Transferring Money
Foreign Currency Exchange
Foreign Exchange (FX) providers may quote you an initial rate but will only be able to confirm the actual rate once you have opened an account with them and the funds you intend to transfer have cleared into their account. You may find that some FX providers quote you a very competitive rate only for it not to be so appealing once you have opened an account with them and are ready to make the transfer. If this is the case, you have the choice of proceeding with the transfer or withdrawing your funds.
When establishing an account with a FX provider they are governed by 'Know Your Client' (KYC) regulations. This means they must obtain a copy of your passport, proof of address and other personal details in order to satisfy KYC and anti-money laundering regulations.
The transfer of money into a FX providers account can take place the same day if you need to transfer funds quickly (via CHAPS) or can take up to 3 days if done online. The amount of money you are transferring into the FX providers account will determine the method you use: with large amounts you should consider using CHAPS to ensure you get the same day rate and maximise interest earned on the transferred amount.
In order to have confidence when transferring large amounts of money myJobCaddy recommends receiving at least a couple of quotes – taking the comment above into account - before confirming who will execute your transfer.
The only way to gauge the competitiveness of the quoted rate is to compare it against the inter-bank rate at the same time — try using this converter tool which is based on the inter-bank rate.
It's important to realise that the inter-bank rate is not indicative of the rate you will receive from a FX provider or your bank as this rate is reserved for large sized deals transacted between the dealing rooms of the world's largest banks. It does, however, give you a point of reference to determine how good a particular rate is that you are being quoted.