Euro (€) Currency Thread

motodop

All currency's are down but some are more down than others.
It all becoming a bit confusing. Not long ago i'd be putting my Nationwide Flex card into a Washington Mutual ATM in San Diego, withdrawing US$500 and on looking at my Flex statement it would cost me £252. Now I can only get out US$440 (its somewhere between $440 and $460 but the ATM only lets you take in multiples of 20)
My question is: With my UK debit card in sterling and my Greek Alpha Debit card in Euro where am i best to withdraw ATM cash from to make best use of the current market. Are my Euro worth more to me in dollars than my sterling?
I have money in both countries but need is for day to day stuff in the US.
Cheers, Moto

harryhound

I find this a very confusing post.
Your sterling has been devalued by about 20% on average. It differs by currency but only Iceland has done significantly worse.
What money you use to buy USD's and what you pay in commission is up to you to calculate.
The foreign exchange market is pretty efficient so don't expect any fiddling about will make your sterling go up in value again in the near term.
The suggestion for the sudden collapse of GBP's is put down to the emperor's new clothes effect of foreign funds suddenly waking up to the reality that UK no longer has a petro currency, does have a mountain of debt and is hoping to borrow (from where?) its way out of its problems, without jacking up its interest rates.
The only way it can do that is print money and stuff it into the pockets of its own citizens.
There could be a short term dead cat bounce if the market has over shot.

Alula_Cheery

Hi all, I 'm not sure i'm in the right place, i'm going to dublin from London tomorrow and am trying to get some holiday euros, could anyone advise me on where t get the best deal in light of the current terrible exchange rate? Also i have a halifax visa debit, can anyone tell me wether it would be sensible to use it in dublin?

I know thats a lot to ask, any help would be so so appreciated

Best, Jem

dazza.mk

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.

If it is then what's to stop them adding a commission onto everything we buy.

If I used my debit card to get euro's from a hole in the wall in Spain then I expect to get charged a commission for that, but buying Euro's in this country from a travel agent or whoever surely shouldn't warrant a charge from the bank.

I could easily have drawn the cash out of the bank which was next door to the PO had I known I'd be ripped off.

Anyone successfully challenged these charges before?

Relatively old post I know but you are being charged for making a withdrawal from the VISA as opposed to Link network, its mentioned within the Debit card charges pages on the Barclays website.

http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?site=pfs&task=homefreegroup&value=13396

Some do (ie Barclays 2%, Cahoot 1.5%), some don't pass this on (ie Nationwide)

allthingspink

I'm going away for New Year skiing to Italy. Weighing it up I decided to get euros today at 1.104. I do have a Nationwide card too, and I know that getting cash out whilst you're there tends to be better using that card, as you get it at a 'real bank exchange rate' from the card (or whatever it's called...). Was I right in thinking what with Germany announcing Brown is stupid etc that the euro fall by the 30th will mean my cash exchange rate was better today than what I would probably get on my Nationwide card come New Year? Anyone any opinion on that?

My head hurts, it's all too confusing!

jammin_2

allthingspink wrote: »

Was I right in thinking what with Germany announcing Brown is stupid etc that the euro fall by the 30th will mean my cash exchange rate was better today than what I would probably get on my Nationwide card come New Year? Anyone any opinion on that?

I don't believe it's possible to predict the future of the exchange rate.

What I do know is, the strength of the Pound has been falling against the Euro at a rate of nearly 1 cent per day. If it carries on falling like this, the rate could be 1:1 by the end of the year. :eek:

TURRELL1

Hi All,
Hope someone one can help me as this will be my first trip abroad and i dont have a clue to be honest, so could really do with some advice. I'm off to Paris with my girlfriend very soon and i know that the exchange rate from pound to euro is at it's lowest it has ever been and Paris is very expensive. From going through this website i have read that using the Nationwide debit card is a very good way of spending abroad. the question that i have is why exactly is this, and how does the exchange rate work using this card? I also would like a little Cash would it better to use my debit card and withdraw money while i'm in paris or go to a bureau of exchange before hand. one last thing how do i avoid paying an ATM charge for using the cash Machine in paris, will i be able to find a free one while i'm out there?

Thanks for all your help sorry about so many questions

regards,

TURRELL1

simpywimpy

I use my nationwide debit card on daily basis in Paris and have never had a charge for using it either in the shop/supermarket or in an ATM. The rate I got has always been higher than the best exchange rate available locally too,.

bengal-stripe

Deleted - my mistake

dwsjarcmcd

A friend told me about Crown Currency

http://www.crowncurrencyexchange.com/index.asp?adloc=Google

He uses them a lot and as we go to France regularly, I read up about them this morning with a view to giving them a try.

Obviously only usesful if you can pre-purchase currency but the ability to buy € and not be penalised if the rate improves is attractive.

Maybe it also gives some insight as to what Traders feel about future exchange rates