Northern Ireland shopping

fryingpan54

Hi, a question for anyone who shops over the border.

Is it best to -

1. change euros to stirling first and pay in stirling
2. pay in euros
3. pay using visa/debit card

just wondering how to get the best rate - or doesn't it make any difference?

Thanks

italodisco

Good question I'd be very interested in the answer to this

dbentham

There is no right or wrong answer here. But bear in mind the following:

Although the major shopping centres in Newry are happy to accept Euros usually at a fair exchange rate, keep in mind that not everywhere will be inclined to accept them - particularly the further north of the border that you go.

If you're intending to spend more than a couple of hundred quid, debit cards are a good option (rather than carrying excessive cash).

If you do opt to bring up sterling cash, you will inevitably save money by using a dedicated currency exchange company, rather than a bank counter to obtain it. An example of such a company is No.1 currency which has outlets around the country, though most are in Dublin: https://www.no1currency.ie/currency-exchange-near-me/ Obviously the more you exchange, the more worthwhile it will be. On that subject, An Post give commission free sterling over the counter, but their rates fall quite short of other bureaus, so are therefore only viable for smaller amounts IMO.

To the best of my knowledge, most credit cards charge around 4% over the 'best available' exchange rate, but I guess that's the price you pay for their convenience. Finally, as an avid user of eBay, I find that debit cards aren't great for very small foreign transactions (< EUR7) because while they offer a reasonable exchange rate for most transactions, they seem to attract a minimum usage charge of around 46c per transaction (which increases to around 2.5% of the total transaction for larger transactions). Well that's the case with my bank anyway.

I know it may sound a little convoluted, but hope this post helps people a little. Feel free to correct me, but I hope the above is fairly accurate

gipi

If you go regularly, you could check out the Revolut card, which is a multi-currency debit card. There's a thread about the card in the Banking forum, or check out www.revolut.com

I have one and find it very useful for sterling (and other currencies).

JTMan

Best to worst:
1. Use Revolut.
2. Pay using your credit/debit card. (always pay in GBP).
3. Convert cash. (by far the worst option).

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Geuze

dbentham wrote: »

To the best of my knowledge, most credit cards charge around 4% over the 'best available' exchange rate, but I guess that's the price you pay for their convenience. Finally, as an avid user of eBay, I find that debit cards aren't great for very small foreign transactions (< EUR7) because while they offer a reasonable exchange rate for most transactions, they seem to attract a minimum usage charge of around 46c per transaction (which increases to around 2.5% of the total transaction for larger transactions). Well that's the case with my bank anyway.

CC FX fees are more like 1.75%, so they make sense on small transactions, as there isn't a minimum fee.