Best rates for currency conversion

**steveygee** · 26-12-2011, 09:54 AM

Hi all,

As I'm looking at buying a car within the coming weeks(ASAP actually!!), I was wondering who people would suggest to transfer the money... IE who provides the most competitive rates, and who charges the least? I will be looking at transferring a few thousand pounds initially. I bank with HSBC in the UK and will be setting up an account with NAB here, unless people have other suggestions.

Cheers

**Ian&Beth** · 26-12-2011, 10:49 AM

Hi steve, we use moneycorp....their rates are as good as any.

Thing is with the exchange rate so bad these days unless your exchanging very large amounts its all much of a muchness.

Also mate, we are with NAB and have had no problems at all.

**jimmyskinner** · 26-12-2011, 10:57 AM

We set up hsbc premier and we change money free of charge and always match moneycorp, if you open it with a certain amount its a free account,can use SA bank machines and Bendigo and another cant remember which free of charges, its good as we have online banking and can see uk account and aussie one on the same screen, works well for us.

**wijaya** · 26-12-2011, 10:57 AM

Hi there
I use Ozforex. i always found their rate was much better compare to others.

regards

**steveygee** · 26-12-2011, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by jimmyskinner

We set up hsbc premier and we change money free of charge and always match moneycorp, if you open it with a certain amount its a free account,can use SA bank machines and Bendigo and another cant remember which free of charges, its good as we have online banking and can see uk account and aussie one on the same screen, works well for us.

That sounds interesting as I want to retain my UK account too. How much is the minimum you can open it with? I might go have a chat with them tomorrow.

As regards moneycorp/ozforex, do you have any idea roughly how much they charge?

**xzibit** · 26-12-2011, 12:07 PM

Ozforex don't charge anything as such, they make their money from giving you a slightly worse rare than the interbank exchange rate. But it's a much better deal than you'll get with the banks. I've used them about fifteen times now with no issues.

**steveygee** · 03-01-2012, 01:58 AM

Wow, just been looking at the exchange rate.... still dropping. Not cool :( I've not transferred yet and struggling to "predict" if it's likely to go back up. When you are transferring thousands it makes a difference!!

**Ryan T. Lion** · 03-01-2012, 02:41 AM

I used HiFX which was pretty good. You do the deal when you're happy with the rate, which is then frozen. You then give them the money with a debit card whatever and they action the transfer to your Oz account. Dead easy.

All the charges are covered in the rate.

Don't forget with a car you need to factor in stamp duty and rego.

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**Ryan T. Lion** · 03-01-2012, 02:42 AM

Oh, and once you've done the deal (with whoever), stop watching the rate. What's done is done!!! :-)

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**jimmyskinner** · 03-01-2012, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by steveygee

That sounds interesting as I want to retain my UK account too. How much is the minimum you can open it with? I might go have a chat with them tomorrow.

As regards moneycorp/ozforex, do you have any idea roughly how much they charge?

Hi Steve i think its £50,000 but they opened ours straight away with £1 and we told them the money would be in within a few weeks, but i seem to remember them saying as long as its in within 12 months of opening its still free banking and no fees, it does work very well we leave a couple of hundred in our uk account and have a debit card and cheque book and use our aussie account everyday although we use aussie hsbc credit cards and just pay them off at end of every month. We also had everything before we got here aussie Debit cards, credit cards and cheque books all sorted though our branch in Selby, we were also new customers to HSBC and found them brilliant.