Why cant I buy Euro Travellers cheques with Euro banknotes?

ncollier1

I have come into a stack of Euro banknotes and to cut a long story short, I would like to safeguard them by converting them into Travellers Cheques. I do not want to open a Euro bank account because of the charges, commitment, administration etc.

So I walk into M&S travel money and they say I need to first convert my Euros to Sterling, then buy the Euro Travellers cheques with the sterling. I comment that I would lose 20-25% converting in and out of sterling tourist rates and they ask them why they can't just charge me a commission to sell me the Euro Travellers cheques. They say that the computer does not have a procedure for that. (Stupid people we are, soon we will need a computer to tell us how many sheets of paper we need to wipe our !!!). Anyway I try Thomas Cook, and a few other banks in the UK and they say the same thing.

So as I was in Dublin the next week I tried a few banks there. 'Sorry sir we don't sell Travellers cheques'. 'American Express has pulled out of Dublin'. A sign saying that after 1st January 2010 some bank would no longer sell Travellers cheques, and even a money changer with a massive sign with a massive sign saying 'We buy and sell Travellers cheques' says that they only buy the cheques and they don't sell them.

So as was in Ibiza up till yesterday, I visited a few banks in the main town Eivissa. 'Yes we sell Travellers Cheques but they are only for our customers.' 'Do you have an account here? No? And you want to buy them with cash? No no sorry we cannot sell it to you.'

So I need to ask, has the world gone mad? It sounds like a relatively harmless and simple transaction. Does anyone have an advise or suitable alternatives?

bryanb

It probably looks like money laundering.

Alternative could be a safe deposit box in your bank, no interest but neither do TCs

ncollier1

Yes im sure it looks like money laundering but it is slightly irritating that almost anything can look like money laundering these days and if you are slightly outside a narrow band of activity performed by 95% of the population and you are not a financial institution, people won't deal with you. I often wondered whether starting a foreign exchange counter that was totally flexible and only took 2% commission off spot rate would be a great business. So you could for example change dollar cheques for Euro cheques for just 2% charge from spot rate or obtain a Yen bankers draft for 2% off spot rate.

Sadly I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't because 95% of the population don't need this and are too uninformed to know what spot rate was and the newspapers say 50% don't even know what an interest rate is, so I doubt many people would use it. What is odd is how in the UK, people generally don't care but in other countries, people are much more savvy about exchange rates, gold prices etc.

alanrowell

ncollier1 wrote: »

I often wondered whether starting a foreign exchange counter that was totally flexible and only took 2% commission off spot rate would be a great business.

I suspect pretty soon you would attract a different sort of client to that you expect

dzug1

ncollier1 wrote: »

Yes im sure it looks like money laundering but it is slightly irritating that almost anything can look like money laundering these days and if you are slightly outside a narrow band of activity performed by 95% of the population and you are not a financial institution, people won't deal with you. I often wondered whether starting a foreign exchange counter that was totally flexible and only took 2% commission off spot rate would be a great business. So you could for example change dollar cheques for Euro cheques for just 2% charge from spot rate or obtain a Yen bankers draft for 2% off spot rate.

Sadly I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't because 95% of the population don't need this and are too uninformed to know what spot rate was and the newspapers say 50% don't even know what an interest rate is, so I doubt many people would use it. What is odd is how in the UK, people generally don't care but in other countries, people are much more savvy about exchange rates, gold prices etc.

It not only looks like money laundering, it IS money laundering.

And your 2% business would pretty soon go bust once you have paid all your costs - remember you are not going to get those spot rates either

bryanb

dzug1 wrote: »

It not only looks like money laundering, it IS money laundering.

I was trying to be gentle, Newbie poster etc etc.

ncollier1

Seriously, so if i do as the banks say and lose 25% converting my Euros to sterling and then buy Euro TC's that is not money laundering then?

rapido

. .