Best VISA Debit Card for Exchanging US Dollars

JamesQ

I play poker online and make regular withdrawals. My problem is that the withdrawals I make are in US Dollars and the exchange rates I get plus the added charges mean I'm currently losing quite a bit of money. I'd like to find out the best VISA Debit Card for accepting US Dollars, or at least get some advice on how I go about finding out.

Thanks,

James

jonesMUFCforever

Each and every bank will have its own exchange rates - so it does not matter that you have a visa card or not its not relevant.
The only solution I can find is that you gamble with a UK site paying winnings in £s.

JamesQ

Yeah, I'm wondering which bank has the best exchange rates and/or lowest charges when depositing to a current account using a VISA debit card.

dzug1

Visa will set the exchange rates so which bank is irrelevant from that point of view.

Nationwide have the lowest markup on the visa rate the other way round. Maybe it's the same for credits?

jonesMUFCforever

dzug1 wrote: »

Visa will set the exchange rates so which bank is irrelevant from that point of view.

Nationwide have the lowest markup on the visa rate the other way round. Maybe it's the same for credits?

IMO this is totally wrong.
Each BANK will set its own rate.

JamesQ

So which is it, guys?

I've been told elsewhere that the banks will charge the same rate as they'd give you when buying your holiday money. Is this true?

The same person reccommended using MoneyBookers.com who charge a "measly" fee and offer a proper exchange rate. Does anyone know anything about them? Can anyone confirm this? Their website states:

"For transactions involving currency conversion Moneybookers adds 1.99% to our wholesale exchange rates for foreign currency. This charge serves as a protection against the volatility and risk associated with FX markets. The Moneybookers exchange rates are updated on a regular basis throughout the day.

Note: these rates apply only when converting FROM EUR TO the currencies below."

Their exchange rate for British pounds is currently: 0.8443

Is this decent? Will the fact that I'd be sending them dollars and asking for pounds mean that I'll be charged for dollar-to-euro exchange AND euro-to-pound exchange?

agsnu

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

IMO this is totally wrong.
Each BANK will set its own rate.

This is not subjective, so I don't really see what your opinion has to do with it. See here:

The Visa rate is selected from a range of rates available in wholesale currency markets or the government-mandated rate in effect one day prior to the applicable central processing date. Visa makes this rate available to issuing banks, which may adjust the rate when billing cardholders by applying a foreign transaction fee.

The varying factor is foreign transaction fees. The lowest you will find is Nationwide's, at 1%.

If you can find a rate which is less than 1% away from the wholesale FX market spread, then that would be a better deal. However, the hassle involved is likely to be non-trivial. If you are dealing with large amounts of dollars (tens of thousands), then it might be worth attempting to take steps to manage your currency risk yourself - open a dollar account (e.g. with Citibank), use an FX broker, book rates in advance, etc. See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

savagej

Visa sets the rate of exchange daily.

After that your bank can impose a fee in your terms and conditons such as 2.5% a minimum of £3, every bank may be different on this one.

However, the currency conversion is definitely decided by Visa not by the issuing bank.

will-in-estoril

savagej wrote: »

Visa sets the rate of exchange daily.

After that your bank can impose a fee in your terms and conditons such as 2.5% a minimum of £3, every bank may be different on this one.

However, the currency conversion is definitely decided by Visa not by the issuing bank.

Correct.

tom.daniel wrote: »

Im not sure about this, all banks seem to charge a different rate ...

Incorrect.

jonesMUFCforever

will-in-estoril wrote: »

Correct.



Incorrect.

This whole post is incorrect!

The only way to prove this is to get as many posters on here and post their rates on one given day.
Can I suggest June1st - everyone post on here any transactions say USD - lets have as many different banks as possible to prove or disprove who sets the rate (disregard any extra charges just concentrate on the exchange rate quoted on a statement).
I haven't used a foreign currency for ages so I can't start this off but over to you.......

Inactive

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

This whole post is incorrect!

The only way to prove this is to get as many posters on here and post their rates on one given day.
Can I suggest June1st - everyone post on here any transactions say USD - lets have as many different banks as possible to prove or disprove who sets the rate (disregard any extra charges just concentrate on the exchange rate quoted on a statement).
I haven't used a foreign currency for ages so I can't start this off but over to you.......

Seems a long time to wait to prove a theory.. :rotfl: