NZ bank accounts, and sending money from UK to NZ

[Will_2007]

We’re currently selling our house and will have a fairly large amount of money to take to NZ with us, but I’m not sure about how to go about getting it there, so hopefully one of you helpful souls can explain things in layman’s terms…

I see that a lot of people recommend ASB. It seems that you open an account in London, they open one in NZ on your behalf, then you pay money into your UK ASB account, tell them when to transfer it (i.e. when you’re happy with the exchange rate) and they then move it to your NZ ASB account, which may take a couple of days… I take it it’s then just a case of transferring it to our personal accounts at whichever bank we choose to bank with?

Other people have recommended EX, which seems to offer a similar thing – you pay them money in the UK, tell them when to exchange, you get your money in NZ. But what is the process of getting your NZ$ into your personal bank account? Do they transfer it direct to your account?

What are the differences between the two methods? Any drawbacks to either one?

Thanks,

Will

[RamblingPaddies]

we opened personal accounts with bank of new zealand at the expo in london last october - they then set up a NZ a/c and mailed us the details - we were then able to go to our banks in ireland and set up an international transfer - it takes 3 days from bank to bank and we've done it a few times now

[IanW99]

We’re currently selling our house and will have a fairly large amount of money to take to NZ with us, but I’m not sure about how to go about getting it there, so hopefully one of you helpful souls can explain things in layman’s terms…

I see that a lot of people recommend ASB. It seems that you open an account in London, they open one in NZ on your behalf, then you pay money into your UK ASB account, tell them when to transfer it (i.e. when you’re happy with the exchange rate) and they then move it to your NZ ASB account, which may take a couple of days… I take it it’s then just a case of transferring it to our personal accounts at whichever bank we choose to bank with?

Other people have recommended EX, which seems to offer a similar thing – you pay them money in the UK, tell them when to exchange, you get your money in NZ. But what is the process of getting your NZ$ into your personal bank account? Do they transfer it direct to your account?

What are the differences between the two methods? Any drawbacks to either one?

Thanks,

Will

For ASB, normally you would have a current account with them in NZ and wouldn't need to transfer your money to another account i.e. their ASB accounts are all that you need (they do have several different ones if you don't want a current account).

If you don't want to stick with ASB then you may want to see if the bank that you want to use to see if they offer the same facilities to save you having to move the money once it gets to NZ.

A couple of more points, they covert your money at business rates so it is generally a better rate than just doing a standard exchange at a normal bank and it normally takes approx 4 days from London to NZ, also the London account only stays open for 2 years to help whilst transferring money.

For XE (I assume you mean XE?) its a similar concept except it can be paid into any NZ bank. They quote best rates of exchange and if you need to transfer without waiting for a specific rate you can see the rate that you are going to get (with ASB you don't). AFAIK, you don't transfer money to them until after you have agreed on the transaction.

I don't think that there is much real difference between either method, would say that if you are going to use ASB as your bank in NZ then it would be simplest especially if there is a problem but the rate may be a little lower.

Ian

[skibumwa]

I have looked into international xfrer rates, and XE seems to be cheapest. If you use ANZ Bank or National Bank of NZ, it quite easy because both ANZ owns National Bank and XE has their NZ-based bank account at National Bank of NZ.

My cash transfers to anywhere take just 2 business days!

Cheers!

-John

[IanW99]

...
My cash transfers to anywhere take just 2 business days!

Cheers!

-John

I suspect you have never had the joys of UK banking who like to keep your money for as long as possible, even internet transfers that everywhere else are instant still takes 4 days .

Ian

[fruitfly]

To take advantage of the exchange rate, it is best to leave your money in a bank in UK, which allows online access via the internet. When you are in NZ, open up a new bank account.
Next wait for a the NZ dollar to fall to your targeted level. Then proceed with transferring your money from your UK account to your NZ account via the internet. I emphasize internet so that you are more in control when the right rate comes by, they don't stay low for long.

