What you didn't know about sending money overseas.


Whether you are buying your dream home, selling your overseas home or paying running costs of an overseas home, you no doubt need to be moving funds between countries and converting into another currency.  Are you sure your money is working as hard as possible for you with these transfers? Here are 5 top tips and why using a currency broker is the way forward:-

Here are 5 reasons why you should use a Broker when you are sending money overseas:

  1. Cheaper than the banks
  2. No Transaction Fees
  3. Dedicated relationship manager
  4. A wide range of services available
  5. Experienced team of professionals

Cheaper than banks

So let us give you some background and tell you about the rates you have been paying without knowing. For decades, banks have been taking advantage of you by offering you high currency exchange rates. In simple terms, if you don’t shop around you will get a bad rate. For brokers, they buy the money off banks but can amend their spread accordingly, drastically undercutting any competition, therefore giving a better rate. Crucially, some banks still set their rate only once a day disregarding the fact that rates move every 5 seconds. A bank’s “spread” or “margin” can be anywhere between 2-5% depending on the currency, a broker however is more 0.5%.

No Transaction Fees

Most of the high-street banks charge an average amount of £20 on every FX transaction. In reality, your bank adds the fee as “administration costs”. On top of that, banks usually charge you a transfer fee (around £4), the cost to actually make the transfer. The difference when using a broker, is that these fees are swallowed and incorporated in to the rate quoted therefore no fees are charged for the use of the brokering service. Always research what you are being charged and why before any transaction. Agreed you may not consider these £20s and £4s to be excessive but consider that on smaller, monthly transactions for payments such as pensions or mortgage payments then this fees can become costly. 

Dedicated Relationship Manager

Do you find it tedious trying to get through to the international payments department in a bank's call centre? If you opt to make your international FX transcations with a broker, as soon as you open an account, you will be assigned your very own account manager, like Andy pictured above, one of the relationship managers at RationalFX. No more dealing with call centres! Your account manager will guide you every step of the way and will always be available on telephone and email to support and advise on your money transfers to get the best possible outcome for yourself.

For example, as soon as the rates move in your favour, your dedicated relationship manager will call you to ensure you can take advantage of this rate should you wish. We are genuinely committed to getting the best possible rate for you.

Isn't that right Andy?

And that's not all...

FX brokers, such as our partners at RationalFX, offer clients a range of additional services perhaps you're not aware of:-

  • Spot Contracts: A stop order allows you to manage a ‘worst case scenario’ and protect your bottom line if the market was to move against you. You can set up a limit order that will be automatically triggered if the market breaches your stop price and Indigo will purchase your currency at this price to ensure that you do not encounter an even worse exchange rate when you need to make your payment.
  • Forward Contracts: A forward contract allows you to buy currency at today’s rate for a payment date in the future. They are great to help secure against currency movements and only require a small deposit.
  • Market Orders: A limit order allows you to set the minimum or maximum price at which you would like to buy or sell currency. This enables you to take advantage of rate fluctuations beyond trading hours and hold out for your desired rate.

Experienced team of professionals - meet our partners at RationalFX

So you've met Andy. Andy works at Rational FX, a London based company with years of experience in the FX market. Founded in 2005 by Rajesh Agrawal (Executive Chairman) and Paresh Davdra(CEO), the group has, since inception,  processed more than $10 billion in international payments in globally and is set to turnover over $3.7 billion in 2016. The company has over 100,000 customers (Private and Corporate) in 60 different countries now with over 100 employees speaking 20 different languages. RationalFX is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 507958) under the Payment Services Regulations 2009, for the provision of payment services.

A few reminders of the benefits....

  • Guaranteed exchange rate with a saving of up to 5% on a bank
  • 0% commission and no hidden costs
  • Same day payments
  • Ability to lock in the rate for future payments (forward contract)
  • Segregated client accounts,
  • FCA Authorised
  • Free market updates and analysis

And here are the all important contact details:-

Andy Sadler Partnership Manager
Level 32, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AB
Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 8181
Web: www.rationalfx.com