Guest monty Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 This may sound dumb, but I'm really confused about the transfer of money to OZ and things like Hifix etc. We have 80,000 GBP to transfer over to put by as a deposit on a place of our own but are quite happy to rent until we find where we want to be. The bank has told us that there is an account which will pay 6.5% interest which sounds great. I realise that the AUD is not brilliant at the moment remember it being 2.5% back in August so would obviosly want to wait and hope it gets stronger. Can someone please explain to me how it all works, what are the benefits of using hifix or similar in comparison to transfering it over through the banks yourself? If someone could give me an idiots guide it would relly be appreciated. Thanks Monty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Broughtons Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Hi Monty, We used Halo for bringing our money over. Basically each time we sent money from the UK I would phone the guys up at Halo, we'd have a chat about the rate, they would email me some paperwork which I'd print, sign, scan and email back. I would then send them the money - I did this several ways - internet banking transfer, CHAPs transfer and by bank cheque. They would then send the money in aussie dollars to our bank account here. It really was quite simple and HiFX work pretty much in the same manner. We still have some money left in the UK but are in no hurry so we're playing the watching game on the exchange rate. 6.5% interest sounds great, who is that with? We have just transferred $50000 into a high interest account that is locked away for 11 months - we can't touch it unless it is really important. By locking it for 11 months we get 7.1% interest. We've also just opened a savings account to pay into each month that will earn us 6.85%. Both of these are with Westpac and are free of charge! Felicity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life on easy street Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 29 Nov 2007 I am no expert I have read good reports about them in the U.K Times newspaper you get a slightly better deal than some of the highstreet banks. Any exchange rate better than 2.4 is good under the current climate. Forward Contract One of the advantages of using HIFX a forward contract can be arranged With a small deposit think it is 10% you can fix the exchange rate at today’s Rate 2.35 Dollars to 1 pound for 2 years. So if it takes 12 months to sell your house you do not have the risk that exchange rates Will move against you. Exchange rate could drop to 2 dollars to the pound in 12 months. Or Exchange rate could rise to 2.7 dollars to the pound in 12 months. You still get 2.35 Dollars to the pound. You have option of a spot price You phone them and what ever the rate is at that moment that’s the rate You get. Fixed rate You name a exchange rate you hope to get Then if the exchange rate is reached money is exchanged If the exchange rate is not reached money is not exchanged I am sure that HIFX can explain this more clearly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Broughtons Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 29 Nov 2007 I am no expert I have read good reports about them in the U.K Times newspaper you get a slightly better deal than some of the highstreet banks. Any exchange rate better than 2.4 is good under the current climate. Forward Contract One of the advantages of using HIFX a forward contract can be arranged With a small deposit think it is 10% you can fix the exchange rate at today’s Rate 2.35 Dollars to 1 pound for 2 years. So if it takes 12 months to sell your house you do not have the risk that exchange rates Will move against you. Exchange rate could drop to 2 dollars to the pound in 12 months. Or Exchange rate could rise to 2.7 dollars to the pound in 12 months. You still get 2.35 Dollars to the pound. You have option of a spot price You phone them and what ever the rate is at that moment that’s the rate You get. Fixed rate You name a exchange rate you hope to get Then if the exchange rate is reached money is exchanged If the exchange rate is not reached money is not exchanged I am sure that HIFX can explain this more clearly Halo do offer all of this as well. The profits from our house sale all came over at 2.5 as a result of a forward contract. Funny what you forget until someone reminds you, Ta very much Life on Easy Street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Windsor2 Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Life on easy street is exactly right. The spot and the forward option hold no risk as you know eactly what you are getting, whereas the fixed rate, or market order, is a good way of hitting the peaks in the market but there is no guarantee that your target rate wil be achieved. There is no "best" strategy, as unfortunately nobody can predict where the markets are going. The key is to find one that best fits your situation - have you got a target rate? Of course, 2.50 would be great and a couple of months ago we were above that, but the moves we have seen have really been as a result of uncertainty in the global equity markets rather than anything detremental to the Aussie Dollar. The Aussie economy is, in fact, booming, and with the interest rates up at 6.75% it makes it a very attractive country to invest in, which only goes to strengthen the dollar. A lot of people will leave their funds in the UK as they may not need them all immediately. If the market moves in your favour in the following months then fantastic, but what if it moves against you? In the last 4 months, the market has moved about 34 cents, so on £80,000 that is over $27,000. Are you willing to or can you afford to take that risk? The way a currency broker works is very similar to a bank, but without the transfer charges or commission fees. You simply call us to buy your currency (through one of the options explained), ask your bank to send the funds through to us and then let us know the account in Aus where you would like us to send the funds to. It is as easy as that. It usually takes about 3 working days to send the funds to us via a BACS transfer, we will then send those funds straight away, and it takes up to 4 working days to clear in the account down in OZ. So if you allow 7-8 working days you should be fine. There are a couple of points I make my clients aware of - if you decide to leave some funds in the UK when you move, then you need to set up with our Sydney branch. You will also need to speak to your bank as some people have had some problems when tryign to instruct their bansk to send money once they have left the country. I hope this helps Monty, but if you have any other questions then please dont hesitate to get in touch or send me a message. Cheers, Richard, HiFX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamTalbot Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 The way a currency broker works is very similar to a bank, but without the transfer charges or commission fees. You simply call us to buy your currency (through one of the options explained), ask your bank to send the funds through to us and then let us know the account in Aus where you would like us to send the funds to. It is as easy as that. Hi Windsor I'm not clear on where the broker comes in. Surely it cost something to use a broker. Please explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Windsor2 Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Team Talbot, Due to the volume of currency we trade, as a broker, we can buy our currency at very similar levels to where the banks are trading - this is known as the interbank rate and is the one you will see online or in the financial times. The fact we have lower overheads than the banks (no high street branches etc) means we can sell it to clients at a better rate than the banks. We make our money in between where we buy and where we sell, but the "margin" as it is called is smaller than that taken by a bank. All charges are incorporated in this margin, thus we do not have to charge the client for using the service. At HiFX we will also refund any receiving charges from the Australian bank, should there be any. I hope this helps, Richard, HiFX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamTalbot Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 thanks - yes that does make things clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monty Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Thankyou everyone for taking the time to reply to my post, you've been brilliant in making things a lot clearer for me to understand and kept it all very simple. Montyx:spinny: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Morley_Sarah Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Monty, Just in regards to those accounts in Aus offering 6.5% interest. The banks that do them are Commonwealth Bank (Netbank Saver), ANZ (You have to specially ask for their internet only account through a consultant as they dont promote the highest interest one) and Bankwest & ING I personally have the ANZ & Commonwealth ones but use Commonwealth for my main banking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monty Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Thanks Sarah, I spoke to a consultant at commonwealth and we have opened a netbank saver in addition to a normal account. You are right though about using it through the internet though. If anyone knows of any good deals with regard to savings accounts offering a good rate of interest would appreciate it. Monty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom the Pom Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Just out of curiosity - what is the highest it's ever been??? Has it ever reached $3 - £1???? That would be NICE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life on easy street Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Just out of curiosity - what is the highest it's ever been??? Has it ever reached $3 - £1???? That would be NICE!!! It would be nice to win the lottery :yes: The values of 3 to 1 was a freak spot price value. You may never see it again in your lifetime. In the Early 1990 s the monthly average went as low as 1.90 Spot price may have gone even lower.:cry: most of the time it is 2.2 to 2.5 Dollars to the pound. You can go to web site http://www.x-rates.com And look at exchange as far back as 1995. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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