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changing dollars to Euros

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  • 27-06-2011 7:18pm
    #1
    gubby
    Registered Users Posts: 1,010 ✭✭✭


    Does anyone know where the best value is in changing us dollars to euros for someone coming here from the us. should she change here or over there? or if here, where is the best place.
    cheers


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    #2
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,437 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    If she has an ATM card from her US bank with the Cirrus logo she should withdraw Euros from ATM machines when she gets here, otherwise bring dollars and exchange them for Euros in any of the main banks here. According to their website An Post only sells dollars, they don't buy them, just in case anyone tells you they are cheapest and don't charge commission.

    Remind her that almost everywhere over here accepts Visa and Mastercard, just in case she doesn't make allowances for this fact and plans on brining too much cash.

    Whatever she does, make sure she does not go near a foreign exchange desk in an airport, they are a complete rip-off all over the world.


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    #3
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,437 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    ECFX wrote: »
    I have a feeling you are asking this because it is someone coming over on holidays. If so then all you have to do is remember this...

    Countries do not like to see there money leave there country and on the flip side foreign banks do not like to take foreign money even though they do.

    il explain as that seems a bit cryptic :)

    US citizen has $1000 and goes to US bank they can offer a better rate because they have a use for the USD.
    US Citizen has $1000 and goes to a foreign bank they have to offer a much worse rate because they are open to the risk of exchange rate movements and if that movment is big they could end up making a loss by the time they sell the $1000 they have bought to someone else.

    So always change your money in your home country.

    Cheers

    Karl

    I don't think that is an issue for a tourist given the relatively small amount of money they will need for a short holiday plus Irish banks do a roaring trade in US dollars, you only have to look at the number of flights to the US every day from Dublin airport - I just checked the departures list for tomorrow and there are 11 flights to the US.

    For mainstream currencies (€£$) the rates are the same all over the world, it's the interbank rate plus (buy) or minus (sell) the bank's profit margin. Unless you are looking to convert Dominican Republic pesos into Falkland Islands pounds, it doesn't matter which country you're in, the rates are the same everywhere. The only thing that changes is the gap between the buy and sell rates, the wider the gap the bigger the rip-off profit margin.

    The suggestion that an Irish bank might give you a poor rate for US dollars because they're afraid of currency movements while they're holding the currency is frankly laughable because the spread between the buy and sell price is so wide that there is virtually no risk for the banks.


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