Rum & Dal

Finally our Visas have been accepted, so now what? Travel arrangements, short/medium and long term accommodation, finances and then finding a job… So much to think about and how time is flying by. How do we get our life saving across to Melbourne securely and safely with the best exchange rate? Well to be honest we had no idea. We had a few options but when you’re talking about thousands of pounds you start to second guess yourself wonder can you really trust a company that you have never heard or dealt with before? We came across a foreign exchange company called HiFX which was also recommended by a friend, now living in Canberra, Australia. After talking to HiFX we felt more confident about the whole procedure, they even recommended that we open an account in Australia with Westpac.

There are a few banks in Australia that allow you to open an account with them before you get to Australia e.g. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank. Unlike the UK there are many charges that Australian banks force upon their customers, make sure you read all the details and charges involved. Select the one that best suits your money management.

HiFX and Westpack requirements are simple. Complete and send off the application forms which are downloadable from their website along with two forms authenticated identifications. Approval can take up to 15 working days. We opened a joint current account (everyday account) and a savings account with Westpack, both to be managed online. This means we can only transfer money from one account to the other via telephone or online banking. HiFX transferred my money within 2 days to Westpac. Once in Melbourne we popped into the designated Westpac branch showed our passports and our accounts were verified and bank card ordered.

The service at HiFX and Westpac was excellent and professional and the whole procedure of transferring the money from Barclays to HiFX, HiFX to Westpac was seamless. The only cost I incurred was a £20 transfer fee by Barclays to put the money into my account at HiFX.

We would thoroughly recommend using HiFX along with Westpac for your money transaction requirements when migrating to Australia.