Avalon’s Money Thread: Moving your money to New Zealand
Well, I found the whole concept of currency transfers a bit daunting at first. We got caught with the exchange rate in the floor (2.5:1) at the time we had to buy our house so it was all a bit depressing. We only brought over the minimum to start with, and then brought over the absolute minimum to buy the house with. We still have a bit of money in the UK to pay our insurance premiums and stuff over there.
I use HiFX to do all my transfers. I have found that they are really excellent for explaining this without making me feel like an idiot for not getting it the first time. There are no extra charges to pay with them either. No flat fee, payment fees, electronic transfer fees, fees to pay to your NZ bank for the privilege of putting money in. They make a profit but it’s on the difference between the rate they give you, and the rate they buy at.
So when you ask for a quote (for example “I want to sent £10,000 to New Zealand” they tell you the rate and what you will get for it at the other end “The rate is 2.9000 and you will get $29,000” (in my dreams!)
Hifx pay the money direct to your New Zealand bank Account – like this:
Your UK account -to- Hifx UK account (just like paying a bill) -to- your NZ account.
It’s teh same the other way round as well:
Your NZ account -to- Hifx NZ account – to- to your UK account.
Coming from the UK to NZ the delay is in getting from your UK account and clearing into their UK account. This delay is because of the UK clearing system. Update: This should be quicker these days. My UK bank (First Direct) now does the move in 24 hours.
Whatever happens (and again this is what I know of Hifx only), you will be told when you get your quote and agree to the trade exactly how much money will hit your UK account.
It’s worth registering with a few money transfer companies (should be free, if not don’t touch them), and then when you want to transfer, ask all of them for a quote. Get not only the rate but also the total amount in $ that you get at the end. Then take off any fees that are going to be charged at the UK end. And go with the one that gives you the most $$$$ for the least amount of hassle. It’s also worth asking your UK bank for their exchange rates and fees, and comparing that as well.
Hifx have a service where you can set up regular payments from UK to NZ (or vise versa).
From UK -NZ:
The minimum amount is £500 per month, you form a contract for 6-18 months and the rate you get is fixed at the start of the contract.
So you know exactly how many $$$ you will be getting in your NZ account.
You set up a Direct Debit from your UK account to HIFX UK account
Money hits your NZ account about 5 days later
NO CHARGES .
From NZ – UK
Same deal but the minimum is $1000 per month.
If you are in the UK currently, its worth knowing that if you have a Nationwide account you can use your ATM card to withdraw $$$ here with no charge which can be very handy for smallish sums when starting out.
Updates:
MoneysavingExpert keeps a current list of credit and debit card fees for taking money out of ATM’s abroad, and keeps a list of the cards that have no charges for doing this. This is something its worth being aware of way before you move over here, because you will not be able to open an account once you leave.
There’s a new Online company called Currency Online that are part of HiFX. You can do all the trading online without having to call someone and bother with filling in forms. Its very easy to open an account, and they have now removed their silly charges. The rates are still crap compared to HiFX, but its convenient, and you can see the amount of money you get straight away.
Avalon’s Money Thread is a series of posts which were originally written in 2007 for an Immigration Forum. They came about by answering questions that forum members asked, about how to cope with the often difficult financial situation they face in New Zealand. They formed the basis of what was eventually to become the book Avalon’s Guide: after another year or so of drinking way too much coffee and finding out way more about taxes, money and investing that any sane person should.
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Related posts:
- New Money Transfer company.
- Avalon’s Money Thread: Banks and Bank Charges.
- Avalon’s Money Thread: Can I get a decent affordable mortgage?
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