I recently have been looking at several of the Australian Foreign Exchange purchase online sites. They are a pretty handy idea - type in what currency/traveller's cheques you want, pay (normally via Bpay), then collect or have it delivered a few days later.
What really did surprise me though, was the huge differences between the sites I checked out. It's definitely buyer-beware.
Here's my quick findings of various sites. Note that everything might not be 100% accurate, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I make a mistake
Note for sample purposes, I did a quote (no actual order) for $500 USD, 500 UK Pounds and $500 US Traveller's Cheques. Quotes were roughly 6pm (Brisbane time) today and of course will vary frequently depending on global currency markets.
American Express
Amex operates the FX4You website located at
https://www.fx4you.com/australia/americanexpress/index.cfm
The site is rebranded for other banks and organisations and is normally the one I've used in the past.
You can pay via Credit Card or Bank Account (bpay) and the money is available for collection in around 4 days.
Total cost of the "currency basket"
$2,420.73 (including a $16 fee for the foreign cash ($8/currency). No T/C fee).
($1,213.69 UK Cash, $607.52 US Cash, $599.52 US T/Cs)
Travelex
Travelex operates the Travelex online website at http://www.travelex.com/au/secure/moneynet.asp . They also rebrand it for others including Qantas.
No T/C's are available from the site, only cash.
Total cost of the "cash only" "currency basket" was:
$1,795.64 (No fees)
($1,199.62 UK Cash, $596.02 US cash).
Qantas TravelMoney
Qantas offer a floating amount of FF points for ordering money via the Travelmoney site here: https://www.travelex.com/au/secure/qantas/moneynet.asp
Note it is a rebranded Travelex site.
The points are:
* A$50 to A$299, earn one point for every five dollars of value.
* A$300 to A$999 earn one point for every three dollars of value.
* A$1,000 to A$10,000, earn one point for every dollar of value.
Total cost of the "cash only" "currency basket" was:
$1,831.55 (incl 35.91 in fees).
($1,199.62 UK Cash, $596.02 US cash + $35.91 fee on the whole transaction)
Westpac online
They use a rebranded Amex site, and are having a 0% commission promotion until 31 Dec.
Westpac Internet -Foreign cash and travellers cheques online
Total cost of the "currency basket" $2399.29 (No fee promotion)
($1205.11 UK Cash, $597.09 US cash, $579.09 US T/Cs)
Commbank ExpressFX
Commonwealth Bank - ExpressFX
This site is also another rebadged Amex site.
Total cost of the "currency basket" 2,398.87 (Incl $31.86 in fees).
($1,197.53 UK Cash, $599.65 US Cash, $601.69 US TC's)
There are others in the market (such as ANZ) who also let you buy online, but not all have an easy to access portal where you can purchase the cash.
It is interesting how much they vary in fees and exchange rates. Note also that some banks/Amex etc will give you commission free transactions by presenting special cards (eg Plat/Gold etc) when picking up the cash, or if you walked in off the street instead...
What really did surprise me though, was the huge differences between the sites I checked out. It's definitely buyer-beware.
Here's my quick findings of various sites. Note that everything might not be 100% accurate, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I make a mistake
Note for sample purposes, I did a quote (no actual order) for $500 USD, 500 UK Pounds and $500 US Traveller's Cheques. Quotes were roughly 6pm (Brisbane time) today and of course will vary frequently depending on global currency markets.
American Express
Amex operates the FX4You website located at
https://www.fx4you.com/australia/americanexpress/index.cfm
The site is rebranded for other banks and organisations and is normally the one I've used in the past.
You can pay via Credit Card or Bank Account (bpay) and the money is available for collection in around 4 days.
Total cost of the "currency basket"
$2,420.73 (including a $16 fee for the foreign cash ($8/currency). No T/C fee).
($1,213.69 UK Cash, $607.52 US Cash, $599.52 US T/Cs)
Travelex
Travelex operates the Travelex online website at http://www.travelex.com/au/secure/moneynet.asp . They also rebrand it for others including Qantas.
No T/C's are available from the site, only cash.
Total cost of the "cash only" "currency basket" was:
$1,795.64 (No fees)
($1,199.62 UK Cash, $596.02 US cash).
Qantas TravelMoney
Qantas offer a floating amount of FF points for ordering money via the Travelmoney site here: https://www.travelex.com/au/secure/qantas/moneynet.asp
Note it is a rebranded Travelex site.
The points are:
* A$50 to A$299, earn one point for every five dollars of value.
* A$300 to A$999 earn one point for every three dollars of value.
* A$1,000 to A$10,000, earn one point for every dollar of value.
Total cost of the "cash only" "currency basket" was:
$1,831.55 (incl 35.91 in fees).
($1,199.62 UK Cash, $596.02 US cash + $35.91 fee on the whole transaction)
Westpac online
They use a rebranded Amex site, and are having a 0% commission promotion until 31 Dec.
Westpac Internet -Foreign cash and travellers cheques online
Total cost of the "currency basket" $2399.29 (No fee promotion)
($1205.11 UK Cash, $597.09 US cash, $579.09 US T/Cs)
Commbank ExpressFX
Commonwealth Bank - ExpressFX
This site is also another rebadged Amex site.
Total cost of the "currency basket" 2,398.87 (Incl $31.86 in fees).
($1,197.53 UK Cash, $599.65 US Cash, $601.69 US TC's)
There are others in the market (such as ANZ) who also let you buy online, but not all have an easy to access portal where you can purchase the cash.
It is interesting how much they vary in fees and exchange rates. Note also that some banks/Amex etc will give you commission free transactions by presenting special cards (eg Plat/Gold etc) when picking up the cash, or if you walked in off the street instead...
