sarab Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hi I have been looking at international bank accounts as when I move to Perth I will still have some commitments in the UK. I have been looking at HSBC - they (unbelievably) charge £100 to open anInternational Account and it's £12 per month to view all of your bank accounts, and £5 for each international transfer between HSBC accounts. I have just been looking at Citi Bank they seem a bit more reasonalbe e.g. free account opening and transfers between accounts. Does anyone use either of these banks? Are there any others that people use that are in the UK and in Oz? Any help and advice would be much appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I have seen other on here who have Citibank accounts and seem pleased with them, If you use their free service to transfer funds I would suggest you look at what exchange rate they are offering you and compare it with a company like Moneycorp... They do not charge PIO members to transfer and you may find the exchange rate is a lot better... I also believe that NAB will open a bank accoount for you In Australia through Moneycorp. Check out a few options, free transfers from a bank could mean a poor exchange rate. I do not think NAB have any banking charges.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarab Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thanks for the tip - how does it work with Moneycorp do they pay the money in to your account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Moneycorp have their own thread on here and John will answer any questions. I have never used them so i cannot give much advice. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/money-transfer-ask-moneycorp/77470-money-transfers-explained.html That is a link to the Moneycorp information on how things work. There are other companies and it does pay to shop around.. Good luck.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 You could open a Nab Account online there is a NAB banner on this thread. You could then open an account with Moneycorp, tell them you are a PIO member and have a NAB account, you will then not be charged any fees from Moneycorp or the bank for moving the money. Also remember that most banks over here charge a monthly admin fee. NAB do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Why not simply maintain your existing UK bank account, and access/transact via the internet? Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarab Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Because of hefty bank charges to transfer money!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lara24 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hi I have been looking at international bank accounts as when I move to Perth I will still have some commitments in the UK. I have been looking at HSBC - they (unbelievably) charge £100 to open anInternational Account and it's £12 per month to view all of your bank accounts, and £5 for each international transfer between HSBC accounts. I have just been looking at Citi Bank they seem a bit more reasonalbe e.g. free account opening and transfers between accounts. Does anyone use either of these banks? Are there any others that people use that are in the UK and in Oz? Any help and advice would be much appreciated!! My husband was recently in Perth for a few weeks so opened an Oz HSBC acount as he already banks with HSBC in the UK. We have an advanced UK acount which meant we only had to pay £50 to open the account - might be worth checking what account you have. Because we have left $1000 in the account there will be no montly fee on it and transfering money was very reasonable. My husband was all set to transfer using a money broker in London but the difference in exchange rate was $0.01 so for the conveniance of being able to do it all yourself far out-weighted the tiny difference in exchange rate. He was also told that if he paid in $250 to the account each month HSBC would credit our acount with $10 each month so if you are doing 1 or 2 transfers a month you will pretty much break even. I appreciate what you say about the charges being high to open the account but I think that reflects the fact that HSBC is very much geared up to transferring funds around the world so once you are set-up your costs should be reasonable. Guess it all depends how much and how often you will be moving around. We were also keen to stay with HSBC as we have 20 years history with them including our mortgage at the moment so will hopefully help when we are in need of mortgage / loans / ID to use in Oz....... Not sure what the £12 per month to view all accounts is about, we have internet banking already set up in the UK and the Australian account just shows under our list of accounts when we log-in. Think that charge may be waived if you ensure your balance does not go below $1000. Hope that helped - good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Because of hefty bank charges to transfer money!! Not really - I'd take a look at Moneycorp, HiFX, OzForex, and World First. These firms charge a lot less for a transfer of funds to a UK bank account than the cost you have quoted for maintaining an international GBP denominated bank account. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarab Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 My husband was recently in Perth for a few weeks so opened an Oz HSBC acount as he already banks with HSBC in the UK. We have an advanced UK acount which meant we only had to pay £50 to open the account - might be worth checking what account you have. Because we have left $1000 in the account there will be no montly fee on it and transfering money was very reasonable. My husband was all set to transfer using a money broker in London but the difference in exchange rate was $0.01 so for the conveniance of being able to do it all yourself far out-weighted the tiny difference in exchange rate. He was also told that if he paid in $250 to the account each month HSBC would credit our acount with $10 each month so if you are doing 1 or 2 transfers a month you will pretty much break even. I appreciate what you say about the charges being high to open the account but I think that reflects the fact that HSBC is very much geared up to transferring funds around the world so once you are set-up your costs should be reasonable. Guess it all depends how much and how often you will be moving around. We were also keen to stay with HSBC as we have 20 years history with them including our mortgage at the moment so will hopefully help when we are in need of mortgage / loans / ID to use in Oz....... Not sure what the £12 per month to view all accounts is about, we have internet banking already set up in the UK and the Australian account just shows under our list of accounts when we log-in. Think that charge may be waived if you ensure your balance does not go below $1000. Hope that helped - good luck. Hi The £12 is the cost for an advanced account, and it is the only way HSBC will allow me to view the UK and Oz bank account at the same time (they have told me Oz don't do an Advanced account and this I would have to be a Premier customer earning mega bucks to view both accounts at once for free). The other benefits (travel insurance, breakdown cover etc) won't apply to me as I am in Oz. What type of oz account did your husband get to get $10 credit? We will be transfering money every month as we still have commitments in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WinTheAshes Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hi, Am in a similar dilemma. Have seen this link on money saving expert and thought it might be of use... http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange As stated HSBC offers a fees free transfer with their Premier Account though not sure if their exchange rates are competitive. I was going to use a currency broker to get a favourable rate but have just seen that they offer no compensation scheme if their firm goes bust so I guess I will be sticking to either HSBC or Citi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarab Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thanks for the link had a read through, we have gone with HSBC as they can open both accounts for us. The first person I spoke to on the phone was not very good, we ended up opening a standard account but need an advanced one to see the UK & Oz one together online. Transfers are cheaper though with an advanced, about £5 each time as opposed to £17 with a standard account. I think we will transfer large amounts with a broker and then small monthly amounts for our UK commitments through HSBC. I guess we will just have to see how it goes to be honest. We didn't go with Citi as it meant dealing with the UK & Oz separately to open accounts, as they are not integrated (which seems stupid). However, it is £50 (when you have an advanced account £100 without one) HSBC to open the Oz account for us (they validate your ID etc and will sort out cards before we go). But there is a £10 month fee for an advanced account from HSBC. We may end up changing banks once we get there - who knows!!! ve seen this link on money saving expert and thought it might be of use... http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange As stated HSBC offers a fees free transfer with their Premier Account though not sure if their exchange rates are competitive. I was going to use a currency broker to get a favourable rate but have just seen that they offer no compensation scheme if their firm goes bust so I guess I will be sticking to either HSBC or Citi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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