Alternative for expat pensioners hit by Nationwide fees

The news that from 1 November 2010 Nationwide FlexAccount customers will have to pay a commission charge of 2% plus a £1 flat fee to withdraw cash overseas is a blow to more than just holidaymakers.

Mark Bodega, Director at currency specialists HiFX explains "Many British pensioners living abroad use these types of account to withdraw their UK pension each month and now face being charged every time. As an alternative, they should consider online money transfer services like HiFX Online or a Regular Payments Service which allows them to transfer money from a UK account into a foreign bank account for free and then withdraw cash from that account".

The HiFX Online International Money Transfer service (hifx.co.uk) allows customers to quickly and securely transfer amounts of £250 - £70,000 from 7 major currencies including Sterling, US Dollar and Euro to 19 other currencies at the touch of a button, offering on average savings of 3% of the amount transferred compared to the high street banks and other international money transfer companies, such as PayPal and Western Union. The service is the first to show real time, moving exchange rates. Customers can watch the live rate and choose when to make the transfer themselves and unlike other online transfer methods, there are no hidden charges.