bonjour from France

[Burgundy21]

Hello everyone, we are coming out to Christchurch in mid november, we being two adults and our seven year old son. Our life has been here in France for the past 15 years but we are English, well I'm not sure about our son who speaks more French than English but we'll soon sort that out in NZ. Our application is being processed as we speak and we know that job offers would bring us to the top of the pile, but hey, who would employ teachers without interviews, so we wait....my main concern ( apart from no job, no house and a 24 hour flight!) is how to move money if we have no bank a/c. If anyone has experience of moving euros to NZ before having an address please let me know. Right, it's freezing here, worst summer in 60 years so I am off to walk the dog, and, no he isn't coming so we're making the most of him for now! All and any info would be great, and maybe if I stick at this posting lark I can lighten up my writing style, it's sooooooooooo serious.

[MotherBear]

Hi Burgundy21,

to the forum and thanks for the intro. Hope you'll stick around and join in the merriment (or madness, as some refer to it as).

Moving money, something that is dear to the hearts of most of us . One way of shifting it is to sign up with a company like one of those below. From what I can see HIFX and Tranzfers deal in Euros, but not sure about Moneycorp.

HIFX
Tranzfers
Moneycorp

As I mentioned to Tribesman on another recent thread about money, take a look at our NZ Website List under Banking, Financial and Investment. There are some banking sites on there where you can open a NZ bank account before you get there so, at least, you'll have somewhere to aim your money at.

Perhaps some of the others, who may have already done this, can share their experiences with you.

[keeweegal]

- its definitely a madhouse here!

Just to follow on from what MotherBear has said, I've just used MoneyCorp to transfer a relatively small amount to my NZ account - thought I'd take advantage of the exchange rate, although it would appear that I possibly transferred too soon

So far, so good. I transferred GBP last Wednesday & with the delay from my bank to MoneyCorp, they exchanged today (but on the rate agreed last Wednesday) - should hit my NZ account tomorrow or Thursday - will keep you posted.

I know its not that much help as you're transferring Euros & you don't have an NZ account but so far I will give good feedback for MoneyCorp. I'm also registered with HiFX but MC gave me a slightly better rate on the day.

I will be opening an ASB account before we leave - have a look here, you may be able to apply through their London branch. Other banks such as National Bank and Westpac Bank also allow you to open accounts before arriving in NZ.

HTH
Sal

[Welshgirl]

Ooo la la - a French member!

Welcome to the forum Burgundy21

Hope we can be of help along the way, although we may just drive you crazy before that

[Dawn]

Hello and welcome. We used Moneycorps as well, they guarantee to beat other rates on the day. We transfered our money to them before we left and they held on to it for us until the exchange rate picked up, them just a quick phone call or email and hey presto money in bank 2 days later! Even let you change a bit at a time if you're unsure about the exchange rate.

[Taffy]

I thought you used World First, Dawn?

[KiwiHopeful]

I'll throw in a good word for World First, too. I think Taffy recommended it to Koko, who in turn recommended it to me ... so a lot of us here have experience with them.

We used them for our first--and so far only--transaction because you can transfer up to 25K NZD completely on-line without any additional paperwork. Beyond that amount requires signed forms, etc. etc.

I found them to be very professional and helpful. I'd never done an international currency exchange before and also had some questions about which number when exactly where on the on-line account information forms. They answered all my questions in a very timely fashion and the whole transaction went smoothly and according to the timetable they laid out.

Of course, it then took Westpac 2 days to credit my account, but that's another issue entirely.

FWIW, we didn't open an account before arriving here. I'm not sure what advantage is to be gained by going through the hassle of opening an account from a distance. We simply brought over a stack of traveler's cheques and cash, brought them and our passports to Westpac, and had an account within the day.