]I’m going to Scotland (from Canada) in August, , I am wondering if I should buy the GBP right now and take advantage of the low pound? Or will it likely drop further in the next month? Any ideas?
(I am not happy about the “Leave” side winning, and certainly will not go anywhere near Trump Golf Courses, but this thread isn’t about it. Im just doing the tourist currency limbo, wondering How Low Can it Go?)
I would just wait and use your debit card at an ATM in Scotland when you get there. Trying to make bets on currency, especially during the short term is a risky bet, and if you purchase pounds here before you leave, you will likely pay a hefty fee/commission on the exchange.
In my experience with US bank accounts I have paid very high fees for my exchange. Plus, some bank cards only work with a credit card attached to them, my main account does not have this feature. (Although I could use that account, it might make sense, now that I think of it.) Does anyone have recent experience converting Canadian money to GBP?
If you exchange money at a bank teller, or at a dedictaed currency exchange business, you will pay a commission or a heavily weighted exchange rate or both. On the other hand, by going to a dedicated currency exchange business there might me some benefits too, such as getting discount coupons for some tourist shops, etc.
Alternatively you can just use an ATM (that has a PLUS or Cirrus logo), if you have an ATM/credit card with the PLUS logo or the Cirrus logo on the back. Taking out money this way (via your credit card account) will only incur the daily standard exchange rate and will not take out a commission. Go and ask your bank about how to use overseas ATMs to withdraw cash on your credit card.
Your question is mystifying to Americas, whose banks do not, ever, exchange foreign currency, even in border towns. But in Canada, many banks have foreign currency on hand and will exchange it. There should be no problem buying cash UKL at nearly any branch bank in Canada. It would be a good idea to pick up about $50 or so before you leave, just to be sure you have ready cash when you land.
In general, the best way to exchange is just wait until you get there, then use a card at an ATM. You’ll get a fixed international rate, and pay a small commission to your bank and the ATM, probably less than the spread at an exchange shop. The worst place to change is at an airport money exchange desk. Your Canadian Interac card can b e used for cash acvance anywhere at ATMs.
When you consider now many hundred dollars a day it is going to cost you for expenses in the UK, worrying about a percent or two on the exchange is not significant. You can save that much by skipping a cup of coffee.
Thanks for the reply folks. I guess I am “old school” and accustomed to the ritual of going to the bank the day before a trip, exchanging my CAD for USD. I remember one time I went too late on a Friday before a long weekend and I ended up with a bunch of US 1) $1 bills. Like 40 of them or something. (I’m old, this was in the late 80s before Ontario had Sunday shopping, and debit cards were not used at point of sale, only in ATMs for cash withdrawal. Duluth MN was a heady get away for me and my friends. (Yes, I drove uphill, both ways, in the snow, and once I wrote a personal cheque for duty at the border.)
ATM cards are convenient as no carrying lots of cash. But Canadian banks tend to truly soak their customers on user fees for foreign country use. In addition to a less than favourable exchange rate.
Before leaving for Cambodia last year, having have the bank card solution recommended repeatedly I checked it out to discover that my bank would charge me $4 per transaction, the foreign bank would charge me $4/5 per transaction, plus a percentage of the amount changed AND a not wonderful exchange rate. I was not delighted with these choices. That’s close to $10 per transaction!
It would depend how long you’re going for, where you’ll be, how much cash you’ll need, what type of places you’ll be staying.
In the end, for us, since a few times during our eight week holiday, we’d be forced to draw out and carry a large amount of cash regardless, ( as we’d be frequenting off shore islands lacking cars, banks, ATM’s etc!), we opted to just take it all in cash and save money changing and exchange rate issues. I’m not recommending it for everyone, but it worked a charm for us. Saved us a ton of money in the long run. And, even in a country like Cambodia, it was entirely doable!
Just something to think about! If I were you, I’d be buying 2/3 of the cash I’ll need right now while it’s really low!
Everybody needs to do what they’re most comfortable with, of course. But do check what the total fees for using overseas ATM’s are, you may be surprised!
Have a great holiday! When come back, bring photos!
For the record, this is wrong. Prior to our trip to Scotland in May, we purchased several hundred pounds through Bank of America. Was it the best deal? Probably not. But it sure was handy.
