Sending Money Overseas article discussion

keshy13

I used Moneycorp to send my money abroad and they have been very good and efficient with excellent rates.
I'm now in New Zealand and have sold my house in the UK - I missed moving the money across before Brexit and the rate has dropped. Shall I continue to hang on till it rises or cut my losses and send the cash across asap??
Thanks in advance for any assistance!

eDicky

keshy13 wrote: »

I missed moving the money across before Brexit and the rate has dropped. Shall I continue to hang on till it rises or cut my losses and send the cash across asap??

Realistically, tossing a coin will give you as reliable an answer as anyone can give you about exchange rate movements.

In your situation, hedging by converting half now and the other half later is often suggested.

Tarian

"I missed moving the money across before Brexit and the rate has dropped. Shall I continue to hang on till it rises or cut my losses and send the cash across asap??"

You must make your own decision. What you decide is not my responsibility.

Having got that disclaimer out ....
I would ask:
What has really changed?
Have UK businesses stopped buying and selling stuff?
i.e. Should I discount all that scare-mongering about the future of the UK outside the EU?
Has the UK actually left yet ? (Answer "no")
Will UK exporters stop being compliant with EU Regulations?
(Answer: "No" - unless a future UK Government bans exporters from complying - which is so far-fetched ......)

Will UK exporters be likely to find new markets ? (Answer "Yes". Apparently Australian and New Zealnad Governments have already made enquiries about a new trade deal - and the USA has confirmed its intention to work one out)

So the only obvious reason for the Pound to fall is that George Osborne and Mark Carney said it would.

Unfortunately Carney has just compounded this by saying that UK interest rates should fall (when they should rise) - causing last week's further FX fall.

Experience suggests that if the BoE really does reduce rates in July or August - then it's already "in the (FX) market".

If Carney realises his mistake (or gets fired for his stupidity) - and interest rates do not fall - then which way would the pound go?

In short, how long can you wait?

toon_jeff

I want to send money from UK every month to my mother-in-law who lives in China.


I found that individuals cannot send Chinese currency (RMB) to China without special permissions, etc,.


So I sent money using UK Forex to her Chinese bank account by sending US Dollars then the US Dollars can be converted to Chinese currency from there.


This worked ok.


However, it requires two currency conversions, UK Pounds to US Dollars, then US Dollars to Chinese RMB.


I wondered if there is a better solution that would get a better exchange rate, i.e. so that I do not need to send US Dollars then convert that to Chinese RMB ?


Is there a solution where I can send UK Pounds directly to Chinese bank account ?


Thaks in advance.

eDicky

toon_jeff wrote: »

So I sent money using UK Forex to her Chinese bank account by sending US Dollars then the US Dollars can be converted to Chinese currency from there.

I don't see why you would need to send dollars instead of pounds.

Most brokers transfer funds to the payee from the broker's account in that country, as a domestic transfer. So you would pay GBP to the broker and your mother-in-law would receive CNY in her account.

JGUK

https://transferwise.com/help/article/2278041/australia-and-asia-pacific-transfers/cny-transfers

Also HSBC seem to be able to do direct transfers . . .

matt-comparison

@keshy13 - if you were happy with Moneycorp's service, why wouldn't you use one of the best functionalities they offer i.e. speaking directly to a dedicated dealer about your concerns? :money:

As @Tarian said it is a question of how much time you have. What are your requirements. Whether you are looking for the rate to fully recover or partially recover. How will another drop in the sterling will impact you (a very possible scenario). I reckon you should use the fact you are with Moneycorp who are really really good at providing you a tailored plan + setting up FX options to execute it (Forwards, Limits, SL, and some more).

DUS

Hi,

I will need to transfer roughly 40k GBP to Thailand at the end of the year. In the past, I used transferwise but just wondered if it would not be better to use the international money transfer with Halifax (I do have an account with them and the money is in that particular account).

My question: If I send 40,000 in GBP via Halifax and have that amount converted by my Thai bank (their TT rates are good), wouldn´t that yield more TBH in my Thai account than if I used transferwise? Transferwise have a decent exchange rate but at 40k they charge a fee of 410 quid.

So, is the Halifax promise of a flat 9.50 transfer really true if I send 40k GBP to Thailand? No other hidden fees at their end at least? I understand that some intermediaries and the receiving bank will levy a charge but I would like to know if Halifax really only charges the 9.50.

Thank you!

eDicky

DUS wrote: »

Hi,

I will need to transfer roughly 40k GBP to Thailand at the end of the year. In the past, I used transferwise but just wondered if it would not be better to use the international money transfer with Halifax (I do have an account with them and the money is in that particular account).

My question: If I send 40,000 in GBP via Halifax and have that amount converted by my Thai bank (their TT rates are good), wouldn´t that yield more TBH in my Thai account than if I used transferwise? Transferwise have a decent exchange rate but at 40k they charge a fee of 410 quid.

So, is the Halifax promise of a flat 9.50 transfer really true if I send 40k GBP to Thailand? No other hidden fees at their end at least? I understand that some intermediaries and the receiving bank will levy a charge but I would like to know if Halifax really only charges the 9.50.

The Halifax flat fee should be exactly what they state it is, and if they are not doing the conversion there should be no other costs (at their end) in using them for the transfer.

For large amounts it's often cheaper, and perhaps safer, to use a straight bank transfer as their charge becomes comparatively tiny - but the conversion rate becomes much more significant. In this case you need to determine what GBP/THB rate the Thai bank will use and compare that to the mid-market rate (used by TransferWise) at the same moment, then do your math. If the spread is more than 1% then the TransferWise charge looks cheaper.

You may also be able to call and negotiate a lower fee with TransferWise, or a better rate with the Thai bank, or consider a different transfer service (eg. Currencyfair) that has no fee and a conversion rate perhaps better than the Thai bank uses.

Consumerist

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

I recently discovered a very good website that compares the major money transfer services in terms of cost, speed etc. The service make it money via affiliate links and is free to use, so you do not get charged any extra by using the service...

https://www.tawipay.com/

Thanks for that. Very handy and just what I was looking for.

It's currently being redirected to:

https://www.monito.com/