change contact numbers on AU bank and other accounts to this UK number in the week before I leave - however as CupFinal73 notes, my bank might tell me to go jump when I try to change to a UK mobile number so I need a back up option

As a result - and thanks Marisa for the suggestion, I am going to request a netcode token from Commbank.  Their website states that netcode tokens are only provided in 'exceptional circumstances' (in other words they want to discourage usage but will give you one if you really need it) - so I suspect I will need to be a little creative with my reasoning to ensure they can't say no. 

As a double back-up, I'm going to set up BPAY with my FX provider as a payee (I will do a couple of low value transfers to test this out before I leave AU). Thanks AliQ and others for that one. 

Across all of these, I feel like I have a few bases covered, and less stressed now about having issues getting the remainder of our money home in the months after we have left.

My next target is now to figure out a way to access myGOV online after I've left, as I just remembered that also has a SMS verification process for sign on!  There's a 'netcode' style app apparently but the reviews are brutal so going to see if I can find another workaround before going down that hellhole. 

Cheers all!  Will update if I find anything useful.

Gerry

 

[Marisawright]

14 minutes ago, LifeBeginsAt said:

My next target is now to figure out a way to access myGOV online after I've left, as I just remembered that also has a SMS verification process for sign on!  

The question to ask yourself is, why do you need MyGOV once you've left?   It's just a centralised portal to access various services.  So think about which services you'll still need to access and you may find solutions for those specific services.  For tax, for instance, you can submit your return before you go, or lodge a paper return, or pay a cheap tax agent like H&R Block to do your return for you:

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Your-tax-return/How-to-lodge-your-tax-return/Lodge-your-tax-return-from-outside-Australia/

[LifeBeginsAt]

Hi Marisa,

I'm assuming I'll need it for access to ATO site for submitting online DASP application after we've left.  But in any case, from what I've gleaned since posting, it looks like in the settings in MyGov I can change the sign-in/authentication option to 'answer secret questions' instead of using SMS or the code generator app so I think that solves the problem.  

Thanks again for your help and advice,

Gerry 

[Marisawright]

5 minutes ago, LifeBeginsAt said:

Hi Marisa,

I'm assuming I'll need it for access to ATO site for submitting online DASP application after we've left. 

Why is your super held by the ATO?  

While it's still in your super fund, you submit a hard-copy form:

https://www.ato.gov.au/forms/applying-for-a-departing-australia-super-payment/

Edited September 2, 2021 by Marisawright

[LifeBeginsAt]

17 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Why is your super held by the ATO?  

While it's still in your super fund, you submit a hard-copy form:

https://www.ato.gov.au/forms/applying-for-a-departing-australia-super-payment/

Hi Marisa,

Sorry I may have confused the issue - my super is not held with ATO, however the steps advised on my provider's website (UNISuper) advises to use the ATO online form (which gets sent direct to Uni Super upon submission).  I was aware there's a paper form also, but assumed the online option would be easier to manage once out of the country and would save having to post documents back after leaving.  But at the same time, that said, I can see the benefit of posting it also - in the sense that I could have it tracked and know when it was received, etc.  

Hmmm, I'll need to have a think about this.  I've already made notes to get all sorts of our ID documentation copied and certified before we leave so I don't run into issues later, but maybe using the old school postal option might actually be better on this one. 

Cheers

Gerry