kelly1721 Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Hi We are wanting to move our money - we have a bank account in Oz, but I am curious to know if you used a money transfer service or your bank? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlothian Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) i. There are a few benefits of making use of a forex company to assist you with your transfer compared to the local bank back in South Africa. § The first and most important factor is that you are dealing with an individual in Australia, compared to the call centres in South Africa. § The exchange rates are significantly better due to much smaller margins compared to the major banks. § Some comparatives based on the rates from the 27th would give you a better perspective: a. The major banks’ exchange rates varied between R11.89 and R12.10 to the AUD$, compared to the their rate of R11.79. b. This resulted in a saving of between $73 and $218 per R100,000. c. And the final benefit is the saving in transfer fees, which is capped at R250 per transfer. Edited January 29, 2016 by Mara 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 From the posts I have seen it seems that most forum members have used a money transfer service, rather than their banks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 We've used our bank to transfer from FNB to CommBank, but will be looking at other services for the next transfer, to compare them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 We used Fx Capital. They open up an Investec account for you to which you transfer funds into. They charge R250 only and then the funds will be reflected in your Oz bank account 2 days later. We use Dale from the Fx Capital branch in Durban. They have office in Cape Town too. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 We used our bank and were charged a scary sum at the end. Can't cry over spilled milk. *Ok, maybe a little* Is hard saving enough that's even worth taking over. *sigh*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly1721 Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Thank you everyone. I want to use a money service, but my step dad is adamant that we should do it with the bank. Hubby is going tomorrow and me in 6 weeks so it's all coming very fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 9 hours ago, kelly1721 said: Thank you everyone. I want to use a money service, but my step dad is adamant that we should do it with the bank. Hubby is going tomorrow and me in 6 weeks so it's all coming very fast! why does your step dad get a vote? Is it his money? Just do it your way with a reputable money service. You're an adult. You don't need to explain yourself. It's always going to feel like we could have got a better deal. I remember when we came over at around R4 to the dollar that we were "crying" that we didn't do the exchange when it was R3 to the dollar. It is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TashyL Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi Kelly, I am in the same boat. I have found a company called Exchange for Free and they seem to be reputable. The rand is doing a teeny bit better right now so I am hoping I can sort this out before the budget speech, as things will either get better or much worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshlife2015 Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 On 1/29/2016 at 2:44 PM, emmayenkanna said: We used Fx Capital. They open up an Investec account for you to which you transfer funds into. They charge R250 only and then the funds will be reflected in your Oz bank account 2 days later. We use Dale from the Fx Capital branch in Durban. They have office in Cape Town too. Highly recommended. HI, I am expecting my results in a month. I want to open a Bank account in Adelaide, South Australia. I have saved some USD which i want to transfer to AUD when the rates are favourable? I have compared the migrants accounts from Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and NAB. I applied online with NAB, Its more than 2 weeks my account is not opened. Reason given to me is they are loaded with applications, so the process will take another week. Now my question - How do you rate the service of NAB Vs other top 5 banks in Aus? Which bank would you recommend based on your experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I would probably say that Commonwealth Bank is the most advanced in their electronic systems. Not a plug for them, I bank with the ANZ, just what I have seen and heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggle Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 6 hours ago, Mara said: I would probably say that Commonwealth Bank is the most advanced in their electronic systems. I cannot but recommend Tanya Van Der Westhuizen at FX Capital - she has been great! And I bank with Commonwealth and very happy ... and our migrant private banker is great. On our first day, after we activated our accounts, he walked us around Sydney CBD to help us find the office so that we could convert our drivers licences ... and he's been great ever since! Let me know if you want me to PM you either of their details. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 When we were moving I looked compared what I would get at the receiving end. For approx the same day / time I got the rates and charges from a couple of exchange companies, plus our banks. The exchange companies came out with far better results. I see the original poster already has an Australian bank account - but for anyone else reading most of the big Australian banks have a migrant section. You can open a current and an interest/savings account (check the conditions), then you can place your money in the interest bearing account so that it is earning for you immediately. Look for one with no fees especially if you may not be working for a while when you arrive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberJoe Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Thank you for the information, much appreciated, I was wondering about this. But after some further reading, the non-resident accounts seem to be