Posted 29 December 2023

Transfer money from Uk to Aus

Hi,

I've got £250k in a Halifax account, I need to transfer this to an Australian account. Anyone know how to go the best exchange rate/minimum fee doing this?

Dan
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  1. Palwan's avatar
    Last thing you don't want is your account locked by Halifax when you in Australia.

    Another option is; as HSBC has big presence over there.
    Open HSBC Global money account whilst you here and get money paid into that account from house sale.
    mutley1's avatar
    the money is already in the halifax account. the OP will not be able to move it to another bank in the UK without going through AML. i had a sale of a property last year and the proceeds were paid into my natwest account. when i tried to move 50k into a savings account with another bank, my natwest account was frozen and the money did not leave my account until i called the fraud department at natwest and told them how i got the money and the name of the solicitor that did the conveyancing together with the amount that was paid for the house sale.

    they were happy after that and unfroze my account, so the OP will not be able to move that money easily, not even to other banks in the UK, let alone abroad.
  2. Rugrats's avatar
    You could send them to me
    Maybe this is an option, two words for ya: GOLD BARS

    at £52,024 per Kg (29.12.2023 price), you could get approx. 4.8 kg.
    With 1kg max gold bar, ask friends and family who will visit you/AUS from the UK to bring one with them.
    I think they are duty free up to 1kg (needs checking).
    Also, here in the UK you don't pay VAT on gold:
    All gold bullion sold by The Royal Mint including The Sovereign & Britannia ranges are VAT free for non VAT registered private individuals.
    mutley1's avatar
    and how do you propose to smuggle the gold bars to the OP past customs in the UK and Australia? the australian custom won't even allow an orange through, let alone 250k of gold bars
  3. bozo007's avatar
    This amount is going to trigger all kinds of checks; multiple transactions in a short time will do the same thing. Best talk to a specialist or your bank first to avoid KYC / AML battles later. Same thing on the other end so that the receiving bank doesn't raise red flags.
    mutley1's avatar
    yeah, transferring a large amount out of the UK will mean ALM tests.

    OP - best speak to your bank about the transfer. I made a transfer of 12k to south east asia and that had to go through ALM with the bank.
  5. Palwan's avatar
    With this amount, go to the branch and talk to the manager to get a special preferential arrangement with higher up in the forex department.
    innocent's avatar
    Yeah, for such amount, rate etc is negotiable. Mind you, banks can suggest ways most beneficial to themselves.
  6. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    Open a Starling/Monzo/whatever accounts.
    Send an empty card to the person you trust there.
    Transfer into that account from HFX.
    Person on the other end draws out the cash at the best exchange rate and puts it into an Ozzy account. Might take a while though due to limits, but if you have several of that type of account then it will decrease the time
  7. borat1234's avatar
    Author
    I'm in Australia, so can't pop into the branch. When I called my bank direct, they didn't seem interested.

    Money is from the sale of a property that only completed after I emigrated.
    mutley1's avatar
    wait until you are back and then go into your branch. otherwise get a solicitor in australia to do it for you.
  8. The_narrow_path's avatar
    Come back to UK, cash out your account, travel back to Aus with the money. Make sure you have evidence of the sale with you for border.
    mutley1's avatar
    i think it would be pretty dangerous to be walking around with 250k cash.
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