Sterling euro - how do i get the best exchange rate, any tips?

stevejazzx

Going to england september and dreading changing the currency.
Any tips on how to get the best rates?

Thanks

steve

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

moved from consumer issues - this forum is best suited for this inquiry.

Bluetonic

stevejazzx wrote:

Any tips on how to get the best rates?

Get a couple of million changed and approach a commerical bank.

Thats pretty much how you'll get the best rate.

netwhizkid

Fexco usually do much better rates than those rip-off banks, They are based in Killorglin in Co. Kerry.

The contact details are the their website.

admiralofthefleet

if you know anyone who uses commercial banking ask them to change it for you--you wont get hit with commission.

or if you are going to northern ireland on the motorway from dublin change your money in the little currency exchange beside the first BP garage you see (its literally seconds over the border on the left). they dont charge any commission

ircoha

In relation to the above, I think a little primer in currency trading is in order. As I am new to the site, forgive me if I am preaching to the converted.

there are two prices or rates in any FX transaction, the buy price or bid rate and the sell price or offer rate and the difference is called the bid offer spread.

You buy at the bid and sell at the offer.

When u see an exchage rate in the paper it is generally the mid-market price, or the average of the bid and offer

The following is from
http://www.actionforex.com/financial_glossary/financial_glossary/bid_offer_spread_20041204334/


[[The bid/offer spread is the difference between the buying (bid) and selling (offer) price of the same stock or currency transaction.

In other words if the exchange rate between South African Rand (ZAR) and US Dollars (USD) was ZAR 6.50 = USD 1.00 and you wanted to sell ZAR and buy USD you would have to sell ZAR 6.55 to buy USD 1.00, at the same time if you wanted to buy ZAR for USD you would be able to buy ZAR 6.45 for USD 1.00.

Both these transactions have a spread of ZAR 0.05 (5 cents) difference from the exchange rate and the rate which you will be given for your transaction.

It would follow that the spread between the bid and offer prices would be ZAR 0.10 (10 cents).]]

The point I am trying to make here is that if the bid offer spread is wide enough, the person buying the STG as the OP is, can be stuffed on the spread, pay no commission and think he is getting a good deal, because no commission, yippee!!.

Lets try an example:

Assume mid-market EURO/STG is 0.6666 today or each €150 gets £100.

Now I see 2 offers for buying my € for £
the first is We sell STG at 0.6452 and no commission
the second We sell STG at 0.6896 + 5 % commission

0.6452 is equal to €155 for 100stg
0.6896 is equal to €145 for 100stg and the 5% commission brings it up to €152.25, which is still better than the no commission deal.

I hope this helps.

Reyman

Good post IR very clear.

A small tip - if you know a student get them to change the money in AIB or wherever. Students pay no commission

7mountpleasant

Depends on what you are doing. If it is just cash then the best way of doing it is bunging it into the credit card and taking the credit balance out on the other side (if the card is not in credit or if you dip into the limit they charge extra fees). There is still a charge even if it is in credit but the rate is by far far and away better than what any Irish bank will give you. If you are tranferring a decent wad of cash then it might be worth your while to set up an account with an online broker such as internaxx. If you were transferring say €100k it could be worth as much as €1500 on commission saved so it would be pretty worth while. Although I am not sure if they will let you withdraw outside of your designated account currency(because you would be transferring in in € and out in £) Failing that ring up your branch give them the amount and ask to book a rate (did a stint as an fx official as a summer job it can sometimes be possible to bargain on the rate depending on the cusotmer and the amount). Hope that helps.

jimmyendless

7mountpleasant wrote: »

Depends on what you are doing. If it is just cash then the best way of doing it is bunging it into the credit card and taking the credit balance out on the other side (if the card is not in credit or if you dip into the limit they charge extra fees). There is still a charge even if it is in credit but the rate is by far far and away better than what any Irish bank will give you. If you are tranferring a decent wad of cash then it might be worth your while to set up an account with an online broker such as internaxx. If you were transferring say €100k it could be worth as much as €1500 on commission saved so it would be pretty worth while. Although I am not sure if they will let you withdraw outside of your designated account currency(because you would be transferring in in € and out in £) Failing that ring up your branch give them the amount and ask to book a rate (did a stint as an fx official as a summer job it can sometimes be possible to bargain on the rate depending on the cusotmer and the amount). Hope that helps.

Sorry for digging up an old thread but is this comment still relevant with regards to taking money out in the US? The best exchange I got over the phone so far has been 1.3471 USD plus 6.35e commission from AIB even though the rate at the moment is 1.3684 USD. Thanks.

jor el

jimmyendless wrote: »

Sorry for digging up an old thread but is this comment still relevant with regards to taking money out in the US? The best exchange I got over the phone so far has been 1.3471 USD plus 6.35e commission from AIB even though the rate at the moment is 1.3684 USD. Thanks.

Bank and credit card exchange rates will never be the same as the international money market rates. The rate you were quoted is within 2c US$, which is quite good.

I don't believe you'll get a better rate from a credit card than you would from a bank. Plus, you'd have no control over what it will be on the day you withdraw your money.