Sending money between countries - is there a free way???

[slim6y]

I do apologise for once again relying on the herpetology community to come up with suggestions on ways to save money...

Here's the problem:

If I was to visit New Zealand for an extended period of time, how would I pay my Australian debts?

While I only have a few debts, they'd be too big to completely pay off before I was thinking of taking an extended NZ holiday. And probably working over there for a bit... Maybe check out a few NZ gex... Maybe buy a water dragon for $200...

So - if I was to do this - how could I send money between NZ banks and Aus banks so I could dish out this money accordingly?

At the moment these are the options I have discovered:

1) Telegraphic Transfer - if with ANZ that's $25 per time! I'd be doing this fortnightly so that would be an extra $650 per year!!!

2) PayPal - at the moment I see this as around a 2.4% fee which could be a saving of around $10 per pop... but still expensive!!!

3) Fill in how you've done it - or how you could do it if you were in a similar predicament

Thanks again - a large community has a large brain pool - so we have a large amount of answers - hopefully some realistic

 

[Sock Puppet]

Depending on the bills, you can set up direct debit payments from a nominated account. I'm sure you could nominate your NZ account for this. This will also give you the advantage of automatic deductions, so you don't need to be near a computer or worry about paying it on time. So long as you have sufficient funds in that account, everything should be fine. Just double check if there's any curreny conversion fee per transaction.

Alternatively, I pay most of my bills online using BPay, minimal fees (I think it's a couple of dollars/month or quarter, or something) & real easy.

These the sort of thing you were after or have I totally missed the mark?

 

[slim6y]

It's ok if you're in Australia or using Australian banks... Which I can... But using a kiwi bank and transferring to Australia - is not free so that'd be the same with direct debit unfortunately!

Where are all the money laundering herpetologists with the know how aye

I'd use BPay if I could get money from NZ to Aus without the ridiculous fees!!!

 

[Karly]

I doubt you will find a free way... we are talking about banks here!
Check this website out - Travel Money Card –Carry your Foreign Currency Safely with Travelex Cash Passport Card
You can load a Visa card with a chosen currency via Bpay and it only costs 1% of the transfer amount, then use it to make purchases - or in your case - pay bills online.

 

[JAS101]

what about internet banking to transfer funds from one account into a visa debit account ? as your not using any banks money [ compared to a normal visa] its your own money .

 

[slim6y]

what about internet banking to transfer funds from one account into a visa debit account ? as your not using any banks money [ compared to a normal visa] its your own money .

Telegraphic transfer at $25 per pop.... Not quite what I wanted to do...

 

[JAS101]

Telegraphic transfer at $25 per pop.... Not quite what I wanted to do...

i never knew that , learn something every day .

 

[Jay84]

Hmmmmm..... the trouble with paying debts in Australia is the debtor will want to hold the authority for the direct debit. Meaning they will not want you making your payments manually. If you were able to do this then i would have advised to get a CC in NZ (if you are eligible) then you could have transfered funds to these debts via BPAY (if the debtor has this facility).... MASTERCARD only charges a 2% conversion fee.

Other than that, i do not know of any FREE way to transfer funds between international accounts

 

[slim6y]

Thanks Sir Jay...

It appears PayPal is still cheaper(ish)...

I'll be able to leave my Australian bank accounts open, just as I've left my NZ ones open... So that won't be an issue with the direct debits.

What's a CC in NZ?

Credit Card?

I have an Australian one - I just need to work a way to get the funds from $NZ to $AUD with limited charges!

 

[Jackrabbit]

Telegraphic transfer at $25 per pop.... Not quite what I wanted to do...

as most bills are only paid once a month transfer money to your Australian accpount once a month and pay you bills from that. Then you can either set up regular payments from your Aussie account, thus requiring access to the internet only once a month if that will be a problem, or make payments online manually if that is what you prefer.

$25 a month shouldn't be too stressfull if it allows you to have an extended/working holiday.

good luck and Enjoy
rick

 

[Rox.n.Lix]

i am currently trying to transfer money from my UK bank to my Aus bank. Paypal says this:
It's free* when you use your PayPal balance or your bank account linked to your PayPal account. There is a charge of 3.4% + £0.20 GBP*
for debit or credit card payments
(either the sender or recipient can pay this fee).
But even thought the money was coming out of my bank account it kept wanting to charge me a fee.

So i am in the process of 'adding funds' to my paypal (from my UK bank) too see if once the funds are cleared and sitting in cyberspace in my paypal account, there is still a fee to send them to Aus.
I can keep you posted if you like. it'll be a few more days

 

[phantomreptiles]

What I have done is sent an eft pos card to my family and put money in that account and alert them to when I do that, they will then withdraw it and give it to the right people/debts. They have in turn sent me an eft pos card for an account of theirs so if they need to transfer money to me they can. I use westpac and they use westpactrust in NZ, this costs only a couple of dollars, they only draw back is you can only withdraw $800 a day. This is obviously not legal and you would have to trust the person but it does work for a few people.

 

[Rox.n.Lix]

Cross-border personal transactions

Funding Source: entirely funded by PayPal balance or bank account​

Sending / Receiving​

(In most cases
the sender decides
who pays the fee.
In some cases
the sender will
not be able to
decide and either
the sender or recipient will be required to pay
the fee.)
​

This fee is based on the country of the recipient.​

Recipient’s Country:​

Australia 1%
​

Oh, plus the currency conversion fee...
BUMMER

 

[slim6y]

Thanks - so it appears PayPal is the way to go...

I'll check some of the other 'Paypalesque' sites too... does anyone use others?

I will NOT use Western Union if I can avoid it!

If the fee is just 1% that's not too bad... that takes it down from $25 per month to below $10 per month!

 

[Earthling]

Cheapest way Slim is to send me allll your money in cash, in a large envelope, and I will personally see to it and go pay your bills for you...you can trust me cob

 

[slim6y]

Cheapest way Slim is to send me allll your money in cash, in a large envelope, and I will personally see to it and go pay your bills for you...you can trust me cob

Wow... you pop up at the most opportune times don't you big fella?

However, I tend to agree with you... If I send you cash, say, fortnightly in a large envelope you would pay my bills... That's sweet... PayPal misses out... and MyPal gains... I like it!!!

But with comments like that you'll only see your reputation soaring...

 

[longqi]

Some Australian banks have branches all over the place
Ex Commonwealth has ATMs and a small branch in Kuta Bali
Instead of large transfer fees it is only $2.50 per transaction to use these
Might be worth checking if they have branches in En Zud

..

 

[Rox.n.Lix]

mmm, i had thought i could use my ANZ card with ease in NZ, but no.... different different.

So, my GBP cleared from my british bank into my uk paypal, and i just sent it to myself. The fee dropped from 16 pounds to 5 so 1 % of the amount i was sending. Now i just have to see what i ose in the currency conversion at the other end.

 

[-Peter]

Become a Muslim and use the Hawala system.