Jump to content

HiFX and Britline


f1steveuk
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have recieved a call from Britline telling me they have a new partner to assist with International money transfers. HiFX have now contacted me, and it all sounds very good, but ever the 'sceptic' I wondered if any other Britline accont holders had been contacted or if anyone has any experience or knowledge of HiFX?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Friends of mine have used them with no probs.  How does the offer compare with other forex companies, I wonder.

I know that Britline aren't charging for sterling receipts at the moment but my bank wants £25 to send even sterling over here!  How mad is that?  Thus HiFX may well work better, I had certainly been thinking of using them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used HIFX for our original house purchase and continue to use them for regular contracted monthly transfers and occasional top-up cash transfers from the UK (done online).  The online service, once set up, literally takes minutes.

No problems, although one could doubtless say the same about several of their competitors.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, yes I have done several transfers to France with HiFX and all have been smooth.  The only reason I didn't use them last time was that they wouldn't negotiate the rate offered, and I got a better deal with Currencies Direct.  A little while ago HiFX started allowing online exchange transactions, which as said above is convenient, but now they won't budge from that online rate.  Its still decent mind you, but not always the best.  Currencies Direct beat them by over a cent/£ and as with HiFX there were no transaction or transfer fees (it was over the £5k threshold).  As an aside, my current account in France is with Axabanque and they receive the foreign transfers free of charge.

I wouldn't be sceptical about HiFX or Britline, but make sure you are always getting the best deal.  For me, playing one foreign exchange company off against another is part of the fun!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, sorry for ambiguity, but I've only ever made transfers to Axa in euros.  Having said that, the net effect has still always been sterling held in UK becoming euros held in France with no bank or transaction charges and with a very good exchange rate.  Doubt if using either UK or French banks exchange and transfer services would achieve that, but I may of course be wrong. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used HiFX for my house purchase and have used them subsequently and have been very satisfied with their service.

[quote user="Daft Doctor"]For me, playing one foreign exchange company off against another is part of the fun![/quote]That's all very well but presupposes that you have an account set up with each. If not by the time you have the rate could have moved against you, it could have gone the other way too of course. If you are transferring on a monthly basis, as many do, it becomes somewhat onerous and impractical.

Somewhere else a poster claims to have done a deal with a company called IFX for 30 points off the bank rate and a £10 fee - regardless of the amount - which seems like a good deal however to even see their rates you have to first set up an account, which requires certified copies of your passport plus original or certified copy of utility bill or bank statement, and then to install their custom software which I'm afraid is a step too far for me just to look.

It's always worth remembering that in the FX market competition is fierce and margins paper thin so when someone is offering a significantly better rate than the rest you have to ask yourself how they are able to do it.

The old adage 'if it looks too good to be true then it probably is' is wise and for the evidence you need look no further than what happened to Crown Currencies in the very recent past and the Icelandic banks going back a bit further.

I'm sure most FX traders are honest and trustworthy but what price that few cents in your favour if next time they go down with even just a few hundred pounds of your money in transit !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having lost the Nationwide fee-free/bank rate advantage now that they are charging for cash card withdrawals, I find I'm paying about £4 to move £300 over here using that method, and am still getting bank rate.  When I saw the CA offer I thought I'd move £1000 over here to cover our cash withdrawals for the next couple of months or so.  However, even if I send sterling to France, SWIFT want £25 to do it, so on that basis I'm still better off sticking with the good old Nationwide cash card method.  What it's hard to establish is whether these FX companies really do work out any better, especially given AnO's observations about the security of one's money in these circs..  In spite of still feeling slightly cheated by the Nationwide, who get a substantial amount of money from us each month in the form of my o/h's pension, I've yet to find any other method which is beating them on all fronts.

How does HiFX seem to those who use them to stand up to the Nationwide method for small amounts?  Does anybody think it's worth it to set up a regular transfer (say £500 or so a month) with this sort of company for day to day expenses?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With you on this one coops. We worked out that at the end of the day there's not a great deal of difference and for peace of mind and probably laziness it's just easier to nip into the bank with the Nationwide card as and when. C'est la vie !!

Chris
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="cooperlola"]

Having lost the Nationwide fee-free/bank rate advantage now that they are charging for cash card withdrawals, I find I'm paying about £4 to move £300 over here using that method, and am still getting bank rate.  [/quote]

I too have stuck with themas they are for me still the most economical, I guess financially they made theright decision in stiffing us.

I was a bit suspicious of your quoted figure of £4 Coops, I have just checked my statement and for a £295 withdrawal (as close as I could get to the limit in euros) I paid £5.90 in commission plus a £1 cash withdrawal fee.

As the commission and exchange rates for European purchases are the same I now try to buy everthing using my card and use cash as little as possible to limit the £1 charges. I also like you ty to withdraw the maximum amount each time, before it would be only what I needed for a few days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found that with HIFX the larger the transfer, the better the rate, and that you can play with the on-line system before shifting any money at all to find out what the thresholds might be for the better rates. From memory below £5,000 the rate isn't normally that good.

