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HK to Canada money transfer, seeking advice

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  1. #1

    Question HK to Canada money transfer, seeking advice

    Hi All,

    I'm looking for a safe, reliable, least expensive option to transfer a large lum sum of money to Canada from Hong Kong.

    Basically I need to help put a down payment for a place for my retired mother. I'm looking to transfer about $600,000 HKD (convert into Canadian Dollars).

    Could use some advice, of course I could just do the standard and go through the bank. I've read about other money transfer websites, but I have never used them so I'm a bit cautious about sending that amount of money across unless I hear enough positive reviews, or other similar instances.

    Thanks in advance.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Hong Kong
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    15,557

    I have used instarem and no issues really. There is also transferwise.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Wire transfer using your bank. See what your currency conversion rates are first.

    1) in the branch about hk$250+ in fees for a wire
    2) register the overseas bank account online with your current bank (fill a form), then you can do the transfer online for a small fee. I forgot either Hk$60-150 in fees.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong
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    Quote Originally Posted by MandM!:
    Wire transfer using your bank. See what your currency conversion rates are first.

    1) in the branch about hk$250+ in fees for a wire
    2) register the overseas bank account online with your current bank (fill a form), then you can do the transfer online for a small fee. I forgot either Hk$60-150 in fees.
    The rates are going to be crap.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    3,240

    Check check check the all-in rates on offer, but TransferWise might still be best, and super reliable/convenient. It seems to be pretty close to the rate Google flashes most times I check, and much better than HSBC's offering.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Hong Kong
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    I did the math before.

    On 1m HKD to USD, you can save about HK$3000 or 0.3% if you strategically withdrew cash and deposited USD to your account then transferring. But then you have the risk of walking around with cash, traveling and then waiting to deposit. Some banks have limits on how much foreign currency you can deposit each day.


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Hong Kong
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    I meant to say withdraw HKD, go to Mongkok and change it to USD, then deposit back the USD. Then you get the higher forex rate, about 30 bips more than the bank, however the bank knows this and has daily USD notes deposit limits.