Send money to Hong Kong

There’s a huge community of expats living in Hong Kong, with around 100,000 Australians residing there. Australia’s business ties with Hong Kong are also profound, so there are plenty of reasons why we would need to make an international money transfer there. For instance, you may have to send money to Hong Kong in order to purchase goods and services for your business, or pay your overseas employees. Maybe you have relative living in Hong Kong and you want to send them a cash gift for their birthday.

Whatever the reason for transferring money to Hong Kong, there are plenty of foreign exchange specialists who will send your money in a safe, secure and cheap manner.

If you are actually looking for foreign exchange options for your next holiday or business trip to Hong Kong, this section isn't for you - head over to our travel money section instead. 

But if your goal is to find the best ways to move funds from Australia to Hong Kong, then this guide could answer all your big questions. 

When it comes to finance, some aspects can be quite complex and confusing to say the least! But you’ll be happy to know that making an international money transfer to Hong Kong is a fairly straight forward process. Here’s how your Australian dollars would usually transfer to Hong Kong dollars:

There are a range of services you can use to convert your Australian dollars into Hong Kong dollars – banks, foreign exchange specialist and standard wire transfer. The service that works best for you will depend on the amount of money you are dealing with and how frequently you need to make transactions to Hong Kong.

• Banks: As Hong Kong is among the world’s largest financial centres, most major Australian banks would allow you to convert and send money there. However, banks usually offer a poorer exchange rate and charge higher conversion fees compared to specialist international money transfer providers. If you decide to go with your bank, the money will be debited from your account and transferred to the designated account in Hong Kong.
• Foreign exchange specialist: This is a great option for individuals and businesses that make regular money transfers to Hong Kong. FX specialists offer an attractive exchange rate and lower fees than the banks, saving you potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars each year. If you set up an account with a foreign exchange specialist, money will be transferred from your everyday bank account to the account you have created with them, and then it will be transferred to the recipient in Hong Kong. 
• Standard wire transfer: This is a fast and easily accessible way of transferring funds from one person or entity to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another or through a transfer of cash at a branch. Western Union is one of the world’s biggest money transfer companies, with over 525,000 agent locations around the world. A recipient can access the funds within minutes of a wire transfer, including picking up the cash in person. However the exchange rate generally isn’t as good as a bank or foreign exchange specialist. Another very popular one is PayPal.

Before booking a transaction make sure you’ve compared the day’s exchange rates so you can pick the best money transfer deal for you. Deciding what provider you want to use depends on how much money you want to send.

• Exchange rate: First and foremost is the exchange rate the provider is offering. Take the time to compare exchange rates and calculate how many Hong Kong dollars you’ll receive for your Aussie dollar. A few cents difference in the exchange rate could save you thousands of dollars. 
• Fees: Make sure you read the fine print particularly when it comes to fees. Banks and foreign exchange specialists usually charge a fee for converting your money, and you may also be hit with a sending and receiving fee and third-party fees from your recipient's bank.
• Transfer methods: In this day and age there are plenty of methods for transferring money overseas, including online, on the phone, in person, or even via an app.
• Turnaround time: How quickly will the recipient in Hong Kong have access to the funds? Minutes or days? The speed of the transfer will depend on which provider you go with, but usually you can expect a turnaround between 1-5 business days. 
• Transfer limits: A lot of providers have a minimum and maximum amount you can transfer in one go, over a day or even over a month, so make sure the option you go with suits the amount you want to transfer. 
• Pickup methods: The usual method is via electronic funds transfer but some services also allow the recipient to pick up cash from a branch.

Scenario

Mrs Smith’s daughter lives in Hong Kong and her 40th birthday is coming up, she’d like to send her money as a gift. This requires Mrs Smith making a one off money transfer to Hong Kong. Depending on how generous Mrs Smith is, this will determine which international money transfer service she sends the funds with.

For one off transfers under around $200, PayPal is a fast, reliable and efficient way of sending money. Both Mrs Smith and her daughter will need a PayPal account in order for this transfer to happen. For small amounts it may also be convenient to just use your local bank. Remember though, banks don’t offer a very attractive exchange rate.

As it’s a significant birthday, Mrs Smith has decided to dig deep and send her daughter AU$2,500. To ensure a lot of the money isn’t lost at sea during the transfer, Mrs Smith has chosen to use a foreign exchange specialist to send the birthday money. This way she’ll secure a great exchange rate and low fees which means Mrs Smith’s daughter will receive more Hong Kong dollars!

According to Austrade , there are around 600 Australian companies based in Hong Kong, which creates huge commercial interest between the two countries and plenty of demand for regular business money transfers. Perhaps they need to send wages to staff based in Hong Kong or pay their suppliers over there. 

Regardless of whether it’s for individual or business purposes, when it comes to making regular money transfers to Hong Kong, you can’t go past a foreign exchange specialist. These providers will save you time and more importantly money. They’re also likely to offer you flexible options to accommodate your needs, including: 

• Forward contract: With exchange rates constantly fluctuating, this tool safeguards you against the risk of having to send money in an unfavourable currency market. If you're happy with the exchange rate right now but don't need to make a transfer just yet, a forward contract allows you secure that rate for a future transaction. 
• Limit order: This feature can be used when your transfer isn't time sensitive and you're more focused on getting the best exchange rate possible. It allows you to set a target rate, after which the FX specialist will keep an eye on the market for you and move your money as soon as that target rate is hit. 

Last but not least, there's a few pieces of information you'll need to have on hand before you can successfully complete you transfer. They include: 

• Personal details including name, address, date of birth, phone number
• Identification documents, such as your our drivers licence, medicare card or passport 
• Details of the account where the transfer money will be deposited from
• Full name and address of the recipient's bank
• Recipient's name, address and account number
• SWIFT/BIC Code - this is an 8 or 11 digit code that identifies banks around the world
• The amount and currency you wish to send.

Ready to send money to Hong Kong? Use our handy tool below to compare today's exchange rates from a range of foreign exchange specialists. Or check out the Mozo Expert Choice Award winners for IMTs.