Currency Exchange

I've just had some friends ask me about best ways to transfer money from UK to Oz, so thought I'd quickly post this up as well.

I'm using either http://www.xe.com/ or http://www.hifx.co.uk/.
I've had friends use both services (different friends using different services), and they were happy with the services from either of these two currency exchangers.

The exchange rate is more competitive than going to a bank. If you use electronic transfer (bank account-bank account, or debit/credit card) - there is no transfer fee. xe.com and hifx both make their money from volume trading.

Xe.com is based in Canada. The beauty of this is that trading is open 24/7.
Hifix.co.uk only opens for trading UK times ie mon-sat 8am-6pm, and closes on public holidays.

Xe.com however, only allows you to trade up to a maximum amount in any one transaction (about £5k).
Hifix.co.uk allows you to trade up to £50k in any one transaction.

In terms of competitiveness, I have found xe.com exchange rates more competitive, but I always compare the two services side by side just in case.

Don't wire money across, or use drafts as this is both slow and expensive.

Any further questions, let me know, and I hope I can answer.