Transferring large sums of money from UK

[TimAck]

My wife just sold her house in London and we have some money we need to shift to NZ. Does anyone know the cheapest way to do this? I've also heard it can be a bit of a faff transferring amounts over 10k for regulatory reasons. Is it better to break up into chunks <10k for transfer?

[benandclare]

We had no problems using the Halifax, our UK bank. Transferred 30K to start with then 170 K later on

[Manks]

I use UK Forex. You tend to get a good rate and the transfer is free if over GBP3k

[benhila]

You will be better off (better exchange rate and lower or no fees) using one of the specialist companies (like HiFX, which I can personally recommend) rather than a bank-to-bank transaction.

Hila

[rogercruse]

...You will be better off using one of the specialist companies...

I agree. Getting registered with a new company initially takes a little time as they need to comply with their anti-money-laundering procedures, etc. But once registered a simple phone call or email will get the roll rolling.

My crystal ball is on the blink so I can't predict the future too well (and my brother has disappeared with my time machine!), but are your sure you want to transfer all your money at the moment?

[IanW99]

You will be better off (better exchange rate and lower or no fees) using one of the specialist companies (like HiFX, which I can personally recommend) rather than a bank-to-bank transaction.

Hila

Just to be different, I disagree, would recommend you check with your bank especially if you have setup a migrant account in the UK.

If you are transferring large amounts then they can offer interbank rates which will be very competitive, another advantage is that your money is always in your own account through the whole process and you are dealing with one company should there be any problem.

One problem you may have is being able to transfer large amounts in one go from your UK account.

Have to agree with rogercruse though about the timing and the exchange rate.

Ian

[catt]

I would recommend HiFX they have been great with us over the past 3 years.

[Super_BQ]

Timack, I see you are in Christchurch. In the past i've used E-Trans for currency exchange rate and wiring. They use to be in the ANZ building top floor downtown (across from the Cathedral Chruch) but the business has disappeared due to the quake damage.

Transferring large sums is not a problem when wiring between banks. It's not an issue if from the UK to NZ as both places have anti-laundering laws.

[norma]

We used Moneycorp (www.moneycorp.com) and they quoted better rates than out bank at the time. Usually, the more you exchange in one go, the more competitive the rate you will get. You can set up an account in advance and then exchange when you think it is the right time.

[dede]

I agree on the currency front. The US and UK are currently printing money and have effectively zero rates. That won't last forever...and if it does because of economic weakness NZ which is very dependent on foreign capital will not be immune in a flight to quality. Just my 2c worth but fx doesn't look too good right now for transferring large sums.