WEEKLY EXCHANGE RATES

dak

I was hoping that maybe we could start a thread to keep an eye on whether the shops up north are giving us a good deal with regard to exchange rates. I was in Newry and Downpatrick yesterday.

Official rate yesterday ( to 2 decimal points) was €1 = £0.89p

Sainsburys in Newry were giving only 84p
Asda in Downpatrick were giving 90p

If you spent 150 stg you would be forking out €12 euro more in Sainsburys than Asda.

Tipsy Mac

Myself now I just use a credit card when purchasing, saves the hassle of getting sterling change back and the rate varies so much it's hassle bringing euro cash.

dak

XE rate quoted today is 90p

Condoms

I use a visa debit card, no credit card fees, no exchange rate, todays bank rate and most of all No Hassle.

Visa debit cards are available from The Halifax Bank

De Hipster

M&S in Armagh were only offering 84p - €1 on Sunday too.

mcaul

you will never get the XE rate or the listed exchange rates.

example today £1 = €1.116 at the official market rate. (89.6p / €1)

For purchasing £6700 I got a rate of 1.138

If you went into a bank looking for £500 you would probably get a rate of €1.15

dak

mcaul wrote: »

you will never get the XE rate or the listed exchange rates.

example today £1 = €1.116 at the official market rate. (89.6p / €1)

For purchasing £6700 I got a rate of 1.138

If you went into a bank looking for £500 you would probably get a rate of €1.15

Last Friday the official rate was 89p -- Asda in Downpatrick gave 90p . I know the buying and selling rates work in the banks favour .

My post is only concerned with the rate that the Retailer gives you for hard cash Euros and whether it is close to current market rates! I think that should be sufficient for the ordinary shopper to realise if the retailer is giving fair value !

Trish2007

Asda in strabane are giving 0.884p for the coming week starting from saturday the 6th

dak

Asda Kilkeel €0.885 stg / €1.00 euro

channelsurfer

anyone know what sainsburys newry is giving re exchange rate today?

Rosielee

channelsurfer wrote: »

anyone know what sainsburys newry is giving re exchange rate today?

Sainsburys in Sprucefield are giving 84p today I just called them...not sure if all branches give the same rate but im sure they do

channelsurfer

Rosielee wrote: »

Sainsburys in Sprucefield are giving 84p today I just called them...not sure if all branches give the same rate but im sure they do

thanks for that... its credit card then for me.... I can get 87 to 88p on the credit card rate....

Rosielee

channelsurfer wrote: »

thanks for that... its credit card then for me.... I can get 87 to 88p on the credit card rate....

No problem...:)...I went and changed mine in the bank yesterday as the rate was 88.20 it was handier, but disappointing that Sainsbury's rate was so poor considering the bank exchange rate. I wasn't expecting that there would be that much of a difference..:rolleyes:..

Enjoy your trip

Rashers72

.84 in Sainsbury's Newry, and .88 in B+Q today Saturday.
On another note, we arrived into Sainsburys @ 08.40am this morning. They were already apologising for the checkout queues going down the aisles!

Dandoline

Asda and Tesco in Enniskillen - The rate was 88 some places were offering 90

netwhizkid

What is the story with Bank of Ireland pound Sterling? I got some back in change when I paid Euro, must this be changed for use in England or what is the story? Can I pay with English Sterling up North or must it be the bank issued stuff.

alanjob

You can use both NI sterling and English sterling in the North but in England, they tend to only take English issued sterling so will you need to change it in a bank first (dublin aiport currency exchange won't change it for you, I've tried many times).

If you get change back in sterling, it may be worth asking for English notes if they have it in the cash register, they'll give it to you.

masterK

Anybody happen to catch the Asda rate in Belfast today?

clickhere

Hi All going shopping up north next week. Just want to ask all you experienced shopper's would a laser card be the best way to pay for goods, or what would you advise. Thank you.

eimsRV

Hi clickhere,

I used my laser card in sainsburys and tesco yesterday. They accept MAESTRO, rate worked out about 90.4p to the euro. Obviously not everywhere accepts maestro so you'd probably need to have some cash as well!

Hope that helps,
E

clickhere

Thanks eimsRV for your reply hope you got plenty of bargains.

tweety76

eimsRV wrote: »

Hi clickhere,

I used my laser card in sainsburys and tesco yesterday. They accept MAESTRO, rate worked out about 90.4p to the euro. Obviously not everywhere accepts maestro so you'd probably need to have some cash as well!

