Change currency, did you know how to do this ? Tips are shared below.
Costs, commissions, fees, fixed fees for withdrawals…
The tips below will help you can be to figure out how to get the best exchange rate when you want to travel abroad.
Banks or exchange offices ? Change in Switzerland or in the travel ? Heat the credit card ?
The currency rates tend to fluctuate constantly, although most banks do not update their rate once per business day. Their fees are sometimes such that they do not take risk in this.
Given the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, the best is to make sure you get the best exchange rate possible, and to limit the costs that you’ll have to pay. Some exchange offices, such as, for example, Ben S. Shop & Change in Geneva, or a few others, do you take or pay a fee or commission, regardless of the currency requested. Quite the contrary, on the airports, the costs soar, and add up to a fixed charge or fixed commissions, which are added to the usurious rates..
Where to change money before you go abroad ? Is it more interesting to use his credit card ?
To help you save money to the maximum on the rate, and to avoid potential charges for currency transactions, you can use the tips below to plan your next trip abroad. Spending less on unnecessary costs mean more money and resources for your adventures of globe-trotting.
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Change currency at the bank
Most banks charge fees and rates considerably in function of the selected currency. It all depends on your bank, the place where you live and the currency of the country of which you will need. Some currencies may be available for an exchange on the same day. Other currencies are less frequently requested could take a few days to be available and cost far more expensive than in a currency exchange in switzerland or in the country of destination.
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Change currency at the airport
If you do not have time to change your currency at the bank before your trip, it can be tempting to get foreign currency at an airport. It’s easy, it’s fast, but… The general rule is that you always pay more expensive in an airport. The grim record was recently held by the exchange offices of the Krakow airport in Poland, with a spread of 25% of fees on a transaction to purchase, that is to say, when they buy you for CHF 100.-, you get back the equivalent of CHF 75.- in Polish zlotys. Fixed more commission !
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Exchange offices
There are of on-site, in the country of destination. In general, in Switzerland, not too many questions to ask about the rates of the major currencies, with some being better than others : no fixed fees, no commission, unless, at the airport, and in the stations when they are still. Thus, for an equivalent transaction, we may quote again the office Ben S. Shop & Change who have supplied Czech crowns at a rate that is very recommendable for one of our customers, and have had the honesty to tell him to take on-the-spot, to average, because they knew that in Prague, some exchange offices practise of being unbeatable. Our traveler has therefore followed their advice, and was told to us during the preparation of his next trip, to Prague, some exchange offices competed in various costs and could take up to 28% of the commission, the higher the rate.
Depending on the destination of our passengers, the foreign currency exchange office in geneva, for example, has sold the currency at rates almost unbeatable, or in other cases, just enough to arrive on site. Once on site, in fact, looking around a bit, the rates are sometimes slightly better. Even if the interest of the money-changers in geneva would you sell currency at any price, some exchange offices such as Ben S. Shop & Exchange you might say where is your real interest. They know that if you come back pleased with their advice, you will probably among them-and do-work ” word of mouth “.
Another changer, had not had this delicacy, and had sold all his stock of currency ” alien ” to another one of our travellers. On the spot, he found that he had lost 15% compared to what they would have received with the local rates.
It is always necessary to pay attention to this : Buy, Sell, in other words, buying, selling. For exchange offices, it means “be We buy, We sell! ” It is always the currency exchange or bank that speaks. In other words, if you are in Britain, and that the currency exchange ad :
Buy Sell
0.8980 0.8480
This means that they will buy your swiss franc to 0.8980 to give you a pound, but they do make you as CHF 0.8480 when you bring in pounds sterling.
Attention ! In some countries, clever take advantage of the laws that govern them and their profession in Switzerland to reverse the purchase and the sale. You will have the impression a very good deal when in reality, you have a right not to buy, but to sell them. And when they practice this kind of method, which are prohibited in Switzerland and to sleep tourists, it is that their rate of purchase is usually awful. Often, you will then be asked to sign ” a good agreement “. Once you have signed up, impossible to cancel the transaction.
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You can pay by card, but pay attention to transaction fees abroad and exchange fees. Beware of scams!!!
Once you have arrived at your destination, you can choose to pay with your credit card or debit to simplify your life. But this may pose another problem : the cost of transaction abroad. Depending on your bank and the card that you have in your wallet, with your credit card or debit may result in transaction costs abroad up to 3, 4, 6% on each purchase made in another country. If you’re traveling in the United States, the cost of conversion will be less than if you travel in Colombia.
For example, if you spend a total of CHF 3’000.- during your trip using your debit card or credit, and transaction fees abroad of 3 % will be charged on each purchase, you’ll earn around CHF 100.- any additional fees. Most of the fixed costs, if any, with withdrawal. Probably not what you want to spend your money, isn’t it ?
To avoid these sneaky fees transaction abroad, read the small print on the website of your bank or credit card before you travel. You can also call your bank and ask if it charges a transaction fee to the stranger with the type of card, but this is not because they tell you that there are no fees, that the course does not. And this other traveller that his bank had guaranteed that there would be no expense he had a surprise coming back from travel, to find a difference of 6% between the price charged by its bank, and the actual rate of the currency.
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Remove the atm machine
Even if you can get a favorable exchange rate by using an atm, there may be fees that your bank charges and the limits it imposes on daily withdrawals can you hang in your projects. Contact your bank before leaving to inform you about the daily withdrawal limits to the distributors on your account. If your withdrawal limit on a daily basis is low, you can sometimes ask your bank to raise this limit to be able to withdraw what you need in the trip. You’ll also want to know the fees that your bank may charge if you use an atm abroad.
In conclusion
Before planning your next trip abroad, think about how you want to pay for your everyday purchases. Understand the exchange fees, transaction fees abroad, the withdrawal limits at atm, and other aspects of the payment in foreign currencies may help you save a lot of money, a lot of time and get the most out of your trips.
Our tip : opt rather for the offices of swiss foreign exchange as a priority, and seek advice to professionals of the exchange. They will guide you in the organization of your trips to the functions of their knowledge of the countries, and the land.
