Transferring money from overseas

tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 14:14

Hi guys, I've reluctantly been called upon to help despite some resistance because I'm not a fan of my cousin but apparently he will be charged 30-40k from a lawyer to do this for him…so I figured I'm less of a fan of lawyers ripping my aunt off.

Basically need a way to transfer money from my aunt, 200k AUD worth from Vietnam to Australia so my cousin can buy a house. He's a PR, kind of up himself but that's besides the point… his mums nice at least.

I've read some old forum posts on transfer wise but I do not think they do VND. So any help would be appreciated. Are there any other considerations I need take into account. I plan to call a few transfer places tomorrow to see what my options are too but in the meantime. Thanks all :)

Financial

Comments

  • garetz on 10/05/2020 - 14:31

    You think the lawyer is charging 30-40k just for the transfer ?

    I am sure they are also making sure there are no legal obstacles for the use of said money.

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 14:34

      I did consider that but surely it can't be that much. I am definitely happy to be educated. On hearing it, it definitely didn't sit well with me.

  • Ocker on 10/05/2020 - 14:41

    Cannot believe a lawyer is wanting to charge 20% on a simple FX transaction.
    There will be more to it than you may be aware, eg convincing the local authorities the source of the funds is not from illegal activities etc etc. Maybe a submission to the FIRB?

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 14:42

      Thanks mate, another lead to look into :)

  • saimone on 10/05/2020 - 14:45
    +1

    Currency Fair

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 15:39

      Thanks, will look into it :)

  • whooah1979 on 10/05/2020 - 15:24

    Your aunt could pay as little as a few cents to remit $200k from one person to another person using digital methods.

  • cloudy on 10/05/2020 - 15:56

    I seem to remember ozbargain (owners) use OFX.com.au to transfer money to pay wages. I believe there can be cheaper options, but if your transferring a large sum I’d use a reliable source for peace of mind.

  • Donaldhump on 10/05/2020 - 16:09
    +1

    if worst comes to worst, just fly back and forth 20 times it would be cheaper than the lawyer, but an utter hell mission

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 18:58

      Sorry for your negs, not my doing but this actually would have been an option as we have heaps of family travelling to and from normally throughout the year :)

      • Donaldhump on 10/05/2020 - 21:16
        -1

        I’ve done this to get money out of Vanuatu along time ago, not as stupid an idea as it sounds

  • trienchieu12 on 10/05/2020 - 16:57

    You can join Facebook group "Dinh cu UC", pp there are quite helpful, will give you a few legal solutions, some banks like MB can help transfer max 500k/person/year, fee is low but current rate is a bit high

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 17:48

      Thanks for this, and to all replies, absolutely grateful. I don't speak Vietnamese but will get my cousin to look into it. To be transparent, I'm losing will to help him because he's playing family politics with this situation since he found out today I offered to help…This is why I stay out of things :/

      If anything though, this will help someone in future in this situation. I will endeavour to provide an update as to what happens :)

  • Hybroid on 10/05/2020 - 17:01

    I like Transferwise for small amounts but I wouldn't be trusting enough for $200k lump sum via a third party. I don't recommend you try any other third party either, especially due to potential money laundering checks.

    Just do a normal bank to bank transfer for your safety, it's worth paying a bit more. If it was 10-20k, then sure, Transferwise or equivalent.

    • MrHyde on 10/05/2020 - 17:59

      I have transferred amounts upto $300K using OFX previously…. no issues. Did a small transfer first to make sure money got to the other end and then set up larger transfers. I've got a business account with them and they did some checks to ensure the transfer were legit before approving. They were easily accessible by phone. Their phone support follows the sun and I talked to people in London and New Zealand when I called up.

      • Hybroid on 10/05/2020 - 18:03

        That's great but I still personally wouldn't trust it. Imagine doing a transfer, something goes wrong and you're unable to reach anyone for any reason (e.g. call centre shut down due to COVID so it's e-mail only). Not worth the risk for a large amount. YMMV.

        • cloudy on 10/05/2020 - 22:17

          OFX, I believe have 24/7 call centres all over the world, not sure about transferwise or others. But OFX seems most legit from what I've read for large transfers as they are a mostly B2B operator.

  • datafellows on 10/05/2020 - 18:28

    Why not walk into a bank in Vietnam and make a simple bank transfer? Few $ in fees and perhaps 1-2% lost in currency conversion.

    IMO biggest issue is to talk with an accountant here in Australia to find out how to explain these funds to ATO.

    • whooah1979 on 10/05/2020 - 18:44

      Many Vietnamese people don’t trust banks while many more are unbanked.

    • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 18:45

      I'll answer this from what I've been able to hear/find. This would have been so easy if he had an account in vietnam but he doesn't cos his parents give him everything… However, my aunt has checked with her bank and has said from her acc to his will be only 9k at a time and limits apply etc that make it not workable. I have suggested to her to go to MB bank as someone else in this thread suggested to try and see what they say.

      • datafellows on 10/05/2020 - 18:54

        Oh yes, local laws/regulations apply :P As a foreigner in China it was a nightmare to move money out so I can relate.

        All I remember while on holiday in Hanoi, men in their Rolls Royce took bags and bags of cash to deposit in bank while I was there exchanging few hundred dollars to pay for my next pho dinner :D

        • tarulov3 on 10/05/2020 - 19:03
          +2

          Man, you've triggered me…what I'd give right now to just sit on a side street on one of them little stools eating some fresh piping hot pho…

  • TEER3X on 10/05/2020 - 18:29

    I've used xe transfer a lot, not for amounts above 100k though, and only AUD to USD and back

  • balloontree on 11/05/2020 - 08:14

    Open citibank account in Viet, and global transfer

  • TiLLiCoMe on 11/05/2020 - 11:53

    Wow 30k to 40k. The lawyer must be made of gold. 3k to 4k sounds more reasonable.

  • Webber000 on 11/05/2020 - 12:24

    Confirm Transferwise do not currently support VND

  • OzHunterNSW on 11/05/2020 - 12:59

    Sounds suss… why wouldn't you simply do a "Bank Transfer"?????????????????????

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