Do not rush to take your money over, be patient and wait for the right exchange rate to come. It is best not to transfer all at one go because NZD (houses too!) is expected to fall in the long term. The charges are normally lower if you DIY rather than using a broker or via the bank counter.

Do it right and you can save tons of money. I've seen people losing tens of thousands because they just can't wait another week to transfer their money.

[IanW99]

To take advantage of the exchange rate, it is best to leave your money in a bank in UK, which allows online access via the internet. When you are in NZ, open up a new bank account.
Next wait for a the NZ dollar to fall to your targeted level. Then proceed with transferring your money from your UK account to your NZ account via the internet. I emphasize internet so that you are more in control when the right rate comes by, they don't stay low for long.

Do not rush to take your money over, be patient and wait for the right exchange rate to come. It is best not to transfer all at one go because NZD (houses too!) is expected to fall in the long term. The charges are normally lower if you DIY rather than using a broker or via the bank counter.

Do it right and you can save tons of money. I've seen people losing tens of thousands because they just can't wait another week to transfer their money.

How do you transfer money directly from the UK to NZ via the internet, AFAIK the bank that I use in the UK won't allow me to transfer abroad (must admit I haven't tried though), or are you still using an intermediary such as XE.com?

One other point that I forgot to mention before is that most banks won't allow large transactions to be done online they limit it to e.g. £10K so if you are going to move a lot of money in one go may be best to check with the bank first on how to do this.

For us, we set up a BACS transfer before we left the UK and phoned through to the branch when we wanted to execute it.

Ian

[Will_2007]

Cheers all, some useful stuff. We're thinking of transferring enough initially to buy a car and tide us over until our first wages arrive - probably about six weeks after we get to NZ. The rest we'll leave in a savings account in the UK until the exchange rate looks a bit healthier.

We're with HSBC (Premier), they say they can open us a HSBC account in NZ and we can transfer money direct by making a phone call. The only charge is $10 for the incoming wire transfer. Their rates are not the tourist rates, the one I was quoted today was only $0.02 different (worse) to the one given by XE on their web page - although I'm not signed up to XE yet so I don't know if that rate is what I would have been quoted if I'd actually tried to move money today.

Now all I have to do is start comparing NZ banks...

Will

[zardell]

We're with HSBC (Premier), they say they can open us a HSBC account in NZ and we can transfer money direct by making a phone call. The only charge is $10 for the incoming wire transfer. Their rates are not the tourist rates, the one I was quoted today was only $0.02 different (worse) to the one given by XE on their web page - although I'm not signed up to XE yet so I don't know if that rate is what I would have been quoted if I'd actually tried to move money today.Will

We had the same UK HSBC type of account as you Will and were promised the same service as you, but please be aware that HSBC in the UK and HSBC NZ seem to have some, shall we say, interdepartmental/international lack of communication.

We were promised exactly the same as you, but when it came to the crunch their promises didn't materialise.

We used ASB both in UK and NZ and were extremely satisfied and it's so simple.

Your money, your choice...I just wanted a company that worked on live mid rates and simplicity. ASB worked for me.

Another thing to consider too is if you ever want to send money back to the UK and take advantage of the exchange rate (like now!!) can you do that with HSBC and what rates would they offer?

Good luck,

Julie

xx

[NickB]

Will, I would recommend ASB. We arrived in Auckland just a few days ago and their system worked very smoothly. They seem pretty switched on.

We set up transfer accounts in London before we came. These are like just like regular UK accounts so you can transfer sterling to them when you want.

The account manager in the UK was very helpful and answered questions promptly via email and phone, before and after we signed up.

The transfer rate they gave us was the same as on xe.com which seemed good compared to other quotes I got.

We walked into the first ASB branch we found here with no appointment. The counter staff had no experience of the UK>NZ ASB system but even so had no problem finding our details, setting up both 4 savings and current accounts on the spot, issuing debit cards immediately (!) and getting us out the door in less than 20 mins. The cards were valid for use in shops immediately and with two phone calls to set up security access to all accounts was available online. To say we were impressed with ASB was an understatement...