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Transfer money at the best rate?


Tamara HDU

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Can anyone offer advice about the cheapest way to transfer money in and out of Australia?

When we migrated here we did the standard uninformed thing and transferred from bank to bank at the exchange rate minus the banks fees and losses in the exchange. In hindsight we probably ripped ourselves off as the listed exchange rate was nothing like the exchange that our money was brought in at.

I was recently contacted by HiFX and have listed them as an option on my furnished homes (homesdownunder) web site for guests to pay me. They appear to offer a better exchange rate than the banks offer?

I have a number of questions that could perhaps help future migrants.

1. How did those people that have moved here transfer your funds and did you lose money on the exchange rate?

2. For those that have used HiFX...how did you find them? I want to make sure that people are happy with them.

3. Are there similar companies like HiFX that can be used to transfer funds and if so what are your experiences?

4. For smaller money transfers (like paying for rental accommodation!) what methods would you recommend? If i transfer small quantities of money back to the UK my bank charges me $24 per transaction. How can I avoid these fees and get peoples deposits back to them at the least cost?

5. Is there any way to avoid the bank fees associated with transfering money to pay for rental accommodation? Fees are charged in the UK and in Australia and if there's a way for guests to avoid the Uk fees, and for me to avoid the Australian fees...please let me know?

6. PayPal is simple, quick and convenient but the fees are expensive. They charge 1% country to country transfer plus 2% when the funds arrive here, plus 0.30 per $. However, I have had guests pay by means of Paypal cheque and they have reported that the costs are then minimal. Does anyone have any more information about how to avoid these fees?

7. What other methods similar to Paypal are there...with lower charges? Paypal allows payments to be made with credit cards and this is important so it would help if you know of similar methods to make credit card payments?.

If we can open up the debate of how to get the best exchange rate when we bring our hard earned money here...that's a good thing.

If we can avoid the punitive charges associated with paying for accomodation, hire cars etc then that will also save people lots of money.

How did you bring your money here? Was it a cheap, easy and convenient way to do it? Would you do it differently now? What companies and what ways do you recommend?

How do you get more of your money here without it being taken by the banking and money transfer systems?!!

Tamara ;)

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Hi Tamara,

I've sent you some details via PM.

Many of the forum members make use of our services.

We're much cheaper than the banks, and have much lower fees than these online fx firms and can assist you with the transfers in and out of SA/Australia.

We're registered with the FSB in SA as well as the FSA in the UK.

we can assist with opening bank accounts abroad

We can do your tax clearance certificate at NO charge

Help with your formal emigration, if applicable.

Tanya

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Can anyone offer advice about the cheapest way to transfer money in and out of Australia?

When we migrated here we did the standard uninformed thing and transferred from bank to bank at the exchange rate minus the banks fees and losses in the exchange. In hindsight we probably ripped ourselves off as the listed exchange rate was nothing like the exchange that our money was brought in at.

I was recently contacted by HiFX and have listed them as an option on my furnished homes (homesdownunder) web site for guests to pay me. They appear to offer a better exchange rate than the banks offer?

I have a number of questions that could perhaps help future migrants.

1. How did those people that have moved here transfer your funds and did you lose money on the exchange rate?

2. For those that have used HiFX...how did you find them? I want to make sure that people are happy with them.

3. Are there similar companies like HiFX that can be used to transfer funds and if so what are your experiences?

4. For smaller money transfers (like paying for rental accommodation!) what methods would you recommend? If i transfer small quantities of money back to the UK my bank charges me $24 per transaction. How can I avoid these fees and get peoples deposits back to them at the least cost?

5. Is there any way to avoid the bank fees associated with transfering money to pay for rental accommodation? Fees are charged in the UK and in Australia and if there's a way for guests to avoid the Uk fees, and for me to avoid the Australian fees...please let me know?

6. PayPal is simple, quick and convenient but the fees are expensive. They charge 1% country to country transfer plus 2% when the funds arrive here, plus 0.30 per $. However, I have had guests pay by means of Paypal cheque and they have reported that the costs are then minimal. Does anyone have any more information about how to avoid these fees?

7. What other methods similar to Paypal are there...with lower charges? Paypal allows payments to be made with credit cards and this is important so it would help if you know of similar methods to make credit card payments?.

If we can open up the debate of how to get the best exchange rate when we bring our hard earned money here...that's a good thing.

If we can avoid the punitive charges associated with paying for accomodation, hire cars etc then that will also save people lots of money.

How did you bring your money here? Was it a cheap, easy and convenient way to do it? Would you do it differently now? What companies and what ways do you recommend?

