Re: Buying euros

Most anywhere you buy foreign currency in the UK you'll get terrible rates. I never bother now, providing I'm arriving at a major airport/port. ATM's are practically everywhere and there are exchange booths in the unlikely event they're all down.

Thanks Mark, can you signpost me to a reference?

But, you can give any fictitious name - no ID check

Just what my travel agents told me last time I was in there.

Visit your local forex desk at the postoffice - the reference is there. Their own rules though.

Last time at the Thomas Cook window I gave a fake name (as usual) and nothing has happened since.

Maybe the guy whos name you used has been shot as a terrorist?

That was my experience. I had to get cash or [produce I/D.

But there is no commission charge at the P.O. for buying or selling back Euros.

In article , Colin Forrester writes

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Mike

No commission charges in many places - but do you check the x-rate?

Indeed. The "no commission" claim is entirely meaningless, designed with the deliberate intent of misleading the gullible. The money exchanger will make his profit by commission charges, the difference between his buying and selling rates or a combination of the two. Zero commission charges do NOT mean that the punter gets a good deal; all it means is that the profit is being made on the exchange rate instead. What matters is how many euros are offered for each pound.

Incidentally, the best exchange rate is to be had when using a Nationwide Building Society card in a foreign ATM. Uniquely among UK financial institutions, the Nationwide charges zero commission and applies interbank exchange rates, which are far better than any tourist rate.

Mike.

I've just done a spreadsheet to calculate whether it is best to change cash to Euros or use a cashpoint and found that even tho my bank charges

1.5% (with a minimum of £1.50), for any sum over 30 Euros you are better drawing it from a cashpoint there than using Thomson etc here.

Yes - the Post Office current rates for the Euro are 1.3987 to buy, and 1.5587 to sell.

That's about an 11% buy/sell spread, so the "commission" is really about 5.5%. This seems fairly typical at forex places in the UK - they are a rip-off.

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Yup - although I think there are also couple of other less well known ones like Liverpool Victoria who don't markup the rate.

Your bank will almost certainly markup the interbank rate by (typically) 2.75%, so you are really paying 4.25% every time you withdraw cash. Have a look in the T&C's, it'll be there somewhere.

As you rightly say, it's still better than exchanging cash here as the typical charge is 5.5% (see my other post) - but with a Nationwide flex account you'd save that

4.25%.

Andy Pandy wrote: Most anywhere you buy foreign currency in the UK you'll get terrible rates. I never bother now, providing I'm arriving at a major airport/port. ATM's are practically everywhere and there are exchange booths in the unlikely event they're all down.

In the official Eurozone yes, but in countries lke Romania where Euros are used but where it not the official currency things are different. You'd better take them with you. Also, you'd better make sure they have no writing or funny marks on them.

Robert

I've never been there - but do they not take or exchange GBP? IME such countries exchange GBP (notes and TC's) at excellent rates.

In Romania I only ever use local currency and only then when withdrawn from an ATM located at a bank. I also take Euros and Dollars just in case a bribe is needed.

Mike wrote

That's stating the bleedin' obvious, innit? I haven't found any difference worth bothering about when obtaining the small quantity of cash I prefer to have when travelling abroad and for the first day or so.

That is what I do, but if I want a few Euros in cash I go to the P.O. ;-)

Obvious to some - but a number of people I know are happy to boast they got their forex commission free - while completely ignoring the underlying exchanges rates and spread offered. When I ask them whether they got a good rate they have no clue and don't seem to care.