Hope that helps,
E

Was this in Sprucefield or Newry?
Anyone know if they take Laser in Sainsbury & Next in Sprucefield?
Thanks

dak

Asda Enniskillen £0.89p / €1 euro

Athenryman

how can i get the best rate?
change my euro to sterling at bank before i go?
use my atm card up north and withdraw sterling?
use a credit card for transactions whilst up north?

thanks

Funky G

Athenryman wrote: »

how can i get the best rate?
change my euro to sterling at bank before i go?
use my atm card up north and withdraw sterling?
use a credit card for transactions whilst up north?

thanks

Peronally. i would use the credit card - you normally get the rate on the day you do the transaction. on my statement it says they include a 1.75% conversion fee but it doesnt look like much. never did the maths.

Withdrawing using atm's would cost a fortune. Banking Robbing C..T's....

No harm bringing some euros with you also. most places take them and some may even give you a better rate than the bank. but they only take euro notes and give change back in sterling notes and coins.

Most shops have a rate list thats given to them on the day. Last time i was up Tescos in Banbridge gave 82p for 1euro. The checkout girl read it of the script and did the maths on the till.

Semi-chem ususally give about 5p more than the bank rate - again last time it was 89p for 1euro. They'll advertise this in the front window

In the end it depends what you buying and where.....

I get my mam or dad to go to the bank for me if i need cash - they don't charge commission to those over 60!

g32

dak wrote: »

I was hoping that maybe we could start a thread to keep an eye on whether the shops up north are giving us a good deal with regard to exchange rates. I was in Newry and Downpatrick yesterday.

Official rate yesterday ( to 2 decimal points) was €1 = £0.89p

Sainsburys in Newry were giving only 84p
Asda in Downpatrick were giving 90p

If you spent 150 stg you would be forking out €12 euro more in Sainsburys than Asda.

Fr Cathcart DIY in Enniskillen were offering me GBP 0.90 for EUR 1.00 back in June. At that rate, I calculated it to be 37% cheaper than my local DIY shop on the items I bought.

g32

netwhizkid wrote: »

What is the story with Bank of Ireland pound Sterling? I got some back in change when I paid Euro, must this be changed for use in England or what is the story? Can I pay with English Sterling up North or must it be the bank issued stuff.

Different banks print their own GBP notes in the north, e.g. Bank of Ireland print their own GBP notes as do Northern Bank etc. But, if you wish to use those notes in England, Wales or Scotland, they will NOT be accepted. You must use the official Bank of England printed notes over there. Banks in the Irish Republic deal in the official Bank of England GBP notes only.

Scottie99

g32 wrote: »

Different banks print their own GBP notes in the north, e.g. Bank of Ireland print their own GBP notes as do Northern Bank etc. But, if you wish to use those notes in England, Wales or Scotland, they will NOT be accepted. You must use the official Bank of England printed notes over there. Banks in the Irish Republic deal in the official Bank of England GBP notes only.

In Scotland where we have our own notes, Ive never had issues in Wales and N.Ireland. In England, some shop keepers don't like them because they get charged extra for presenting them at the Post Office and some banks. Kick up a fuss and they will accept, its legal tender. In Scotland, no problems with N.Ireland notes. As for your last statement on Irish banks only excepting "English" notes, I don't know.

Trish2007

g32 wrote: »

Different banks print their own GBP notes in the north, e.g. Bank of Ireland print their own GBP notes as do Northern Bank etc. But, if you wish to use those notes in England, Wales or Scotland, they will NOT be accepted. You must use the official Bank of England printed notes over there. Banks in the Irish Republic deal in the official Bank of England GBP notes only.

Thats not true. I have gotten northern ireland sterling and scottish sterling from banks in the republic.

g32

Trish2007 wrote: »

Thats not true. I have gotten northern ireland sterling and scottish sterling from banks in the republic.

Maybe AIB Sligo was lying....? The lady in Foreign exchange told me I couldn't use Ulster Bank GBP notes in England. They always sell the official Bank of England GBP notes to me and she mentioned the official GBP notes were usable in England, Scotland, Wales and the 6 counties. Ambiguous and confusing at best. Just one official GBP note; it would seem more logical.

slave1

I lived in England for a few years and got NI sterling once, not even the banks in England would touch it.