How do you get more of your money here without it being taken by the banking and money transfer systems?!!

Tamara ;)

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Hi Tamara,

I've sent you some details via PM.

Many of the forum members make use of our services.

We're much cheaper than the banks, and have much lower fees than these online fx firms and can assist you with the transfers in and out of SA/Australia.

We're registered with the FSB in SA as well as the FSA in the UK.

we can assist with opening bank accounts abroad

We can do your tax clearance certificate at NO charge

Help with your formal emigration, if applicable.

Tanya

Thank you for your reply Tanya.

We lost a fortune when we brought our funds over. We just transferred the money through FNB but the exchange rate was terrible.

The problem now is that many guests who book wth me are charged exorbitant rates for smaller transfers and I get charged horrble rates when I transfer deposits back to people when they come here for a few weeks on a reccie.

If there was a easy and cheap way for people to send money, and an easy and cheap way for me to receive it then that would be great.

I also have some funds in SA that I bring in every now and then and would like a better option for that as well.

Tamara

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I've used HiFX in the past and was happy with their service. There are quite a few of these types of company around that offer these types of service. Tanya's is one that specialises more in the ZAR market I suspect.

I used HiFx mainly because I needed to move funds around the Uk, NZ and Australia. I did not need anything for RSA. HiFX offered a service in all those countries. They were also recommended by people on the mainly UK to AUS and NZ sites.

I made the deal on one day and the funds were transfered to my account within 24 hours, (though I only saw it on my bank statement after 48). I was also concerned because HiFX wanted the cash upfront, so did the first transaction for quite a small amount. HiFX did not rip me off!

The rate they quoted and gave was good. I checked it against a forex trading site post the event.

What I suspect happens is a bit of an offset process. If somone wants to buy ZAR with AUD and someone wants to sell ZAR and buy AUD, well you just set the two off against each other and just buy and sell the difference, and keep all (most) of the slippage (around the world on any particular day there must be lots of offset opportunity). But that's me guessing.

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My vote, Tanya from exchange4free, they were fantastic used them twice and no problems, by far the cheapest and best way.

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My vote, Tanya from exchange4free, they were fantastic used them twice and no problems, by far the cheapest and best way.

She gets my vote too :)

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That is really good information to know. I am so fed up being charged a fortune when people pay me deposits and rental money, and then being charged an absolute fortune when the deposit gets repaid in SA.

I will sort out things with Tanya and this will make it much easier and cheaper for people who rent my properties and for myself as well.

My parents are coming over from Cape Town at the end of the year (again) and they will be here for at least 3 months and possibly 6 (with a broken stay in New Zealand). They will need to bring funds with them and I will recommend Tanya. :P They are also looking at a parents visa, selling up and moving here for good.

Is there any way that a regular payment (like a South African pension) can be brought over on a monthly basis without falling foul of FICA, the Reserve bank and SARS? I had a South African family stay with me and the husband gets R7000 per month which he would like to bring here every month. At the moment he uses his SA credit card which is real expensive. Could this be brought in monthly or would it have to be brought in say every 6 months or 12 months to avoid the scrutiny of big brother?!

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Hi Tamara,

I sent you those details via email.

Unfortunately we have Exchange control regulations in SA , thus all transactions have to be rapported to SARB. Credit cards is a VERY expensive way of doing it!!!

Many of our clients do these transfers annually or semi-annually. We can also apply to SARS for their tax clearances(if applicable)even if the client has already left SA.

Please see my email.

Regards

Tanya

That is really good information to know. I am so fed up being charged a fortune when people pay me deposits and rental money, and then being charged an absolute fortune when the deposit gets repaid in SA.

I will sort out things with Tanya and this will make it much easier and cheaper for people who rent my properties and for myself as well.

My parents are coming over from Cape Town at the end of the year (again) and they will be here for at least 3 months and possibly 6 (with a broken stay in New Zealand). They will need to bring funds with them and I will recommend Tanya. :P They are also looking at a parents visa, selling up and moving here for good.

Is there any way that a regular payment (like a South African pension) can be brought over on a monthly basis without falling foul of FICA, the Reserve bank and SARS? I had a South African family stay with me and the husband gets R7000 per month which he would like to bring here every month. At the moment he uses his SA credit card which is real expensive. Could this be brought in monthly or would it have to be brought in say every 6 months or 12 months to avoid the scrutiny of big brother?!

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Tanya, I can understand you provide services that cater for large-ish amounts but what if I want to transfer small-ish amounts regularly. Like say $250 or even $1000 on a regular basis, like once a month. Whats the best route then? Still through yourselves?

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