Moving $ to New Zealand

[camperjd]

I'm new, but found this forum while looking for an efficient way to move US dollars to my account in New Zealand.  Is there something similar to a Vangard fund or another vehicle that I can invest in short term in the US, then withdraw from in New Zealand and bypass the bank taking their usual "healthy" slice along with the exchange rate?  My wife and daughter live there now and I am in the process of emmigrating to NZ.  Would GST then be an issue? Any advice will be appreciated!  Cheers, JD

[homehandymum]

The short answer is that I do not know.

BUT, I do recommend that you ask a New Zealand financial planner or accountant.  They will be the ones familiar with our tax laws. 

It is highly unlikely that GST will apply to the whole sum, as that is Goods and Services Tax - payable only when you purchase an item or a service in NZ.  (It could well be added to whatever fee you end up paying for the transferal, but all quotes need to be GST inclusive, or expressly specify if they are not.   But there may be some other tax that applies to money being bought into the country.

If your wife is already here, it may be easier to get her to find an accountant or FP in the town where you'll be settling who'd be happy to email you directly about it. (or do it yourself - Google should work fine, just add "nz" to your usual queries to help narrow it down and stop any American towns with the same name confusing things).

[camperjd]

Thanks, homehandymum!  We already have some investments in NZ, but I am just searching options to move some money as the exchange rate is not a favorable as it used to be.  ANZ and Rabobank have offices here in the US, but I cannot deposit here and withdraw there.  My wife is also looking at options.  Thanks for your interest.

[nora]

I move money to NZ regularly (each fortnight or so) and I can highly recommend orbitremit.co.nz. They have great exchange rates and low fixed fees, and if I move 10000 at a time there is no fee at all! Also very simple to join up and very friendly and helpful to deal with when I have had to ask something the odd time.

[camperjd]

Looks great, but I don't see anything indicating that you can move money FROM the US.  Should I call them, or have you already found a low cost way to do that?  Thx

[nz]

Another thing to consider is that the $NZ is riding very high at the moment. Record highs in fact.

As a result I am doing the opposite to you and sending money out of NZ to the US, UK ,Euro and Aus.
The NZ economy seems to be in a sweet spot at the moment and I am picking that at some stage in the next 5 years the kiwi dollar will cycle down.
 
I guess what I'm saying is that if you can be patient you might get yourself a better exchange rate.

Then again my crystal ball is not always right......good luck and welcome to NZ

[nora]

Sorry, I rang them and they said they don't do payments from the US.

[camperjd]

No worries, Nora...thanks for your kindness!

[camperjd]

Thanks, nz...I know my timing is not optimal.  The only good side is that my money will draw a better investment return there tight now.  I just don't want to lose much in the transaction.

[homehandymum]

Could you go US to Aus to NZ? 

I know there is a Vanguard Australia, and that my kiwisaver provider uses it as the vehicle for the 'international investment' part of the portfolio.

[CanuckExpat]

Hi,

I'll start with the caveat that I've never tried to move money to NZ.
What that said, I have had to move money between the US and Canada.
I've been relatively happy with XETrade (http://www.xe.com/xetrade/). Their exchange rates are good, or at least better than the banks and fairly close to spot when you are talking about larger transactions.
At least between Canada and the US, all the transfers can be done by electronic transfers so no need for wire fees.

If there exist companies that are listed on both the NZ and an American stock exchange, you can look into "Norbert's Gambit". This essentially involves buying the same stock on one exchange, journaling it over to the other currency equivilent, and then selling it in the currency you want. I haven't had as much experience with this, but if it works for you, you can get extremely good exchange rates.

[camperjd]

Homehandymum, thanks, but I think I will "leak" too much money that way.  But Canuckexpat, that's the type vehicle I'm looking for where the exchange rate spread is secondary to the trading.  Banks are just a bit too greedy, I think.  I suppose if I had millions I could negotiate with a bank!  I'm just trying to keep the charges for the exchange "reasonable".  Thanks for your input.

[Jules13]

What about paypal?  We send money to Australia that way, but never large sums.  I don't what the rules are on amounts.  There are fees though, but not as much as the banks. 

[CanuckExpat]

I've been relatively happy with XETrade (http://www.xe.com/xetrade/). Their exchange rates are good, or at least better than the banks and fairly close to spot when you are talking about larger transactions.

Out of curiosity, I just now got a quote to convert $40k USD to NZD from XETrade: I was quoted 46146.75 NZD through XETrade, as opposed to 46652.68 NZD spot rate (ala google). So it seems for converting 40,000 USD, you end up losing about 505.93 NZD or ~1% to their profits (assuming my calculations are correct). How does that compare to the rates you are seeing with the Banks?

[camperjd]

CanuckExpat, that is significantly closer to a spot exchange than wiring money from my bank.  I will check  into it more and give you feedback if I try it.  To the Paypal suggestion, I'm not comfortable with that even though I've used Paypal for small stuff. I sure like this site, and appreciate all of the shared  "badassity"!

[gooki]

$45,600 from a major bank in NZ.

[homehandymum]

I have no idea if this is at all practical, but while at the post office today I noticed you can exchange foreign currency for $NZ for no commission.

Looks like you have to physically bring it in as travelers cheques or cash, which could limit things somewhat.  I have no idea how much cash you are allowed to physically bring into the country with you.

http://www.nzpost.co.nz/travel/foreign-currency

[gooki]

They still screw you. No commission just means their fees are built into a lower exchange rate

[camperjd]

Homehandymum, Gooki is right.  No commission or no fees like at banks, etc just means usually that they make plenty on the exchange slice.  My bank did that here when I wire my girl's college money. I'd get screwed on the wire transfer AND the exchange! That's why I am looking for a better method.  You can bring in under $10K NZD in cash is all.  So far my best answer is with the Canadian company, XETrade and they seem to be straight up and have their act together with a lot of seasoned customers.  Thanks for the feedback!