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Original poster

Foreign Exchange/Bank Accounts - Emigrating

61 replies

DaddyCool · 19/04/2006 11:51

I should know this but it's not really my area. When you emigrated, how did you handle the logistics of your money?

I'm talking equity and large values here.

Did you take it all over in travellers cheques and pay them into an account in the country? Did you somehow manage to set up a foreign bank account and wire the money over ready to be accessed when you arrived? If so, did they send you cash card/book everything before you even entered the country?

I'm going to Canada. I'm sure this would be the same process for Canada/NZ/AUZ.

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foxinsocks · 19/04/2006 13:23

the anti-money laudering thing means customs normally require you to declare the money you are bringing in if it is above a certain amount so just check with customs (or the bank should know) if you need to do this

Original poster
DaddyCool · 19/04/2006 13:25

thanks eidsvoid. i'll check with customs but i'll probably go with a service provider but not a high street bank. their rates suck.

Thanks LIZ.

Hana - your dad is an FCA?? I'm ACMA. Is he a british accountant living in Canada?

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Original poster
DaddyCool · 19/04/2006 13:33

btw, thanks all. i just wanted to get a clearer picture on how i should go about doing it. i'm running out of time as well. less than three weeks!

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Original poster
DaddyCool · 19/04/2006 21:16

sorted. wire transfer to my mum's account (nice and easy) through a specialised forex company with great rates... i'll make sure they're not dodgy before i BACS money over to them though.

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TheBlonde · 19/04/2006 21:44

Hope your mum doesn't spend it all at once Wink

scienceteacher · 19/04/2006 21:50

When we moved to the USA, DH's employer paved the way for us to get bank accounts.

The best way to transfer money back and forth is to set up a wire transfer.

You need an address to open a bank account so it is unlikely that you will be able to do much before you arrive and are settled. On the plus side, your UK debit card will be good in cash machines in Canada. You should make sure that your UK account is internet accessible.

If you are buying a house in Canada with UK equity, then this will be a striking enough situation for a Canadian banker to sit up and give you special treatment.

Good luck with your move. If ever you are to feel like a second class citizen, it is being a new resident, dealing with money. The situation improves after a few months so you just have to sit it out.

scienceteacher · 19/04/2006 21:55

Civilised countries don't make you pay taxes on foreign exchange. What they may do is make you declare any large amounts to customs so that they can keep track of any ney laundering.

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 08:46

scienceteacher - i'm canadian and and accountant so i'm alright Smile... just wanted to know what the most popular method is.

i found this forex place \link{http://www.moneycorp.com/\moneycorp}.

their rates are incredible. well above anyone else. i'm just running a credit check on them today and looking into them a bit more.

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Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 10:31

well they look good.

sorry to be boring but has anyone else had dealing with this company and why are their exchange rates soooo much better than everone else?

RBS (who i bank with and who is rubbish) rate = 1.944

Moneycorp = 2.02

That's huge and if exchanging 5 figures you're looking at savings in the thousands.

how can this be i wonder?

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scienceteacher · 20/04/2006 10:46

Did RBS provide you with a rate for the kind of money you are talking about?

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 10:50

actually... no! I never told them! i'm soooo useless. shall ring them now.

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scienceteacher · 20/04/2006 10:54

According to their website, 2.028 is the spot rate, so you won't actually get that - they have to take a teensy amount of commission otherwise it is not worth it for them. Their currency convertor box actually gives you a better rate than 2.028, so I think it must be slightly out of date.

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 10:57

they're rubbisheo! it's currently 1.944 for all amounts.

i googled all this yesterday as well and all the high street banks are in the same area. 1.94 to 1.96 and moneycorp kicks their arse with 2.02.

I've just googled moneycorp and found loads of discussion forums with expats talking about how wonderful they are.

I also ran a credit check on them and they are a huge, grounded corporation.

so it looks like moneycorp methinks.

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Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 10:58

yeah, the converter is out of date but i called the guy last night. it was about 2.03 at the time and they were doing 2.02. that's pretty damn good!

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ghosty · 20/04/2006 11:00

We set up a forex account and then regretted it because of how much they charged ... we closed it pretty quickly ...
DH opened an account as soon as we got here for his salary to be paid into ... we used our UK debit card as a credit card for a few weeks while we watched the exchange rate and then when it all looked favourable we just transferred it from Barclays Bank to our NZ bank account.

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:02

ghosty - this will be just a one off exchange and wire transfer so i think it'll be pretty good. I'll wait off a bit though because the £ seems to be getting stronger. USD is weakening in comparison and the CAD should follow suit.

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foxinsocks · 20/04/2006 11:02

ask them if they have any other charges - what % they will take of the amount etc. - they'll be making the money somewhere!

then you can compare the two

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:03

nope! no other charges. just the small difference in the spot rate and their rate and the £15 charge. incredible really.

they only deal in large amounts (has to be over 5K) so i guess they make their money like that.

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foxinsocks · 20/04/2006 11:04

is that £15 the handling charge?

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:04

(i called moneycorp last night, grilled him and he's sent me all the forms and i can't find any other charges in the small print)

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Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:05

£15 for the 24hr wire to the canadian account. even that's cheap because my crap high street bank who i've been banking with for 5 years wants to charge me £25.

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foxinsocks · 20/04/2006 11:07

we are such cynics Grin

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:09

oh no fox, i'm the same! but these guys look flawless. i've posted another thread in the money section because i just can't quite believe the difference between these guys and the others. what are we missing? why doesn't everyone use these guys if they're so good? you know what I mean? it just seems to good to be true.

(getting exited about FX isn't good, is it?)

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foxinsocks · 20/04/2006 11:10

sounds like you've done your homework - I see they have a whole division for those emigrating so it's probably a fairly big sideline for them

Original poster
DaddyCool · 20/04/2006 11:10

i'll ring the post office as well. you never know.

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