Practically, once a client has formally registered with Prime Cap our segregated client trust accounts are made available for settlement.
There are a couple of ways a private client might approach use of our accounts.
Knowing they have a finite foreign currency amount, the client might wish to send us this sum.
Then, and in discussion with our brokers, they select the time at which they feel the rate is most favourable or they act off signals that might suggest the rate is likely to worsen.
The other method is to simply lock in the rate of exchange prior to having funded our account.
We have no preference as to which method the client uses, however, certain domestic banking frameworks limit or restrict the flexibility a client has over extraction and transmission of their own money.
Consider for instance the fact that it may take you 3 working days to send and receive USD from an account in China. This is because of the regulatory hoops through which a client needs to jump in order to successfully instruct a transmission of currency.
If you have booked a rate of exchange prior to funding your account with us then we and you are somewhat in the dark as to how enthusiastically your local bank (in China) will approach the transmission of the settlement for the exchange.
Whilst we tailor our settlement terms to account for the worst case scenario when it comes to receiving your capital, we do not want to tie you to a term that impedes the speed with which we can release the GBP you might be buying.
By this we mean that, if your completion date is Friday the 11th, booking a rate of exchange on the 9th and instructing your bank to send the base currency to us on the same day, may mean that funds do not actually arrive with us by 11th. It totally depends on the efficacy of your local bank - and we will always take steps to make sure you are aware of any potential delays.
To give peace of mind some clients will conduct an initial tester transmission from which we can infer the length of time it will take for money to clear with us, and advise on the appropriate contract and terms accordingly.
Just because you can send $1000 and it might arrive within 24hrs does not mean that a larger capital sum will arrive in the same time frame, so, we always strongly advise our clients to pay just as close attention to the time it will take money to get to where it needs to be as they do to their appetite to gamble on the rate going higher in the days leading up to their deadline.
We can credit outgoing funds on the day the incoming base currency arrives with us.
This technically means that a client can wait until quite literally the last minute to see if the rate is better for them.
This approach, whilst perhaps understandable, carries with it obvious risks especially if you have not been able to expressly confirm how long it will take for your bank to settle with us; what is more, that rate might not be better on that last day...
hence, we encourage purchasers to plan four days ahead of their intended date of completion (if not more).
Our recommendation so to do stems from an inherent risk aversion on our part. If something can take more time than one thought it might, then one owes it to one's self and one's client to obviate that risk by executing early enough to react.
Many of the private client referred to us by our partners in the legal sector are sophisticated international operators in their own right.
They may have been connected with us precisely because their solicitor is aware of the distinct savings our rates equate to, and yet such individuals are usually familiar with the sending and receiving of funds for other reasons and yet, even bearing that in mind we would assert that the precedents for your sending and receiving of funds should not be relied upon when it comes to a transaction as time sensitive as completion on a property.
We do not assert this because the transaction is necessarily any more important than any of the other exchanges you may have conducted under your own recognisance, but because it is simply best practise to have affairs such as this considered and actioned in advance of cut-off times...for one thing, you're often charged for matters external to the vanilla conveyancing of a property on an hourly basis.
It is simple, quick and easy to register with a boutique broker like Prime Cap.
The assumption that it is in some way a drawn-out process is some times the obstacle over which certain clients cannot climb.
Remember, you are not setting up a bank account with Prime Cap.
You are providing sufficient information for us to satisfy ourselves and our regulators as to the probity of the funds you are sending and your own identity and location.
In fact, the registration often takes less than moments.
Whether you are an agent weighing up whether it is worth aligning yourself with a specialist currency broker so as to improve you clients' experience, or you are a lawyer interested in understanding the extent to which the work we do might benefit your client, we invite you to reach out and introduce yourself to us.
As a private client trying to familiarise yourself with the sending, receiving, holding and exchange of currencies, we invite you to call and speak with our experienced team.
www.primecappayments.com | 02034175871 | brokers@primecappayments.com