Transferring money from the UK

[Guest Guest9815]

Hi

 

I am moving to Adelaide this August and was wondering what the most efficient way is to make monthly transfers from the UK?

 

What bank would you recommend out there? I am with Barclays here but they have no presence over there, I have been told to use Wespac..?

 

I will also need to bring around $15k with me, again whats the best method for this? am I to bring GBP, AUD or T/Cheques?

 

Also if you have any other advise that would be great

 

Thanks in advance

 

Chris

[snifter]

You can open up an Aus bank account from the UK online before you leave.

 

You'll need to have all the right ID etc to go collect your cards etc once you arrive.

 

As for taking cash or TC's, 15K is a lot of money. I'd do a transfer between your UK and Aus accounts. It will be converted for you. If you bring over $10,000 AU on the plane with you *must* declare it when you land or else you could get into trouble. TC's or cash, both will require declaring. Its fine taking it into the country but there is paperwork.

[mattyegg]

Hello Chris, We leave on Tuesday and have already setup an account with NAB and have been using Moneycorp to transfer money over. No complaints so far a give you a good rate.

[Misplaced]

Hello Chris, We leave on Tuesday and have already setup an account with NAB and have been using Moneycorp to transfer money over. No complaints so far a give you a good rate.

 

Ditto - but we aren't on our way yet ?

[Guest Guest9815]

Thanks, I will look into opening a bank account from over here

[Guest Guest9815]

Hi Matt

 

Thanks for your reply, was it easy setting up accounts with both of these? do they need an address in Australia as we are only staying in a holiday apartment for the first 4 weeks until we find something else.

 

Chris

[Guest Dazzlin]

Hi Chris,

 

I set up accounts with Westpac and NAB before I left the UK. Once the accounts are set up you can transfer money into them. Only problem is you cannot withdraw money until you have visited a branch and evidenced your identity. Uniquely, Westpac has an office in London where you can do this (we did) so if there is any chance you might visit London before you come to Oz then worth considering. This meant we could order 'Handicards' (a kind of debit card for ATM and EFTPOS only - can't be used online) and could also start to use online banking (useful for making payments remotely - such as to landlords, etc).

 

I have used both TorFX and MoneyCorp to transfer money. Basically, I set up an account with both of them and when the time came to transfer money, rang each of them and asked for a spot price to transfer the money. Both as good as each other, and the money was in our Oz account within a couple of days.

 

This should be the best way of getting money into Oz, and they will give you a better exchange rate than high street banks.

 

If you can't visit Westpac in London or don't want to do that, I have found Travelex's Cash Passport really useful. You can pick one up at the Travelex desk in your UK departure airport or order one in advance. Basically, you buy your currency and they load it onto a debit-type card and give you a pin which you can then use in ATMs and EFTPOS (same as Westpac's Handicard). It's much safer than carrying lots of cash and more convenient than travellers cheques, and you can top up the balance online if you need to. This means you can get Aussie Dollars out of the ATM at the airport as soon as you arrive.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Daren

[Guest vikkiann]

We used hifx for transferring money and it was in our anz account the next day

[Guest Guest9815]

Thanks Daren

 

I have opened a Westpac account and a couple of exchange accounts, I do have time to post out the ID forms, worst case is I do it when I arrive.

 

I will certainly look into the cash passport

 

Thanks again

 

Chris