GBP/EUR exchange rate

bonzodog2

I have a substantial amount in an Ulster Bank sterling account in NI that I wish to move to a euro account here. UB seem to offer a worse rate for online banking transfers than that quoted by Yahoo (https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=GBPEUR%3DX)

Is there another way to get the better rate? Yesterday I made a transfer and got I think 1.386 when Yahoo were quoting nearly 1.41

salamanca22

Those are market rates, you will never get that from the bank.

muffinhead

Try TransferWise they offer much better rates.

NIMAN

I use CurrencyFair, similar to TW.

Get it moved asap, the rate now is at 1.4103 !!
About a month back it was 1.33

How do those transfer companies work? Are they safe?

tomfoolery60

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

How do those transfer companies work? Are they safe?

They match people looking to exchange ( you want £, someone wants € etc.). I've used both and never had any trouble

TopTec

Currency fair for me. Use it monthly to transfer pension and wages. Never had an issue and they charge 3 euro a transaction with far superior rates compared to banks.

TT

NIMAN

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

How do those transfer companies work? Are they safe?

You set up an account.
Move money into it in one currency.
Exchange it for another currency.
Transfer the money out to another account, getting charged €3 transaction fee, no matter if you move €10 or €100,000.

They are very safe. Smart people aren't using banks for currency exchange any more.

I'm so glad I saw this thread on the front page at just the right time. I managed to make another 210 euros today using these companies. Just wish I had made the move on exchanging money a few days ago but, hey ho.

Thanks everyone.

Edit: I used FC exchange - they bettered the other companies by a few euros when I told them what they were offering.

newacc2015

NIMAN wrote: »

I use CurrencyFair, similar to TW.

Get it moved asap, the rate now is at 1.4103 !!
About a month back it was 1.33

If the EU continue with QE and BOE ups their rates, the euro will be even weaker

NIMAN

newacc2015 wrote: »

If the EU continue with QE and BOE ups their rates, the euro will be even weaker

The money markets baffle me to be honest.
The Euro was at around 1.40 then went towards the 1.33, even when there was QE in place, now back to 1.41 again.

I'm happy enough, all my bills are in Euro and I earn in Sterling, so every day is like a pay rise at times!

TopTec

The money markets, like most shares, run on confidence. The sterling/euro rate still has another 6-10 points to go before reaching pre-crash levels. It was 1.52 in January 2007. Until Germany and some of the larger EU nations start showing some proper growth figures the money will continue to stay with Sterling.

There are always some short term fluctuations but the general trend is upwards, or downwards depending which side you are on, for the time being.

When I bought a property in Ireland several years ago, the rate was something like 1.16. There were hardly any companies like Currency fair around then but I managed to get the number of the Lloyds dealing room in London and negotiated a far better rate. The dealing room then contacted my local UK branch with the agreed rate. A real run around and a pain to do but worth it in the end.

So much easier now.

TT

newacc2015

TopTec wrote: »

The money markets, like most shares, run on confidence. The sterling/euro rate still has another 6-10 points to go before reaching pre-crash levels. It was 1.52 in January 2007. Until Germany and some of the larger EU nations start showing some proper growth figures the money will continue to stay with Sterling.

There are always some short term fluctuations but the general trend is upwards, or downwards depending which side you are on, for the time being.

When I bought a property in Ireland several years ago, the rate was something like 1.16. There were hardly any companies like Currency fair around then but I managed to get the number of the Lloyds dealing room in London and negotiated a far better rate. The dealing room then contacted my local UK branch with the agreed rate. A real run around and a pain to do but worth it in the end.

So much easier now.

TT

Expectation of interest rates is a huge one too. This is basically speculation. There is a strong believe that interest will be hiked next month in the US. The markets have reacted by selling Euros, to buy Dollars to invest in the US again.

Currencies are quite difficult to learn in Economics. Its generally done in second year, when you have a fairly large knowledge of Economics. IMO its harder than learning about stocks and bonds

NIMAN

So is the Euro likely to get weaker still?

bonzodog2

Yahoo quoting 1.4299 now, XE.com say 1.43076
Anybody used XE for transfers? Are they safe?
I've used both transferwise and currencyfair now, CF are cheaper fee-wise

Its annoying UlsterBank are limiting me to 20K per day