Transferring money from UK

10/18/2010 - 05:02

Hello all, With such a vast amount of knowledge and experience on this site, I was hoping to ask peoples opinion on transferring large amounts of money from the UK. I need to transfer money to my Italian bank account, to purchase a property there. I have a couple of brokers in mind, but I wanted to ask the community for UK brokers they have used and would recommend? Thanks in advance for your help and advice. Alan

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I have used Foreign Currency Direct ....dealing with Leigh Smith, very easy and straightforward...you could call just for info and no obligation: 0800 328 5884 / +44 1494 725353

We have used Smart Currency and TorFX both with no problems.  I would hesitate to recommend anyone though, given recent experiences.There is a major difference between Authorised by: and regulated by: the FSA. Just make sure that whoever you use ringfences your money just in case there's another Crown Currency escapade!

The key difference is "registered" by the FSA and "authorised" by the FSA. Registered companies have no obligation to segregate client funds from general company funds whereas authorised companies do. In the event of the collapse of an authorised company segregated client funds should therefore be safe. Well thats the theory. Unfortunately the demise of Crown Currency has thrown up this "loophole" that most people were unaware of and again the FSA does not come out in a good light. Also, in cases of fraud or malpractise as things stand at the moment its unlikely that even for an "authorised" firm, customers would be able to draw on the FSA's compensation fund. Regulation, in the whole industry, in my opinion needs to be clarified and tightened up.