Transferring Money

Hi bijou, I use my lloyds and santander cards to withdraw money at atms or bank counters. You do need to get in touch with your bank to ask them to unlock your cards so you can use them abroad. The exchange rate I have with the bank is Rs50 per pound at the moment which isn't bad at all.

Hi
I usually use my uk hsbc card to make payment. If you withdraw money then you'll have a bank charge of approx £1.50 per withdrawal. The exchange rate is not that bad neither. Slightly lower than most money changer but you'll save time by avoiding to queue up or having to go and get it exchanged.

Rodney.

Hi Bijou

Check this out...it's a Forex company but they also undertake transfers of funds.

http://www.iptfx.com/

Hi  I have an HSBC account in the UK and in Mauritius and move money regularly between them and do not find it expensive compared to the charges I incurred when I used my UK bank cards here when I arrived (at GBP1.50 per transaction).  Given the exchange rate at MUR50 to the pound I would get the money changed into MUR sooner than later as it might move back to 46/47 again.  See what FX you can get in the UK before you move the money and shop around here and compare.

Hello all,

Thanks to everyone for the quick and helpful replies.
I tried drawing some money off my bank card here but they charge me a percentage of the amount taken as well as a transaction fee. Being Scottish I don't like giving away any more of my money than necessary. 

Kaviraj G- I spoke to Island Premier, the Forex company you suggested. They were very helpful and offer a great service. They said all I need to do is set up an account with them and once we have agreed on the exchange rate I just need to transfer them the funds, as soon as they receive them then they will put the Rupees into my account in MCB.

Nitisha, at Island Premier, was extremely helpful and explained the whole process to me. I'm more than happy to pass on her details if anyone of you would like to speak to them or get a quote from them for the current exchange rate.

Thanks again for the help

This is great!

well the best and cheapest way is to have a paypal account. link your lloyd tsb card with paypal and get a prepaid card from mauritius (go for smile cars with SBM) and link that too with paypal. Bingo!!!! you just have to request withdrawal and transfer it to your prepaid and to give u an idea, they charge varying on about, for 50 pounds they can charge £1.40

you can have a prepaid card with local currency or in pounds. stick to pounds and use the card to buy the best rates from shibani or island premier for the best rates. u can use the prepaid card to withdraw money with zero cost or swipe it at the money exchanger to buy rupees

tell me if that the best option??

ta ah

Hi there,

I suppose if u know somebody reliable coming from the UK to Mauritius you can then ask the person to bring it along with him or her. This would very much a personal arrangement.

rgds

Mrs Mahamoodally.

Yep and when that person is caught carrying 10K ( whatever currency on him) for another person, he may go on the black  list for  money laundering 

shamanking421-Thank you for the reply. The issue I have is that I don't have a Lloyds or SBM account. I'm sure your method would work but it would mean me trying to open new bank accounts, which I think would be a lot harder than it seems especially as I am not in the UK now.
Island Premier where able to help me and the bank charges were only £10, which is better than the 2.78% that my bank want to charge me for every £1 I draw out on my UK bank card.

faz mahamoodally-Thanks for the thought but as External said I definitely don't want to be getting anyone blacklisted for trying to help me.

If anyone does need to send money I would recommend speaking to Island Premier, they give free quotes too :-)

Really sorry about that. I thought i was a very little amount .
Of  course in that case better you go through the bank  to avoid trouble.

rgds

faz mahamoodally- Don't worry, no harm done. I really wish I had that much money to send. But sadly not quite that much...maybe one day 

HI,
OK no problem.
rgds

What about visa electron? Does it work there? Somebody just needs to transfer you money with internet banking and voila?

Manarh- Thank you for the advice, I'm sure if I was just travelling abroad it would be the best solution. But as I have relocated here I don't want to be worrying about having to pay off a credit card every month. I needed a way to get my money here in a lump sum, without incurring high charges, so that I could put it into my bank here in Mauritius. As I no longer earn pounds I would not be able to pay the card off each month and then it would be another saga trying to get money to the UK to pay off the credit card.

Luckily Island Premier where able to offer me good rates and a very prompt transfer. I would highly recommend them for anyone who needs to send sums of money to or from Mauritius.

Nenanena-I am not sure about visa electron sorry. But thank you for the advice.

Manarh- Thank you for the article it is very helpful.

Yes I found Island premier to be a very friendly and helpful company and they were able to offer me very competitive rates.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

whatever you do, dont use your foreign cards in Mur. Open an FX Account at MCB or Banque des Mascareignes. At mascareignes you can even negotiate the rates

Hi Kevin, may I ask why you say " dont use your foreign cards in Mur"? I'm about to relocate too, from Italy, just at the beginning of next week!

Hi Nocturna,

I assume Kevin said not to use home country cards in Mauritius as the bank does charge you a percentage to draw money out each time. (Also make sure you tell your bank that you are going to Mauritius- so that if you do use your card then they do not block it, thinking it has been stolen)

I have a British account with Halifax and have drawn money out a few times on my card-it cost me about £5 each time plus 2% of the amount I drew out. Which is not bad if you are just drawing out a little bit but will soon add up.

There is a company which I have used a few times, called Island Premier. They have been really good and offer a competitive rate.

Hope this helps and enjoy beautiful Mauritius.

Bijou, thank you for the very useful information, I'll make sure to follow your advice.