What kind of codswallop is this? My employer, a regional bank, will do currency exchange (for yen, euros, and CAD). And we’re in upstate NY, not near the border of anything.
Yeah, I worked for a state bank in the US and we would order pretty much any foreign currency for anyone, customer or not. Although more exotic stuff would take a few extra days to get in.
Yes, you can “order” anything you want, provided you are willing to pay the bank’s fees to do it. Given that they charge $30 for a wire transfer, you can guess how much the fee will be on foreign exchange.
My friend phoned every bank in her city, to try to get euros before going on a trip, and nobody expressed any interest in the transaction. On the Mexican border, there is no bank in Texas that will exchange Mexican pesos, buy or sell. I had a friend who came back to a major city with a 100-euro note, and went to the main bank downtown to try to change it, and they said they would take it and sent it to their correspondent bank in New York and try to get it changes, but there would be a huge fee and probably a 30-day wait. In Michigan, I lived 100 miles from the Canadian border, and the only Canadian money they ever handled was the one or two Canadian quarters in every roll of coins they sold, which don’t work in laundromats.
Here’s the best one. I sold some things on e-Bay, and got a check for 500 US dollars, , drawn on “Bank of Korea, New York”. My bank said “This is a foreign check” and put a 30 day hold on it. Nothing terrifies an Amerfican bank more than something that has a funny foreign word on it.
A quick Google search shows that Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank and US Bank all offer currency exchange. Those 5 banks represent about 50% of the US banking market based on total assets and about 25% of the total bank branches in the US. Not every branch of each of those banks will keep foreign currency on hand and those that do will only stock a minimal amount of the most popular currencies for that area. There is a investment cost associated with holding cash of any kind in a branch and banks actively work to reduce cash on hand.
Let’s pretend that each of the 21,339 branches of the 5 banks above each kept on hand the paltry total of $1,000 in various foreign currencies. That would be $21,339,000 dollars that could not be invested in overnight Fed funds, costing the banks over $5 million in annual income even at the current .25% Fed funds rate.
What does this have to do with the OP? Not much, really, but I’m not deleting it since it’s already typed out.
Forgot to address this:
You had an ignorant bank teller. Checks drawn on US banks have a 9 digit US routing numberprinted on the MICR line. The first 2 numbers are easily parsed to determine generally where the bank on which the check is drawn is located. For instance, a US routing number starting with 06 means the bank is located in the Atlanta Fed district. This is what determines a local vs non-local check for hold purposes in accordance with Reg CC.
A check drawn on a foreign bank will have a different format on the MICR line. Here is a sample of a check drawn on a Korean bank.
And thus endeth the highjack.
Probably depends a lot on where you are, and what you want to do. Last time I went to Europe, I looked into it, and the fees/exchange rate was very favorable going through my bank (Wells Fargo), but unless I wanted to go halfway across town during banker’s hours to one specific location in the city that has foreign currency on-hand, I’d have to wait like a week to get it to my local branch. (Wells Fargo in Dallas FWIW)
Ultimately though, it’s far easier, and nearly as advantageous to just use your ATM card overseas. You don’t pay more AFAIK, and you don’t have to roll around with hundreds of euros in your pocket/money belt/etc… either.
My bank charged $5 for currency exchange for non-customers, and it took 2-3 days. and we gave US cash for foreign currency same day, minus the $5 fee. I’m sorry you’ve had lousy experiences, but it’s not the same as everyone else’s. And some IBC banks even have small amounts of common currency on hand.
Unless “FOREX trader” was on your list of hobbies you’d like to take up, there’s no reason to jump into it for your vacation walking-around-money. Just withdraw money from an ATM when you get there, and you’ll get the current market rate less a much smaller fee than you’d pay trying to get money elsewhere.
If you’re with Scotiabank, you can use Barclay’s ATMs (in the UK) with only about half the normal fees (see here) and other Canadian banks may have similar agreements with other British banks (that’s just the one I know about and those do work even without an attached credit card).
Other than that, even with the high fees to use an ATM, you’re probably better off just doing a withdrawal there than exchanging money at home, so long as you withdraw medium-to-large amounts of money. If you go to the ATM for every £20, you’ll pay a lot more in fees.
