Currency exchange companies

[Rob Roy]

A relative of mine wants to make a one off transfer to a French bank account. Could someone explain to me how the currency exchange firms work, and can you use them just once or are they for regular amounts only? Can you transfer to an account that is not in your name?

[AnOther]

You can use them for one off's, small or large, or regular amounts and to anywhere/anyone you like. They tend to charge a tad more for small transfers though as the work involved is exactly the same for €100 as it is for €1,000,000 plus they cannot necessarily get the same rate for small sums either. They do not normally charge a fee but make their money by scraping off a small fraction of the rate, say 0.01% or some such. This is why you can tout yourself around various brokers to get the best rate.

Basically you need to register with one first, just like you would to open a bank A/C really, and most of it can be done by email or fax although there will be signed documents to return by post possibly along with photocopies of passport etc. too.

Once you have an A/C set up then to place a deal you phone up and agree the sum and the rate, this forms a binding contract which is then followed up with a written email confirmation and forms to complete for the recipient etc.

For sums under £10k, and assuming you have internet or phone banking where you can transfer money to 3rd parties, then from there on it's possible to do the rest online.

For larger sums you will have to arrange with your own bank for a transfer to the broker which can be by various methods but will usually involve some nominal fee, say £20 or so.

That's a very broad outline and based on my own dealings with HiFX but I imagine most others operate in a very similar fashion.

Note: some banks and institutions charge a fee for receiving transfers so do check up on this beforehand. My bank, CA, does not.

Hope this helps but if you're still unsure please ask again.

[BobDee]

Ernie, Have you ever tried to to barter with HiFX? We use them too and once into the, " this call is being recorded etc, and "agreeing" a rate, upon reflection it often seems not to be the most generous offering. I wonder if they can be talked down a tad?

BobD 

[mint]

Yes, they can.  I had a call with them once when I said, "Caxton" (with whom I'm also "signed up") is offering so and so whereupon the dealer put me on hold for a minute or two and then came back and said they'd match the offer I'd already had!

So, never just say "yes" without a bit of bargaining.

[master of none]

Hello, I signed up with XEtrade and World First for our house purchase.  It does take some time, they telephone to confirm details, sending fax copies, checking refs. etc.  After getting quote from W/F (and subsiquently using XE) W/F telephoned to 'follow up' and negotiate but we had already bought. 

My wife thought I was insaine (more insaine!) transfering all our hard earned to a company I found on the internet, in the hope they would transfer it to a foreign currency in a foreign bank!  Inspite of her views of me (mostly correct!) I had done some research on the matter.  As it transpired,  I left it until the eleventh hour to buy, hoping (invain) for a better rate, every thing went like clockwork and the money showed up in our French account in a few days, two days before the purchase! 

Hope that helps

[Rob Roy]

Ernie, many thanks for your understandable explanation! I will pass it on to my cousin; we had both looked at a couple of websites, but didn't want to get too involved until he understood better what had to be done.