Money abroad - not for me I haven't got any!

[chasroberts]

I know this comes up regularly and have had a look at one or two old threads but am posting this again in case there have been any new developments. Here is the story....

Number 1 son (21yo) is off to spend a year in Australia (ahh, the joys of youth!). He has been saving like mad for the last year or so and has a pot of money to spend whilst he's out there although he also intends to try working to supplement this. Can the panel give their advice please on what would be the best way of accessing his money whilst over there. I have read of the 'pre-loaded' credit cards on which you deposit cash here and then draw it out or pay for goods and services as required over there. Sounds about right, but does anyone have more details, links or better ideas. Thanks guys in advance. I think he was thinking of a money belt and a stack of cash.... Noooooooooo!

As always, many thanks for your thoughts.

Chas

 

[ribrage]

Im in darwin , happy to hold onto the cash for him until he needs it mate

 

[chasroberts]

Im in darwin , happy to hold onto the cash for him until he needs it mate

Well that's right neighbourly of you Ian. Please send me your bank details and I'll arrange the transfer of the whole wedge to you. Of course there will be a small admin fee to pay but you can recoup that when I transfer the funds.

Chas

 

[ribrage]

Its ok i have it sussed , a good buddy of mine will pick up the cash in a suitcase at your place (small used notes best) and carry it into oz for you , that'll save on bank transfer fees , lets face it , you cant trust bankers !

 

[chasroberts]

Can't trust bankers? Are you crazy? Don't know what it's like there but our bankers are some of the best, most honest people in the country. I know coz my government told me so. People carrying suitcases on the other hand are to suspected of everything that is wrong with this country especially when they come from them foreign places. I know coz the Daily Mail told me so. We need to come up with a better solution I'm afraid. Send me a bank draft for say A$100 and I'll have a good think about it? Sounds reasonable?

On a more serious note, still looking for an answer to my original query if anyone has thoughts.....

 

[Tranona]

He might consider transferring the whole amount and having an Australian bank account. The problem with keeping it in the UK is that it will cost him fees every time he transfers money and the exchange rate will be unpredictable. Using one of the pre loaded cards or transferring in one lump means only one set of charges and if converted into Aus currency a known rate of exchange. The exchange rate problem can be good or bad, depending on whether the £ is weakening or strengthening. It is at a low value at the moment, but think that savings rates in Aus are higher than here. If he intends working then a local bank account may be required anyway as he will be paid locally.

Think if it were me, I would go the local account route. Different if one were travelling around different countries.

 

[vyv_cox]

We use Tranona's method for Europe. I have had a Dutch bank account since I worked there, we transfer sterling to the account once per year, then use ATMs wherever we are in Europe to draw Euros. It costs us about £20 to transfer in the first place and we pay €2 per month for account admin, that includes a bank card and the security gizmo. Seems to us to be reasonably cost effective and by far the most convenient.

 

[Chris_Robb]

We use Tranona's method for Europe. I have had a Dutch bank account since I worked there, we transfer sterling to the account once per year, then use ATMs wherever we are in Europe to draw Euros. It costs us about £20 to transfer in the first place and we pay €2 per month for account admin, that includes a bank card and the security gizmo. Seems to us to be reasonably cost effective and by far the most convenient.

I use Torfx to transfer money - good rate of exchange and no charges http://www.torfx.com/

 

[Capt Popeye]

How does Paypal work in this respect??

Is it good value??

You can Gift monies abroad into a bank account at reasonable rates??

 

[RAI]

I would go the local Oz account way and use www.currencyfair.com peer-to-peer to transfer the money from squid to Oz$.

 

[skpt]

i have a fairfx card and i believe you can link a family card to it so you could keep him topped up etc

 

[chasroberts]

Many thanks to all for your thoughts. Bank account it is I think.

Chas

 

[ffiill]

Just open a bank account over there-thats what my daughters used to do.If Newzealand is your destination you can apply before you go put money in and fully activate it when you get there.
Oh yes and even as a foreign national liable to 10% tax on interest you can put money into short term bond accounts(one year) that pays in excess of 4% pa

 

[Koeketiene]

How does Paypal work in this respect??

Is it good value??

You can Gift monies abroad into a bank account at reasonable rates??

PayPal is bloody expensive - they take a a hefty cut off every transaction (approx 4% IIRC) and their exchange rate is not that good either.

 

[ukmctc]

get a post office, mastercard/visacard top up, its free and you can get it in pounds/dollars or euros or all three no exchange charges.

 

[Hoolie]

Westpac (bank) have a well-organised ex-pat set-up. Having an Oz credit/debit card is a huge advantage, not only on saving piecemeal currency conversions. And they have ATMs and branches everywhere.

 

[AndrewB]

Another vote for your son opening an Oz bank account. As a UK citizen you don't even need to be resident or have a social security number (i.e. employed) in Australia to do this, just be able to give a private address in Australia. Transferring money via your UK bank's IBAN/SWIFT method is simple and can be done securely online (assuming you've set up online banking), but may not be the cheapest method for smallish amounts as there is typically a £25 charge per transfer, though the exchange rates offered are usually good. An advantage of transferring money to an Oz bank is that interest rates are far higher than UK.

 

[Spuddy]

My youngest lad did the same trip and got a work permit before he went.
As to the working, he found a few problems. The veg picking farms had a tie in with hostels who "shared out" the work so that the punters only got a few days a week each, just about enough to survive. His best period was as a waiter and living in a house share. Despite the difficulties he had a great two years - hope yours has the same.

 

[chasroberts]

Once again, thanks to all. ANZB account now set up and he's off this weekend....

Chas

 

[ribrage]

Good luck , im always in SHinanagins bar in darwin from 08:30 to 23.59 monday to sunday, should he need help with the cash