currency exchange

bostonian

hi
possibly the wrong section for this post.
where is the best place to convert currency in Ireland? will the bank do it for free? i don;t want to get raped for commission at the airport exchange desks.

Ruu_Old

No place will do it for free. I don't know, I always use my local BOI branch.

Nody

From my experience I'd recommend going down to Dublin city centre, every time I compared the bank rates to what was offered in the centre the centre was slightly better. Keep in mind it also depends on where you are going, when I want to Thailand for example the local rate (in the banks etc.) of exchange down there was better then what I had back home.

bostonian

Nody wrote: »

From my experience I'd recommend going down to Dublin city centre, every time I compared the bank rates to what was offered in the centre the centre was slightly better. Keep in mind it also depends on where you are going, when I want to Thailand for example the local rate (in the banks etc.) of exchange down there was better then what I had back home.

where in city centre, you mean the amex office on o'connell by the spire?

if it matters, i'll be converting us dollar to euro.

foggy_lad

try your local bank or credit union as they will probably have better rates than some currency exchange place and they will usually accept any amount of us dollars

dudara

Many banks offer free foreign exchange to students in their home branch.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

as dudara says - students get it for free. Maybe you know a student who could get it for you?

i'm moving this to banking forum

jor el

The often waive the commission for students, but that's normally only 2-3 euro. The cost of changing the money (plus a tidy profit) is built into the exchange rate they quote you, this will never be free.

The exchange rate difference can make a big difference to what it costs you, if you're changing a large amount. If the amount you're changing is only a few hundred euro worth, then the difference in rates is unlikely to cost you that much. Depends on how much the time wandering around all the banks is worth to you.

bostonian

I'll be dealing with more than a few hundred euro. I know the post offices sometimes have an exchange desk, do they offer better rates than the banks?

faigs

Just a quick question about the exchange rates, on xe.com the rate of dollar to Euro is 1.51, however in BOI today it is only 1.46. Is it possible to get the live exchange rate anywhere? Does the banks exchange rate stay below the actual live one, to include their rates? I'm just looking for a good time to get some dollars and I thought today was a great rate, however the bank was not offering it.

Cheers...

BuffyBot

www.xe.net doesn't offer the "commerical" rates you get in banks etc

faigs

So does this not affect us at all then? We just have to take the banks rate even if it shows no relevance?

BuffyBot

It will, and the rates you see in exchange outlets will probably be better, but you will never get the rates you see on the likes of xe.com which are based on the big boys trading, not individuals going in with a couple of hundred for their holidays

BuffyBot

I've just deleted 3 off topic posts of this thread.

Keep it on topic folks. If you have a problem with a post, report it. Don't drag threads off course because you don't like the way a word is used.