On the other hand, they move the money very quickly: they say that it will be 1 to 4 working days before the money is in your account, and my experience to date has been either just one day (ie the next day after the money leaves your UK account) or two, and never longer.

The reason I don't use HIFX regularly is that one service they don't offer is available from Travelex. This is a regular standing order to transfer a monthly amount of sterling into euros at the current exchange rate on the day of the month that you pick. HIFX will only do an advance purchase where you fix the rate in advance. Travelex on the other hand take longer to make the transfer: 4 to 7 working days in my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Simon-come-lately"]CA Britline - Brilliant

Can't understand why everyone doesn't use them!

Simon :-)[/quote]Could it be something to do with their onerous requirements for opening an account ?

http://www.britline.com/pdf/account_opening_pack.pdf

Certified copy of passport

Certified proof of fiscal residence

Bankers reference

Proof of French property purchase

etc. etc.

So much easier to just walk into a local French bank, even CA, and open an account on the spot. We did it with nothing more than passports, a copy of the Acte de Vent and a Notaires cheque for an overpayment. In and out in 20 minutes [;-)]

We looked at Britline - before we knew better [:D][:D][:D]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It took us about ten minutes to open our HiFX account - I just scanned and emailed the documents.  (I have a copy of my passport etc saved as pdf anyway).  With regard to the rates - if you are transferring >£5k then HiFX is great.  For smaller amounts the rates are not so competitive.  We tend to transfer a big chunk of money (via HiFX) a couple of times a year.  While we are in France we spend using our NW credit card.  If we need additional small amounts of cash we use our Halifax credit card (which is cheaper) or our NW debit card.

Edit:  You don't have to install anything to use HiFX's online transfer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, in response to comment by anOther in previous post, you do need to have a few FX accounts up and running with different brokers to instantly play them off, but that isn't difficult to set up (as others have said).  I also agree wholeheartedly that you need to feel confident in who you are dealing with.

On the issue of the Nationwide Card vs other sources of cheap and convenient regular and small amount FX, if you have a UK address and a decent credit rating there are 2 very good options.  Firstly, the Halifax Clarity credit card offers no transaction or exchange rate loading charges on foreign currency purchases and interest only (approx 1% per month) on cash withdrawals abroad, but only charged until you settle the withdrawn amount (which you can do ahead of the usual payment date if desired).  I've used this card whenever I have been abroad since Nationwide changed their charging policy in November and the exchange rates seem to be interbank or extremely close.  I've also made a lot of small and larger purchases in a number of different outlets, including retail and online and had no practical difficulties or rejections.  There is no fee for having this card.  The second option is the Sainsbury Gold credit card.  It is transaction, loading, AND interest free for cash withdrawals and purchases overseas, but has a £5 monthly fee.  That being said, it offers free worldwide family travel insurance including winter sports cover, which if you use that kind of thing would cost more than the £60 annual fee anyway.

     

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very good point!!  I am still very much UK resident, so no problem for me at the moment, but not sure what will happen when we move permanently to France next year.  What happens to all my UK bank, savings and credit card accounts?  Are they allowed to continue, just registered to a new address in France?  Surely I won't have to shut them all down, will I??  
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most high street institutions will let you keep existing accounts but not open new ones. Some will change your address to France, others not.

If you have the chance then open an account with Norwich & Peterborough BS, their new debit card is a direct replacement for the Nationwide card as was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, I did look at Norwich & Peterborough, but it seems its either pay in £500 per month regularly for the 'Gold Classic' account or pay a low usage charge of £5 per month on the 'Gold Light' account if you don't make at least 5 transactions per month. Once resident in France the 5 transactions a month minimum would be easy to achieve, but probably not before. If the same deal is around come April 2012 however it might well be worth opening an account before we move.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Problem I ran up against was that it is stated in the terms and conditions of the account or credit card that one has to have a UK address. Because of that I have had to close ING bank accounts and close my EGG credit card that had 1% cash back!

I use HIFX and CABRITLINE and have been taken aback by the charges, albeit small, that the french bank charge. Least with HIFX they refund any charge CA Britline make.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That seems really unfair in the age of a united Europe and the EEA! I have checked the Halifax Clarity T&C's and there is no mention of having to maintain a UK address so good news there, The Norwich & Peterborough T&C's state that the accounts are only available to residents of the UK. Its not clear if you have to close such an account if you cease to be resident.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Dodger253"]I use HIFX and CABRITLINE and have been taken aback by the charges, albeit small, that the french bank charge. Least with HIFX they refund any charge CA Britline make.[/quote]

If you moan, CA Britline will stop making a charge for monthly tsfrs & their daft notification (which you know about already).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...