Transferring money abroad

[nsomeck]

I currently bank with DBS and am fed up of paying c SGD 60 everytime i make a transfer to my UK account.
What is the most cost-effecient way to transfer money overseas?
Thanks.

[sundaymorningstaple]

This should help

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic43202.html

[durain]

one other way is to open an account with a money/currency broker. www.hifx.co.uk has been recommended to me and seems to be very good.

another way is to open an investments account, put your SGD into it and you can "withdraw" it to a UK bank account. the exchange rates are very good, as near as the spot rate. let me know if you want to know more about the investments way...

[T+D]

Hi Durain - i'm interested in this investments method - do you have to be physically in the UK to pull the money back into sterling and who do you open the account with?

[durain]

ok, on the investment bit, i havent done it yet but has made enquiries and i think this is the route i will be taking.

i wanted to move money from UK to SG and going thru the high street bank is daylight robbery. i was told the best way is to open an investment account with an investment company (it's not a bank). i will put money into the investment account in GBP and "withdraw" the money by money transfer to a bank account in singapore in local currency. the rate is very good and there's no charges, and because the money is in an investment account, it will get better interest rate too.

your investment account and singapore bank will need to be in your name as they will not transfer it to another 3rd party account (beacuase of money laundry).

not sure if it works the other way round where you want to convert SGD to GBP, but i will find out.

when you want to withdraw/transfer the money, they need a written confirmation. you can do it via fax or snail mail if you are not in a hurry

[nsomeck]

thanks for all the useful information guys. I think the best thing to do is invest in a high-yield account here in Sing.
If anyone has any good tips it would be much appreciated.

[T+D]

my latest thought is to open a new zealand or aussie dollar account - earns 7 or 8% interest - asking the guys at work how stable the exchange is likely to be though - everyone expects sing dollar to appreciate but perhaps not fast enough to erode the relative value

[durain]

the euro is pretty stable at the moment.

if you are gonna open a NZ or aussie account, make sure you find out what are the charges for transfering SGD into those account. if i am not mistaken, swift, bacs or iban will cost you S$60 a pop.

[jaesun]

If time isn't an issue, buy American Express Traveler's checks and then send them by mail to your bank. The commission charge in Singapore is 1%, and the exchange rate, while it isn't the best in Singapore, isn't a total rip-off. There's an AMEX branch outside of Tang's with evening hours. Your bank in the UK shouldn't charge a deposit fee. These checks are also guarenteed should they get lost in the mail.

I used this method when I worked in the UK to transfer funds into my US bank account because it was commission-free at the post office. The delay was about 10 days. I just tried it here and found that it took 3 weeks for my deposit to arrive at my bank, which is outside of Washington DC. But I sent the deposit right before Christmas, so I'm hoping that 3 weeks isn't the norm.

[Chris_26]

ok, on the investment bit, i havent done it yet but has made enquiries and i think this is the route i will be taking.

i wanted to move money from UK to SG and going thru the high street bank is daylight robbery. i was told the best way is to open an investment account with an investment company (it's not a bank). i will put money into the investment account in GBP and "withdraw" the money by money transfer to a bank account in singapore in local currency. the rate is very good and there's no charges, and because the money is in an investment account, it will get better interest rate too.

your investment account and singapore bank will need to be in your name as they will not transfer it to another 3rd party account (beacuase of money laundry).

not sure if it works the other way round where you want to convert SGD to GBP, but i will find out.

when you want to withdraw/transfer the money, they need a written confirmation. you can do it via fax or snail mail if you are not in a hurry

Hi,

Did you have any luck with this route? Could you shed anymore light on it?

Thank you.

[durain]

didnt use any coz no need. but if i need to, i will probably use a money broker agent or open a citibank account (access account with no monthly fees) or a hsbc premier account. you will have to check that both accounts are fees free and more importantly, the exchange rates are good. usually they are pants.

use a money broker agent like www.hifx.co.uk or www.ukforex.com to check the interbank rate and compare them with what you are getting from your bank. you will never get the interbank rate, but the closer the better.

[louy]

One I have signed up to, but not yet used is :

www.moneybookers.com/

[AngMoKio]

Durain,

HSBC (sing) is dinging us with a pretty hefty fee (and they are IMHO the worst bank I have -ever- dealt with.)

I would not recommend that route. I was reading this thread hoping to get away from HSBC.

I am however a happy HSBC US customer.

[louy]

Durain,

HSBC (sing) is dinging us with a pretty hefty fee (and they are IMHO the worst bank I have -ever- dealt with.)

I would not recommend that route. I was reading this thread hoping to get away from HSBC.

I am however a happy HSBC US customer.

I use HSBC UK at home and have been with them for years. But I looked at HSBD SG and was not impressed at all.

And they call themselves 'The World's Local Bank'

[durain]

you have to get the hsbc premier account to get the cheapo international money transfer and better customer service. unfortunately, i only experience the hsbc premier in UK and they are good.