exchange rate

decci

hello not sure if posting this in the right thread,was in asda enniskillen last week for the first time and must say it was a real eye opener on how much we are actually been ripped off here in the south.i used the bureau de change to change euro to sterling and was just wondering would i be better off just to bring euros next time what kind of exchange rate does asda give. cheers

Tipsy Mac

In my opinion the best option is credit card as otherwise you end up with sterling change received for your euros or excess sterling cash that you didn't spend.

dlambirl

OP, when you are shopping in the north pay close attention to the exchange rates.

When i'm going i check what the banks rate is (e.g today its around 89p) and then check what rate the shop is giving.

If the rate is lower (e.g Sainsbury giving 84P) i use my credit card or another way is to use your atm/debit card to take the money out, this will give you roughly the bank rate.

If the shop is giving a better rate than the banks (e.g. ASDA giving 90P) then use your euros....

Rosielee

Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on this query regarding exchange rates that I put to my bank Halifax yesterday :

I was asking them what would the debit card charges be if I used my debit card up North, as I was trying to work out whether it would be better for me to change my euro in a bank down here before I went up ?. We then got into a friendly chit chat about shopping up north and getting the most sterling value for your euro, and she told me that it wouldnt make much of a difference or saving if I used the debit card in the shops, as it was the shop that set the exchange rate and not the bank.... I asked her to explain as I understood that the daily rate of exchange was applied to the transactions on the card by the bank, regardless of what shops you purchased in and regardless of the shops rates. Apparently, when a transaction is carried out in a particular shop, the shop decides the rate and applies it to the card, so if you purchase in another shop that gives a better rate, there may be rate differences on each transaction, when you are looking at your statement.

I've never heard of this before. Can anyone comment as it would seem that the only way to ensure you are getting the right rate is to change the euro beforehand to sterling, ?? seems a bit strange to me

Our man in Havana

They are talking crap.

When you use your Irish debit card in Northern Ireland or the UK, the bank decides what exchange rate to use. The shopkeeper has no control over that at all. It is the bank exchange rate on settlement that decides what the bank charges.

mossfort

the credit card company decides the exchange rate which is usually close to the guided exchange rate on the day.
if you change your money before yo go you will have to pay fees plus you wont get as good a rate.
asda and the bigger shops usually accept euros and give a fairly good rate.

soc

mossfort wrote: »

the credit card company decides the exchange rate which is usually close to the guided exchange rate on the day.
if you change your money before yo go you will have to pay fees plus you wont get as good a rate.
asda and the bigger shops usually accept euros and give a fairly good rate.

I agree with MossFort.

PLUS if you shop somewhere that accepts €1 for £1 then that is even better value than buying sterliing or putting stuff on CC.