[JandM]

I want to send some money - a fixed amount of GBP - to my d-i-l in NZ. I'd obviously like for it to be worth the maximum amount of NZD when she gets it, but at the same time, it needs to be there and available for use by the third week in June. Advice as to how best to manage this, through the fluctuations of the currencies, please?

[victoria24]

we used ukforex and it was simple. no comms but they took a margin like all fx companies.

[JandM]

Was there a means of trying for the highest rate around over a period of time?

[IanW99]

Was there a means of trying for the highest rate around over a period of time?

How much money (approx) are you wanting to transfer?

Are there likely to be a lot of transfers over time, or is this a one time deal?

You can't specifiy "get me the highest rate this month", but you can place a bid price i.e. if the price is met then the transaction occurs. This allows you to set the minimum exchange rate that you will be happy with.

Ian

[JandM]

Ian, I've sent you a PM with the amount. It's a one-off deal.

So could I put in this bid price you mention, but then cut in on it and order the transaction to go through anyway, if that price hadn't been met and time was getting short? How long does it take for the money to appear at the other end, once the instruction is given?

[madmungo]

I use Tranzfers (http://www.tranzfers.com) once a month for a fee of 7 pounds for any sum GBP to NZD, 50 quid minimum - not sure how their rate compares with others but they work quickly within 3/4 days normally and you can choose to convert to NZD automatically or wait it out for a better rate with the sum in their account ready to convert overnight.

[IanW99]

Ian, I've sent you a PM with the amount. It's a one-off deal.

So could I put in this bid price you mention, but then cut in on it and order the transaction to go through anyway, if that price hadn't been met and time was getting short? How long does it take for the money to appear at the other end, once the instruction is given?

It may depend on the company that you use, but with XE as long as the bid hasn't been fulfilled you can cancel it at any time and then just initiate a new immediate transaction. Of course you would set the bid to finish before the deadline anyway.

If you haven't previously set up with a transfer company and you are time sensitive then you may have issues e.g. if they get the account details wrong then it may take additional time to resolve it - speaking from experience. Wouldn't really recommend companies such as XE for one off transactions for this reason.

Time taken for me was how ever long it takes to get from UK account to transfer company (depending on how you sent it) and then was normally 4 days to get from them into my NZ account.

Ian

[James 1077]

Not sure if it will help but HiFX recently announced an online transfer platform for small (?) transfers (up to GBP10,000).

www.hifx.co.uk

[barbapapa]

yes hifx is great but I was told the minimum transfer is about NZ $5000 this is trasferring from nz to uk. I have used travelex for smaller amounts for a 25 dollar fee and slightly worse exchange rate than hifx but still better than bansk.

[bobo]

yes hifx is great but I was told the minimum transfer is about NZ $5000 this is trasferring from nz to uk. I have used travelex for smaller amounts for a 25 dollar fee and slightly worse exchange rate than hifx but still better than bansk.

You can also use paypal.

[James 1077]

yes hifx is great but I was told the minimum transfer is about NZ $5000 this is trasferring from nz to uk. I have used travelex for smaller amounts for a 25 dollar fee and slightly worse exchange rate than hifx but still better than bansk.

The online thing is new with no minimums AFAIK.

[JandM]

Thanks VERY MUCH INDEED, all of you, for all your advice and information.:nice1 I'll have a look at all the options you mentioned.

[liveAdream]

We recently discovered 4xcc. Admittedly we had not done a trade yet.

Website has not been posted as I am unsure if that will be seen as promotion here.

The company a few advantages to us :


no fuss, no submission registration
they use the poll register data to confirm identity
their customer service was better than expected (see below)
website has a live rate table
no additional cost for bank transfer
minimal is £1000
their rates are the best we have discovered so far - not even XE can match
rate spread narrows dynamically according to amount


The disadvantage is :


the internet trading platform is not via a browser


To most people, trading via a custom application is not an issue. For someone who wants to deal from office, firewall can mean it impossible.

Customer services. Due to a login problem, OH had to call them up. The CS person started saying "Are you XXX? We have just contacted you because we see you have a problem". After the problem was resolved, he went on explaining how to use the trading tool.

Almost forgot. Account was opened within an hour. It was amazingly efficent.

This is our first customer service interaction and is non-conclusive. Judging from their responsiveness, proactive-ness and ability to answer our questions, they deserve to be given a chance - test their service via account opening, etc.

Its rate table distincts itself from others in 3 ways :

Rate table shows a basket of currency pairs, NZD inclusive
Rates update every few seconds - indicative they are real
bid/offer are clearly shown - not mid price most others do

The CS person confirmed the rates were real. The table is very convenient.

Hope this helps.

PS : To those who use ukforex/tranzfers :

What is your experience of their rates?
We find them offering the worst rates consistently, with tranzfers slightly better than ukforex. Is this consistent with your experience?

[JandM]

Thank you.