WorldFirst international money transfers

Must knows about transferring money with WorldFirst

When making international money transfers there are two T’s you want to get familiar with: 

• Transfer Speed: Transfers usually take between 1 - 2 days, though if you are transferring USD to a country other than the US you should expect it to take approximately 4 days for it to clear.
• Transfer Fees: Transfers of AUD $10,000 or more are free. However, transfers of AUD $2,000 to $9,999 will incur a $10 fee, and transfers of less than AUD $2,000 will incur a $10 fee.

WorldFirst Products and Services

Depending on how quickly you want or need your money transferred to your overseas destination you have several WorldFirst products to choose from. The money transfer process is easy - you have the choice of doing your transfer via the WorldFirst App, online or over the phone. Your options are:

Spot contracts

Just made a spontaneous purchase on an 18th Century French Bureau or a villa in Tuscany and need to transfer your deposit pronto. A spot contract is what you’re after. With this option, WorldFirst offers you a rate based on the live exchange rate on the day and the best thing is WorldFirst has a ‘best rate guarantee’ to ensure you get the best rate possible on your transfer.

Forward contracts

Heard rumours that exchange rates are about to drop and you want to lock in a rate but aren’t ready to make your transfer just yet? With a WorldFirst forward contract, you can fix your rate up to 2 years in advance. You’ll likely need to pay a deposit but the balance will not be due until the end of the contract. The good news is you’ll know exactly how much you will get when you are ready to make your transfer. With forward contracts, there are some risks that the rate moves against you so might have to top up your deposit if this happens.

Regular payments

You’ve started your own custom design t-shirt business and you’ve got to regularly pay your suppliers based in China or you send money to Uncle Harry every month to help him with his medical needs, whatever the reason you need to transfer money internationally regularly WorldFirst can automate your payments. To help with your budgeting there’s even flexibility to allow you to lock in a rate or convert it at the rate on the day of the transfer.

Currency options

Like to have your cake and eat it too? Currency options, also sometimes referred to as a 50% participating forward, could be the international money solution for you. Currency options at WorldFirst allow you to fix a rate when you know you’ve got a transaction coming up but you also want to be able to benefit if the rate moves in your favour before the transfer date. You set a worse case rate and if the rate moves in your favour you’ll get 50% of the upside.

Firm order

Don’t have the time to monitor exchange rates all day but know the rate you want to exchange at? WorldFirst can do the monitoring for you. You tell them the rate you want, then when the market gets to that rate they’ll book it for you. They also do the same thing in reverse so if you tell them your worst rate if the rate reaches this and looks like it’s going further south, they will book it for you.

Why use WorldFirst for IMT?

You’ve got plenty of options these days when it comes to making an international money transfer, here are some of the reasons to consider using WorldFirst:

• More competitive exchange rates than the major banks
• $0 transfer fees
• $2,000 transfer minimum
• Friendly service - WorldFirst boasts over 400,000+ happy customers around the world  
• Safe and secure. WorldFirst has been around since 2004 and is fully licensed and regulated with ASIC
• Easy as - you can make transactions over the phone, via the WorldFirst app or online
• Be in the know - whether its rate alerts, live graphs or daily economic updates you’re interested in WorldFirst has options to keep you updated on matters that will affect your money   
• It’s won numerous awards covering everything from customer service (UK Customer Experience Awards 2013, to business growth (Investec Hot 100, 2012 & 2013)
• WorldFirst gives back - it has donated over $222,000 to charities
• Did we mention it won a Mozo Experts Choice Award? 

How to transfer money with WorldFirst

Before you’ll be able to make an overseas money transfer with WorldFirst, you’ll need to register for a personal account. You can do this over the phone or online. It takes around ten minutes to complete the registration process, and as soon as you’re identity has been confirmed you’ll be able to make a transfer - this can be within an hour of registration.  

There are three steps to making a money transfer:

1. Book a rate. When you’re ready to make an overseas money transfer you’ll advise WorldFirst how much you want to send, who to pay and what currency you want to pay it in. WorldFirst will then quote you a rate for that trade.

2. Transfer funds to WorldFirst. You’ll receive an email confirmation which will confirm your trade along with the details of where send your funds and by when. You can transfer your funds to WorldFirst via electronic funds transfer or phone banking.

3. Money is sent out. WorldFirst will convert the funds and transfer the funds to the account requested by you.

Some extras you might want to know:

• While WorldFirst are able to make a same-day payment for USD, Pounds and Euros you should allow up to 4 days for your funds to be cleared.
• When you book a trade with WorldFirst you will receive notification of a ‘funds in’ date. If your payment has not been cleared by the date on the outgoing payment on your trade confirmation your payment will not be sent.
• Be sure to carefully check the account details of where you want your money to be sent as WorldFirst cannot be held responsible for funds that are sent to a wrong account.
• WorldFirst are making the payment to your beneficiary on your behalf so the payment will not be in your name but will have a WorldFirst reference starting with WFPAY.
• In the VERY unlikely event that your funds don’t show up in your beneficiary's account in the expected timeframe, let WorldFirst know and they will investigate and liaise with you regularly until it is sorted out.