dollar cheques

anfirrua

I have some stock with an American stock broker.

I have received a dividend cheque(small amount) with which I went to my Bank of Ireland branch and lodged it a couple of weeks ago.

I had not paid any attention when carrying out the transaction but later looked at the receipt and noticed that they gave me a 1.63 exchange rate, at this stage I believe the exchange rate was approx 1.52.

I called up BoI and they gave me some bull about different rates for selling cheques

I was expecting a fee at the standard exchange rate not an inflated exchange rate!

anyone got any idea's on how best to get a dollar cheque lodged.

The stock broker will no do a wire transfer, the only option really is cheque

snubbleste

Next time you walk by a Foreign Exchange counter, you'll see the rates posted up Buy/Sell Cash, Buy/Sell Cheques.

These rates are either side of the mid-rate that you see on xe.com

stepbar

anfirrua wrote: »

I have some stock with an American stock broker.

I have received a dividend cheque(small amount) with which I went to my Bank of Ireland branch and lodged it a couple of weeks ago.

I had not paid any attention when carrying out the transaction but later looked at the receipt and noticed that they gave me a 1.63 exchange rate, at this stage I believe the exchange rate was approx 1.52.

I called up BoI and they gave me some bull about different rates for selling cheques

I was expecting a fee at the standard exchange rate not an inflated exchange rate!

anyone got any idea's on how best to get a dollar cheque lodged.

The stock broker will no do a wire transfer, the only option really is cheque

In fairness, it would be worse if you had to wait 6-8 weeks for the cheque to clear. If exchange rates go down the BOI take the profit hit and vice versa whilst the cheque is clearing. That's the risk they take. And to be fair to the BOI they give you the money straight away. And yes, there are different rates for lodging cheques.

Toots

stepbar wrote: »

In fairness, it would be worse if you had to wait 6-8 weeks for the cheque to clear. If exchange rates go down the BOI take the profit hit and vice versa whilst the cheque is clearing. That's the risk they take. And to be fair to the BOI they give you the money straight away. And yes, there are different rates for lodging cheques.

Good advice here^^

OP, the 1.52 rate you saw is what's referred to as the 'mid rate'. When you go to a bank, there's a different rate to buy cash, sell cash, buy cheques and sell cheques. The rate you would have gotten would have been a 'buy cheque' rate, as the bank was buying the cheque from you. There are also different bands within the rates, so the higher the value of the transaction, the better the rate for the customer. I suppose the lesson to be learned here is always ask for the rate when you go to the counter before you start the transaction. Don't go on the internet or look in the paper, cos generally the rate you'll get is the mid rate and this is confusing. You could think of the mid rate as a rough guide to what you might get, but not an exact conversion.

stepbar

Toots85 wrote: »

Good advice here^^

OP, the 1.52 rate you saw is what's referred to as the 'mid rate'. When you go to a bank, there's a different rate to buy cash, sell cash, buy cheques and sell cheques. The rate you would have gotten would have been a 'buy cheque' rate, as the bank was buying the cheque from you. There are also different bands within the rates, so the higher the value of the transaction, the better the rate for the customer. I suppose the lesson to be learned here is always ask for the rate when you go to the counter before you start the transaction. Don't go on the internet or look in the paper, cos generally the rate you'll get is the mid rate and this is confusing. You could think of the mid rate as a rough guide to what you might get, but not an exact conversion.

TBH customers would be doing well to get the mid rate. As above it depends on how much money you have to lodge.

Toots

If you're a very good customer (ie loaded or a friend of a staff member) and you're dealing in a large amount of money, they can ring their currency dealers and see can they get you a better rate than what the computer's coming up with, but the likelihood of getting the mid rate is slim. I'm staff and we get the mid-rate for FX, but we're only allowed a certain amount of exchange at that rate, and after that we just get the rate of the day, but don't get charged comission.

If you're only lodging a small amount, they won't be able to do it.

ircoha

anfirrua wrote: »

1: I was expecting a fee at the standard exchange rate not an inflated exchange rate!

2: The stock broker will no do a wire transfer, the only option really is cheque

1: see my contribution at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054977351&highlight=foreign+exchange
2: why not, unless he wants to hold onto ur money for longer: most brokers prefer electronic transfer

Toots

ircoha wrote: »

1: see my contribution at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054977351&highlight=foreign+exchange
2: why not, unless he wants to hold onto ur money for longer: most brokers prefer electronic transfer

Yes, wire transfers are much easier for all concerned. Unless it was for a very small amount, like maybe $10 or something, in which case the charges for the broker to send it could actually be more than the amount of the payment.

ircoha

Toots85 wrote: »

Yes, wire transfers are much easier for all concerned. Unless it was for a very small amount, like maybe $10 or something, in which case the charges for the broker to send it could actually be more than the amount of the payment.

I agree 100%, its just a PITA that the OP was not more specific about the why not: its typical that the focus is on something he cant change as opposed to looking at options for future cheques.