Exchange service for Can$ to NZ$

[4togo]

Any suggestions as to which exchange service to use? Planning on opening a Kiwibank account before arrival and to deposit about ten grand to keep me floating to start with.

Thanks for any tips!!

[RollsRoyce]

I’ve just opened an account with HiFX in order to transfer GBP to NZD. There are a couple of aspects to their service that you should be aware of:

1. Limited trading hours. You can only create a new transaction between the hours of:
Monday to Thursday: 8am to 10pm UK time
Friday: 8am to 6pm UK time

2. From my observation the exchange rates offered on the publicly accessible home page (http://www.hifx.com/) appear to be more advantageous than those offered once you've logged on.

With regard to the rate on the homepage HiFX state "Foreign exchange rates fluctuate and these rates are therefore provided for indicative purposes only". I've been monitoring the GBPNZD rate for a few days and the indicative rate has been unfailingly more advantageous than the actual rate offered once you've logged on and setup a new transaction instruction.

At 08:00 this morning the rates were:

Public page: 1 GBP = 2.0633 NZD
Logged on: 1 GBP = 2.0410 NZD

If you were to transfer GBP10,000 at these rates it works out at NZD20,633 and NZD20,410 respectively. So the real rate buys you NZD223 less than the "enticement" rate.

I haven't tried it with CAD to NZD so can only comment on GBP to NZD.

Of course HiFX may still be offering better rates than most others. Just go into it with your eyes open.

RR

[bmshanley]

Try the trading function at xe.com. It's easy to use, the there is actually excellent customer service. It will let you send money between two accounts in your name, and the rates are quite fare/competitive.

[Addicted to NZ]

We have used Axiom and will continue to use them - http://www.axiomfx.com/index.html

Their head office is in Calgary :
Axiom - Corporate Head Office
310, 323 - 10th Ave. SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2R 0A5

[Canuck_1979]

We use xe.com. They are easy to use, and the customer service is very good. They are based in Canada I think, and you can use Electronic Funds Transfer in both directiions so you don't have to pay any fees for Canadian and US accounts (at least we don't with our account set ups). It takes just over a week (6-7 business days) for us.

[rupicola]

I'm also a user of xe.com. Super fast service (max. 3 business days), good rates, excellent customer service, no hidden charges or fees anywhere.

[Bozeman]

Another vote for xe.com. Fast, easy and good service.

[James 1077]

2. From my observation the exchange rates offered on the publicly accessible home page (http://www.hifx.com/) appear to be more advantageous than those offered once you've logged on.

Does this vary depending on how much you want to transfer? When I spoke to HiFX they suggested waiting and transferring one large amount rather than a few smaller amounts as that way they could offer a better rate.

Have had no problems with HiFX but don't have any money left in the UK to transfer through them now.