Advice HIFX contact name and number opening bank accounts!

[Guest cunnah10]

I hope we have broadband in rental house i am going to be lost without being able to go on this site everyday!

 

Can you help with contact name and number for me to sort bank account now with HIFX?

 

Are these the best guys to speak to to sort this out?

 

Will we have access to a new bank account with bank cards etc as soon as we arrive?

 

How much can we actually carry with us in cash on the flight over?

 

Obviously we will be able to use any existing bank accounts and hole in the wall for cash still in UK ?

 

going to leave pensions where they are for now and sort them with Andy hopefully once we get over to Adelaide and get a bit settled!One less thing to worry about!

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Gill

[orrelljet]

Hey Gill.

 

What exactly are you after? If you need an Australian bank account then yes, that can be done through HiFX - they have an agreement with Westpac over here and will pass on your contact details to them. Westpac will, in turn, contact you directly to set up the accounts. Bear in mind that the accounts are deposit only, until you go to the branch they've allocated to you (most likely Central Market) and show them ID/fill in forms/waste an hour of your life.

 

You can still use your UK cards over here but will pay a premium for doing so.

 

Not sure about the cash on a plane question - if you have an agent, ask them; if not, speak to Australia House in London.

 

Justin.

[duncan-clan]

hi ya i used westpac for account over i did set up account over phone from uk and then went to bank to sign paper work you will get cards in about 7 working days (you will need to take rental agreements and passports with you to banks)

 

broadband wont be there!! dont know how you could set this up from uk but ive got 3G wireless connection 5G download for $40 month

 

uk cash cards will work no probs but check with your bank for how much they charge for using card in oz, my bank abbey charge 2.5% per transaction

 

as for HSFX pass i used HSBC in high interest account and going to tranfer money when i need it

 

alex

[Guest cunnah10]

Hey Gill.

 

What exactly are you after? If you need an Australian bank account then yes, that can be done through HiFX - they have an agreement with Westpac over here and will pass on your contact details to them. Westpac will, in turn, contact you directly to set up the accounts. Bear in mind that the accounts are deposit only, until you go to the branch they've allocated to you (most likely Central Market) and show them ID/fill in forms/waste an hour of your life.

 

You can still use your UK cards over here but will pay a premium for doing so.

 

Not sure about the cash on a plane question - if you have an agent, ask them; if not, speak to Australia House in London.

 

Justin.

Would we be better just waiting until we get there to sort any bank accounts and bank books,cards etc?

As you say we can still use our UK accounts from over there by using the hole in the wall as long as we didn't use it too often because of the charges!

 

With not selling the house now we don't have a nice big lump sum yet to transfer over even!

 

We will have a chunk of money though that we want to be able to get at as and when to help us over the first few months!

 

I'm thinking just do this to start with and worry about opening other bank accounts maybe once we get there!

 

What would you guyd suggest?

 

Gill

[Guest cunnah10]

hi ya i used westpac for account over i did set up account over phone from uk and then went to bank to sign paper work you will get cards in about 7 working days (you will need to take rental agreements and passports with you to banks)

 

broadband wont be there!! dont know how you could set this up from uk but ive got 3G wireless connection 5G download for $40 month

 

uk cash cards will work no probs but check with your bank for how much they charge for using card in oz, my bank abbey charge 2.5% per transaction

 

as for HSFX pass i used HSBC in high interest account and going to tranfer money when i need it

 

alex

Thanks Alex

We could open up a HSBC account even from here i suppose!

 

If we did this could my parents who are with HSBC also here in the UK transfer money easily for the likes of the 4 kids when it is Christmas or Birthdays?

 

Thanks for info Wireless internet!

I will not be without my internet!!!

 

Gill

[orrelljet]

Personally, I'd get the bank sorted now, while you have the time to do it. HiFX are just one of the many companies that offer Forex services and, like most, will require a minumum transfer before you can use their services. You will have so many things to do when you do get here and will most likely want to just sleep; anything that makes things go quicker is a blessing.

 

If you do decide to set up an account from the UK, you'll need to make a deposit of some kind, as a gesture of goodwill really, depending on the chosen bank. Westpac wanted $2.5K, I seem to remember. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably chose NAB (National Australia BanK) as they have an account which doesn't charge you $5 per month when your balance dips below $2K!!

 

Another thing you can do online is the TFN (NI) number, via the link below. Once you have an address in Australia (short term rental will do fine), fill in the online form and away you go.

 

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/38760.htm

 

J.

[duncan-clan]

was meant to say carrying cash is max £10,000 per person (adult) but you must let customs know how much you have...i brought in 10k cash thats for family of 4 with no probs dont forget to look at what can and cant bring into oz like food,dairy products,nuts etc just declaire everything when in oz customs if they find something you dont tell them about then its big fines and poss no entry in to your new homeland

 

alex

[Guest cunnah10]

was meant to say carrying cash is max £10,000 per person (adult) but you must let customs know how much you have...i brought in 10k cash thats for family of 4 with no probs dont forget to look at what can and cant bring into oz like food,dairy products,nuts etc just declaire everything when in oz customs if they find something you dont tell them about then its big fines and poss no entry in to your new homeland

 

alex

ThANKS AGAIN!!

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

was meant to say carrying cash is max £10,000 per person (adult) but you must let customs know how much you have...i brought in 10k cash thats for family of 4 with no probs dont forget to look at what can and cant bring into oz like food,dairy products,nuts etc just declaire everything when in oz customs if they find something you dont tell them about then its big fines and poss no entry in to your new homeland

 

alex

 

 

Hi,

 

You can bring as much cash as you wish except that any amount over $10000 must be declared to customs,

 

Guzzler