Euro (€) Currency Thread

codger

jonestom wrote: »

I've just purchased my Euro's at the local post office, I paid with my Barclays Debit card. Barclays charged me £4.50.:mad:

They didn't procure the Euro's for me, the Post office did and no doubt they took their commission.

Surely it can't be legal that Barclays should take this money. . .

Others may have heard of this but I haven't. We regularly used our debit card at the Post Office foreign exchange counter for Euro purchases. Our own bank certainly didn't take a cut of the proceedings. Best to get on to your Barclays branch for clarification -- it's your money, in your bank account, not theirs.

007JUNKY

finding currency can be a nightmare:eek: , i always think the best thing to do, and I have heard this recently, is look for the 0%commission that is a huge thing. alot of companies do sting you with commission charges:mad: and it can be a hinderence. I always look for that and there are some great companies out there with 0%commission like the post office, tms, marks and spencer and all those types might be worth a search on line before you go for a paticular one. hope that helps:money:

dzug1

aramo wrote: »

buy your euros for cash stick them in registered envelope and post to France - done!

One slight snag - the most you can send in a 'registered envelope' is £100. Well you can send more, but you can't insure it for more.

But for small sums probably the best way.

sharon1953

Hi, first time on here so not too sure if this should be a quick reply, reply to thread or new thread, so bear with me!

I was trying to find out if anyone had a crystal ball and could predict roughly what the exchage rate for euros might be next March, when we go to Austria. We have the money saved in our account (Nationwide) and I've been watching the pound go from 1.29 to 1.17 euro, so we don't know if to jump now and buy, or wait till March to see if things improve?

jammin_2

sharon1953 wrote: »

Hi, first time on here so not too sure if this should be a quick reply, reply to thread or new thread, so bear with me!

I was trying to find out if anyone had a crystal ball and could predict roughly what the exchage rate for euros might be next March, when we go to Austria. We have the money saved in our account (Nationwide) and I've been watching the pound go from 1.29 to 1.17 euro, so we don't know if to jump now and buy, or wait till March to see if things improve?

Hi Sharon,

No way of knowing. Sorry.

oranabana

am I missing something here? If you can open/have a Nationwide Current account, you just use your Visa Debit card to withdraw cash from the local ATM, anywhere in the world, and - Voila, money in your hand, at the mid market exchange rate!

jammin_2

oranabana wrote: »

am I missing something here? If you can open/have a Nationwide Current account, you just use your Visa Debit card to withdraw cash from the local ATM, anywhere in the world, and - Voila, money in your hand, at the mid market exchange rate!

Yup, pretty much mid market exchange rate. No conversion fees or anything, that's for sure!

oranabana

jammin wrote: »

Yup, pretty much mid market exchange rate. No conversion fees or anything, that's for sure!

meaning..?! you prefer to spent 86 pence on a Euro as opposed to 83? (random figure!)

jammin_2

oranabana wrote: »

meaning..?! you prefer to spent 86 pence on a Euro as opposed to 83? (random figure!)

Meaning that the rate is almost mid-market, but not quite. It is certainly cheaper to buy Euros this way, than to buy at a bank or travel agent. These would certainly not exchange at anywhere near mid-market, they would have their sell rate instead. They also may or may not charge a commission.

Jake'sGran

oranabana wrote: »

am I missing something here? If you can open/have a Nationwide Current account, you just use your Visa Debit card to withdraw cash from the local ATM, anywhere in the world, and - Voila, money in your hand, at the mid market exchange rate!

Just spotted this exchange(no pun intended) and my reply is slightly off-topic but it's true that Nationwide Credit Card is the best for taking abroad. I pay hotel bills in Spain with it and the conversion rate is almost interbank rate. Had a weird experience last time though; I always stay at Melia/Sol hotels as I like their terms. In the past not had a problem, they just put the total in Euros on the card but this time the lovely girl on the desk tried to fool me by saying they always put both prices on the bill i.e. £ and €s but I found it had been converted by them at their rate. I
complained to Nationwide when we got home and they sorted it and repaid me something like £25. Great service from a credit card company and I do not have a current account with them, just a three year bond.