Exchanging £270,000 Uk Pounds To Oz Dollars

laudami

WE NEED SOME SOUND ADVICE IF POSSIBLE?
We will have approx £270,000 to convert to OZ dollars when we emmigrate in March time.
Do we put the money in a high interest uk account here and live of the interest whilst in OZ while waiting for the excahnge rate to be more favourable than what it currently has been? If we do this how long can we keep the money in the UK account? Are there tax implications doing this?
Is there anything else we can do with this money to get the most out of it? This is part of our pension too which we will eventually invest in other properties in OZ.

We would be very greatful of any suggestions and advice

Thankyou
L & D

KTF

Have you considered getting a Nationwide current account and savings account as a short term measure till the rate improves?

You could have day to day money in the current account and the rest in savings then use the cashcard to take it out from ATMs with no loading until the exchange rate improves.

If you needed to topup the current account then you could transfer over the money online via online banking.

caliston

You can put it in an instant access savings account to earn as much interest as you can here. See the high interest accounts article. If you have the money in your current account it might be worth going to your own bank in person and trying to open their best savings account there and then - at least you'll get some interest on it while you open the best-buy account somewhere else (which takes a week or two). You'll pay income tax on the interest (you could open an ISA each to save a bit of tax on the interest on £3000 per person, but it might not be worth the hassle for 3 months). If you open a savings account with monthly interest you can usually have that paid into a separate account to life off.

For that sort of amount a foreign exchange broker will give you the best exchange rate when you do convert it (anyone recommend a broker?). They may be able to do something about the prevailing rate (eg they can fix the rate now for an exchange later) so it's worth asking what deals are available.

laudami

Hi thankyou!
yes we do already have a nationwide account-its our main account which makes life easier!
Do we pay tax in OZ on the interest we make form our uk savings then? We are thinking of having the high interest in UK account for as long as the rate is low so it could be a year??? is this allowed????

Thankyou for all your advice guys!

Jonbvn

Hi,

To transfer a large amount of funds out of the UK it is generally best to use an FX broker. MSE have a fantastic article on this here.

As for savings in the interim - since the term is only 3 months, the highest paying instant access account is your best bet-currently ICICI.

You will have to check with an Aussie accountant (do they exist?) about tax regulations on offshore (from Oz) accounts. I would guess that they will have a system very similar to the UK. Can any of our antipodean cousins confirm?

KingKenny

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5533718#post5533718

Stole the thread from expats, but who cares, quite applicable??:beer:

Use CHAPS, no Limit, same day, 20 quid cost!

The Scenario

1) Nationwide Flex Current Account
2) OZ Forex account
3) Bankwest Current Account
4) Building Society Account UK Based with the £10,000.00 in it or more if you have it?


How long does the process take, why i ask is if you move a large sum, you stand to lose a large sum in interest.

1- Move money from building society account to your Nationwide Flex account, so BACS two days, or CHAPS one day plus £30.00.

2- Move money from your Nationwide Flex account to your OZ Forex account, so BACS two days, or CHAPS one day plus £30.00.

3- Move money from your OZ Forex account to your Bankwest Current Account How Long?

4- Move money from your Bankwest Current Account to your higher rate savings account How Long?


Quite a lengthy process, could take all in all aweek to complete?