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Best ways to exchange money - avoiding fees ?

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  • 29-09-2004 1:48pm
    #1
    HarryD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 913 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys,

    I've just invested abroad and need to exchange some currency,
    from my Irish back account.
    Does anyone know the best way to do this ?
    I recently used an ATM abroad, and calculated that
    for 500EUR, I was out over 20EUR on international rates (www.xe.com).
    When exchanging a larger amount I'd like to get a better rate.
    I was considering using cash, but don't feel too comfortable with it.

    Any ideas ?

    Thanks,
    Ray.


Comments

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    #2
    midget lord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 956 ✭✭✭midget lord


    one thing i suggest is that you have a look at ulster banks u first accounts. You will get the info from ulsterbank.ie, just follow the links. Basically you can transact for free* (by their reckoning anyway). So you can do fx transfers for and not get specifically charged, of course there will be the currency conversion, but no commission.


    *You are charged a monthly fee of €9, this incudes use of all atms, a laser card, chequing accout and various, what they call, lifestyle benefits, which include discounts on hotels, restaurants, ticket bookings etc. Again full details on their site.


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    #3
    nahdoic
    Registered Users Posts: 944 ✭✭✭nahdoic


    Bank of Ireland do it for 'free' - they don't charge a fixed fee - but I think they add on about 1.5% to the ECB rate for that day. It's pretty scandalous!


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    #4
    antoinolachtnai
    Registered Users Posts: 9,787 ✭✭✭antoinolachtnai


    The price you see quoted on the website is the 'tourist rate'. I would think you will get a better deal (usually) if you are doing more than a few thousand. You just have to shop around for the best deal, but the easiest thing is to do it thru your own bank.

    At the end of the day, money-changing services cost money to run. If you are doing the transaction completely electronically, you should be able to get a better rate than if you want to get cash out.

    One other possibility to consider if you are changing to/from sterling or dollars and are willing to do it for cash is to find a merchant you know who accepts the other currency in the course of their business. They may be glad to offload some of it to you at the average of the prevailing buy and sell rates. Obviously, you shouldn't do this with a merchant you don't trust. If it is a large amount of money, you should get a receipt from the merchant for the money you are 'buying'. You may need it when you go to lodge the cash in the bank, because of money laundering laws.

    Also, you don't say what you want the money for and whether it is a regular or irregular transaction. Depending on all that and the size of transaction, there might be some way of hedging the deal.


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