* Foreign exchange currency specialist Moneycorp further expands into the mortgage industry to include them in their affiliates programme.
* Boom in overseas mortgages delivers an “additional service, extra income” opportunity for UK brokers.
Any mortgage clients referred to Moneycorp who subsequently utilise the company’s range of foreign exchange services, will result in commission being paid directly to the broker, or the broker’s firm for the lifecycle of the client.
Clearly, this is a potentially lucrative area for brokers, in terms of ongoing commission volumes and the potential for re-mortgage business. There is also significant benefit of saving clients’ money in the longer term.
While in many areas of the UK mortgage transactions are sluggish due to the still subdued wider market, industry lending figures suggest that mortgage brokers and independent financial advisers have been enjoying a healthy run of business, arranging deals for buyers either packing up and moving abroad altogether, or for purchasing an overseas property.
With an overseas mortgage arranged in another currency, buyers are taking an exchange-rate risk. One solution is to fix the exchange rate up-front with a specialist currency provider – there are a number of advantages to buyers, but primarily fixing an exchange rate means those monthly payments won’t fluctuate with currency movements.
For those making monthly repayments on an overseas-based mortgage, transferring currency abroad to make the relevant payments can in itself prove expensive. But with some assiduous forward planning, it’s possible for the client to make substantial savings.
For clients making regular overseas transfers, such as monthly mortgage payments, setting up a Regular Payment Plan (RPP) will remove the worry caused by exchange rate fluctuations when making currency payments over a long period of time. In addition, the transfer fees will also only be a fraction of the cost charged by the High Street banks.
Moneycorp will typically charge £4 in transfer fees, per transaction (on RPP payments), whereas a high street bank is invariably far more expensive. Some will charge up to £30 a transaction, so the savings over the term of the mortgage will be significant.
For example, a couple buying a property in the US for $200,000 recently arranged their mortgage through a dedicated mortgage broker and agreed monthly repayments of $600 over a set term.
Their payments were scheduled to start in December of this year, when they could have agreed an exchange rate of 1.72 dollars to the pound with Moneycorp. This meant their repayments would come in at £352.84 per month, inclusive of transfer fees.
The couple also enquired at their local high street bank for an exchange rate. The rate offered by the bank was 1.68 with a transfer fee of £30 per transfer. This meant their monthly repayment with the bank would come to £387.14, inclusive of transfer fees.
In just one year, the couple would be able to save over £411 by using Moneycorp’s services, instead of their high street bank.
So what advantages are there to mortgage brokers for recommending a company like Moneycorp?
Aside from being able to help their clients save money, being a part of Moneycorp’s Affiliate Partnership Programme also gives brokers the added dimension of being able to offer clients a direct link to a Moneycorp currency expert. This facilitates a fast response to the trickiest of foreign exchange queries. And, as we know, when it comes to currency and overseas mortgage issues, clients have an inexhaustible supply of tricky questions.
Moneycorp has already established solid links with Hove-based specialist overseas mortgage provider Conti Financial Services, which has proved to be an extremely successful and rewarding partnership.
Simon Conn from Conti Financial Services adds, “I chose to partner with Moneycorp as I found their services to be fast, efficient and easy to understand. Most importantly I was reassured that my clients would be using a long established and financially secure company. The relationship has continued to go from strength to strength and we see Moneycorp as a valuable business partner.”
Moneycorp Key Partnerships Team: +44 (0)20 7823 7500