only valid for three months before arrival? Secondly, if anyone has any advice on how to move pension funds across, it would be really appreciated. Santam was super helpful and told me that they will happily pay out the fund held by them as long as I can provide a certificate of residency from the country where I will be residing along with the SARS and Reserve bank forms. I have not heard a thing from Momentum yet but I suspect they will have the same requirement i.e. I have to be physically in Aus before I can actually request a transfer of my pension fund? Is it at all possible to do everything while you are in SA, invest it all in Aus and then just move over once it all is sorted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 I found Commonwealth Bank very was to deal with. We opened up a bank account online prior to coming over, not sure why you are having issues opening up one with NAB though. If you want to move pension funds over I would also use a money transfer service like FX Capital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 4 hours ago, CyberJoe said: Thank you for the information, much appreciated, I was wondering about this. But after some further reading, the non-resident accounts seem to be only valid for three months before arrival? Is it at all possible to do everything while you are in SA, invest it all in Aus and then just move over once it all is sorted? A quick look at the NAB web site (as we used them) suggests you can set it up 12 months in advance "At NAB, we make opening your bank account simple and convenient and we can help you arrange your banking up to 12 months before you move to Australia." We did transferred our money to Australia in advance (some about 4 or 5 months ahead) - and it sat in an account gaining interest, as the exchange rate worsened. You cannot access the money until you have arrived and confirmed your ID (except rare circumstances). We met with the bank the day after we arrived and we given our bank cards, and they printed off a statement for us to use towards our 100 points of ID etc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippi Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Kelly, we use cashkows.com! Please email Mariette, she was so informative and helpful with us. mariette@cashkows.com Excellent service highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuggyBear Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 hi all. If you in Australia already can you transfer money from an active Sa account to oz without having to visit a branch? I will still have internet banking so I guess I could transfer to a forex company in sa and they could then transfer to oz acct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 29, 2016 Report Share Posted March 29, 2016 with fx capital they open up an investec account for you which you can then link to your internet banking. All you need to do then is transfer the funds over to your oz account. FX capital will send you the forms and once you've filled them in you will receive funds in 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 Hi all. This has been VERY helpful. Thank you. So from what I am gathering...the forex companies can save cash but there needs to be some form of fee associated with using their services. So they save us money on the exchange rate but we pay a fee for their involvement. @emmayenkanna With FX Capital...does their fee scale per transaction or is it just R250? I am busy speaking with/learning about a few companies and trying to figure out the best service for a monthly transfer back to SA. Lekker, G 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlothian Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 HI Garret. The Forex companies make their money by making a mark up on the interbank rate (the rate that you see on the internet). The normally have an agreement eith the bank like Investec bank to share in this mark up. The exchange rate they quote you is normally very good in comparison to the rates the bank quotes you as the forex companies normally forms a more personal relationship with their clients compared to making use of the banks where you have to go through a call centre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 15 hours ago, Garrett said: Hi all. This has been VERY helpful. Thank you. So from what I am gathering...the forex companies can save cash but there needs to be some form of fee associated with using their services. So they save us money on the exchange rate but we pay a fee for their involvement. @emmayenkanna With FX Capital...does their fee scale per transaction or is it just R250? I am busy speaking with/learning about a few companies and trying to figure out the best service for a monthly transfer back to SA. Lekker, G No the fee charged by Fx Capital does not scale up with the transaction. We use them too, and so far have absolutely zero complaints. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlmonnink Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 On 1/25/2017 at 1:16 PM, RedPanda said: No the fee charged by Fx Capital does not scale up with the transaction. We use them too, and so far have absolutely zero complaints. This has changed: "Transfer fee is a flat R250.00 per transfer Our minimum transfer is R50 000.00 Rate is based on the spot rate at time of trade ( average of 1% spread, depends on the amount sent as well)" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobSA Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 Either way whoever does a transfer now is winning and should be smiling. What a difference 15-18 months can make! We averaged R11.36 to the AUD for our transfers. Makes me sad when I look at current rate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leroy Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Has anyone considered using Bitcoin instead? I would like to know if someone has gone through the whole process? I have a good understanding of bitcoin buying and selling and transferring works. At zero cost to transfer it seems like something worth investigating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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