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For access to your online account please contact your personal account manager, alternatively email team@regencyfx.com.
At RegencyFX, we help you achieve the most from the currency you are converting.
As an independent currency specialist, we have lower overheads than the banks, enabling us to pass on the savings to you.
We can also discuss and agree on the right time to exchange your money, rather than using a bank or online-only system and having to accept whatever rate they give you on the day.
All money transfers are conducted through safeguarded client accounts.
There are four simple steps with transferring money from Hong Kong to the UK these are, identity check, get an exchange rate, make your payment and finally your money is sent out to the UK.
Before you can send money from the UAE to the UK, you need to be identified.
There is a legal obligation to verify customers sending money internationally due to global anti-money laundering regulations.
The check only applies to new customers.
Once your set-up, you can skip this step if you are sending money back to the UK on a regular basis.
For British expats, it is usually straightforward. If you still have an address in the UK, it’s even quicker.
Once you are set up, a bank or money transfer company will quote you their current exchange rate.
When moving money back to the UK, you are selling Dirhams and buying Pounds.
This is sometimes written as AED/GBP.
The exchange rate moves throughout the day. It’s up to you whether you go ahead at the quote given.
If you are happy to proceed, the bank or money transfer company will lock-in your rate at that time.
Shortly after, you will receive an email confirming all the details of your transaction.
Banks will require your Dirhams upfront before they will agree an exchange rate.
However, a money transfer company will allow you to lock-in a rate before you send your Dirhams in.
This might be an advantage if you see a favourable rate and want to lock it in before it moves.
On the confirmation transaction, you will be given the bank details of where to send your Dirhams.
This will be to a safeguarded Dirham-denominated client account.
Once your Dirhams are with your bank or money transfer company, they will convert them into Pounds Sterling at the rate agreed, then send the Pounds to the UK bank account you request.
That's it.
The timeframe can vary depending on the different time zones, public holidays, weekends and the banks used in the process as some are quicker than others at processing the money.
It usually takes 2-3 working days for the money to arrive in the desired bank account.
Banks are generally slower at processing the money with an international transfer is comparison to using a money transfer specialist.
There are two main options when it comes to transferring money from Hong Kong to the UK these are, use a bank or use a money transfer specialist.
Sending money from a Hong Kong bank account to a UK bank account using a money transfer specialist would be the best option for you.
Using this process will only take 1-3 working days and it is a much more coft-effective way of sending larger amounts of money.
The bank may seem like the easiest option however they have high charges and fees with not a lot of guidance throughout the process, due to this, banks are better when it comes to the small irregular payments.
A money transfer specialist have lower fees and they specialise in sending the larger frequent amounts of money.
There are many money transfers companies out there to choose from, but you need to choose the one that is best for you! Some money transfer companies are online-only companies such as PayPal and TransferWise these companies will offer little guidance and help throughout the process, the most they can offer is webchat and support emails.
These online-only companies are better when it comes to sending smaller amounts of money.
Many people do not feel safe or comfortable sending their money over the internet especially with no one to talk to.
It can be incredibly stressful when trying to transfer money internationally with no or little guidance, that is why it is best to choose a money transfer specialist with human contact so that they can guide and assist you through the whole process.
Money transfer specialists can offer you all the help you need, they can even watch the exchange rates for you and notify you if they move in your favour!
There are two main costs involved when transferring money from Hong Kong to the UK, these are:
Some people are not aware that the exchange rate itself is a fee charged for transferring money internationally.
Transfer Fees
A transfer fee is the fee charged for sending money from one international account to another.
Transfer fees vary depending on where you are sending your money and, course, to transfer money from Hong Kong to the UK or to send money to Hong Kong from the UK is no different.
The banks will charge transfer fees when sending money internationally, these are a standard fee that is charged by all the big banks.
Some banks will even charge two transfer fees, one for the sending bank and one for the receiving bank! There are other names for a transfer fee which are “telegraphic transfer fee” and “outward remittance fee”.
Here is an example of what two of the large banks for British expats charge per international transfer:
HSBC charge $50 when you do it online and $120-240 when you do it in a branch, or $0 if the money is being transferred to another HSBC account and you are a HSBC Jade or Premier customer.
Standard Chartered charge $100-200 depending on what account you have. The banks also charge a fee if you change, make a mistake, or cancel your transfer and these fees are between $100 and $250 each!
Exchange Rates
An exchange rate is the price of one currency compared to that of another; what your money will buy if you like.
Every bank or money transfer company have their own exchange rates.
The banks are known to have uncompetitive rates and to be very costly however, some people think that the bank is their only option, so they end up spending a lot of money on fees and charges as they are not aware there are other options out there.
Exchange rates set by HSBC and Standard Chartered for HKD/GBP is around 2.0%-2.2%.
To give you a rough idea on what this would look like, on a $200,000 telegraphic transfer to the UK you could be paying $4,000-$4,400 in exchange rate costs, now this is a lot of money to be wasting!
When looking at sending larger amounts of money then these fees can really add up and cost you a fortune!
One main way to obtain the trust from a money transfer specialist is to check to see if they are regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority); if they are regulated by the FCA then they are required to keep your fund separate from the company’s funds in a safeguarded client account.
You can check to see if a company is registered by the FCA by looking at the FCA register online.
It is important to find a good exchange rate when transferring money from Hong Kong to the UK, this is not easy to achieve as the rates move every few seconds constantly.
Even the smallest of changes can affect the exchange rates massively, which could mean that you are losing a lot of money.
It is not easy to decide what is the best time to convert Hong Kong dollars into Pounds!
For the larger transfers even the smallest changes in the rates could mean you are losing or gaining large amounts of money.
For example, with a $250,000 transfer to the UK even a 1% move in the wrong way could mean you are paying $5,000 extra! Moves like this happen all the time.
Currency brokers can watch the rates for you and let you know of any events happening soon that might affect the rate!
The online-only platforms and banks will not offer the same type or service as it is not a standard service.
Regency FX! One of the UK’s top currency brokers!
The important thing is the comparison, online rates shown on Google and other search engines are not always accurate for the consumer.
They can often refer to the rates that banks exchange at rather than what is available to you, the customer.
As a first-class currency transfer service, here at Regency FX we endeavour to get the best available rate regardless of how much you are transacting.
Get a quote and see how we stack up.
