Reply With QuoteWould Transferwise work?
Hi all,
Hoping for some advice/ knowledge from the collective geniuses here!
A friend has been left some money by a relative in the UAE (c.£40-50k I am lead to believe). The money is in a local bank there.
What would be the best way of getting it to the UK? My friend banks with LLoyds and she was quoted 2%(!!) as their fee. The relative seems a bit clueless about transfers and due to nationality is not allowed to use the Al Ansari service which was my (not so) bright idea. I then looked at services like TorFX which don't appear to work from Dubai to here if you use the local banks.
Any other way? Any expats or financial advisers able to help please?
Would Transferwise work?
I would go and collect it and fly back.....but that's just me.
Transferwise unfortunately blocked there apparently, Revolut is coming but not quite there yet.Originally Posted by EJL25
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You can only bring £10k into the country undeclared... not sure what happens if you bring more?
If legitimate shouldn’t be a problem.
Edit:- And obviously declare it.
Last edited by Kingstepper; 9th September 2019 at 15:44.
The whole lot gets confiscated whilst you're investigated for money laundering (and not declaring). At least, that's what appears to happen on the Customs programs on Dave
Personally I'd buy a solid gold Rolex/Patek, post the box home and wear it back.
If this legit then no real issue.
If it in GBP it’s a straight transfer with normal flat fee. With 2% point I presume the amount is actually in UAE Dhs. To do the fx part back to GBP you can talk to someone like FC exchange and see if they can give a better rate.
In Saudi Arabia we get paid in the local currency and transfer back using Currencies Direct. It's a painless process, fees will be lower than bank but not as good as services like transfer wise. The dhiram is also pegged to the dollar, so if you have a USD account it might provide a cheaper way.
Yes money is in Dirhams. The problem seems to be the relative's bank account, which is with the local islamic bank. They seemingly won't deal with TorFX/ currenciesdirect or equivalent. They can transfer in Dirhams to LLoyds who will convert at their rate (not intrabank) +2%.
I am assuming expats have HSBC/ Barclays accounts to make things easier?
If my friend was to set up an HSBC account in the UAE then have her relative transfer to that account presumably if you use HSBC Globalview that will work out cheaper than Lloyds at least?
Currencyfair which is similar to transferwise allow transfers in AED
Yes the HSBC route would work. Likely to be a bit cheaper (but not much) but you would have to see. I think you would only save transfer fee not the fx fee. You would also need to check what docs are required if they are not a UAE resident to open the account.
On local Islamic bank option you may wish to clarify to them that they would simply transfer to the fx company in Dhs, which they cannot object to as they have to transfer it to where you request. The fx company then does the exchange and on transfer (It does not go back to the local bank).
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