Sending money to Canada from UK

Shiand

Hi, Looking to transfer 50,000 pounds from the UK to Canada where I am a permanent resident. Wondering what would be the most cost effective and low risk vehicle for this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

DCFC79

Shiand said:

Hi, Looking to transfer 50,000 pounds from the UK to Canada where I am a permanent resident. Wondering what would be the most cost effective and low risk vehicle for this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

What do you want to do with it in Canada ?

You could send it to a Revolut account.

Transferwise might be an option.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-to-send-money-overseas

Both options I mention are listed here

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=sending+money+abroad

Roger.Wilco

Not the same country - but similar situation I guess...

I have reasons to move modest amounts of money between UK and Australia on a regular basis.

I have in the past used various methods:

• Have used HSBC currency accounts - rates are horrible - though the advantage is I can move money then wait until the market is at the right point to exchange.
• Have used METRO currency accounts - rates were not horrible - but there is a significant monthly account fee.  OK if you open - setup - exchange - close. But not OK if money needs to be kept for a while.
• An Australian credit union used WesternUnion - issue was that the interaction between them causes significant exchange lags - would have been better in hindsight to pull the money out of the credit union and personally use WesternUnion.
• Currently use an Australian bank's expat VIP exchange service - the rates are very good - though, there are restrictions on when you can activate the exchange to get the VIP rates.

I have a spreadsheet that compares the various options I have taking into account fees and exchange rates.  I have just done an exercise just now and the following were the results for exchanging £5000.00:

1. Aus Bank Expat VIP = $9108.12AUD
2. WesternUnion = $9106.42AUD
3. XE Transfer = $9062.30AUD
4. HSBC = $8861.11AUD

The other thing to consider is that when I had to transfer a large amount between Australia and the UK a few years ago - there were other aspects that had to be taken into account like customs, tax and reporting.  If I remember correctly at the time Australia had an official reporting limit (something like $10,000AUD); though, in my case the tax agreement between Australia & UK simplified that part.  The advice I had at the time was that transfers were to be dribbled over months staying under the official reporting limit - so everything was planned well in advance.  That was then - this is now - I'd have to refresh myself on the regulations if I had to do similar again - as most countries now have mutual reciprocal reporting between Government Tax Departments so I'd expect that dribbling might reduce paperwork - but not avoid scrutiny.  Banks may of course demand to see paperwork on where the funds have originated from.

I have never used a personal exchange broker - though, personally know of one and know people who use such a service for boat/aircraft purchases and I would probably look into that if I ever had to exchange a significant amount again.

Publius

I'd highly recommend Transferwise I've used them a few times now and been very happy.

They are legit UK company and been around a long time and all their rates are pretty sharp - certainly better than any bank.

mgdavid

Another excellent currency broker is CurrencyFair. I've used them for Australia and several Euro countries for several years and always been happy with the rates. It's done online under your own control so completely transparent on the rate you get. The actual transfer cost is £2.50 per transaction.

xylophone

Relative had to transfer a substantial bequest to a beneficiary in Australia - he used Tor FX with no problems.

Archi_Bald

You could also check out Skrill. Much to my great surprise, they have just offered me the best deal for a GBP to EUR transfer - better than Transferwise/Monzo, Starling and CurrencyFair, who usually have the top deals. 

EDIT: I have just learnt that Skrill have a limit of USD 25,000 per month, and also a limit of €4,000 Euros per transaction. This might be inconvenient for you - although I believe most of the transfer companies have some sort of limit.