Get The Best Money Exchange Rates

When you're going abroad on holiday you'll need to exchange your money for the relevant foreign currency. With so many facilities and businesses offering financial exchange services, it can be hard to know how to get the best money exchange rates. Primarily, the two key factors to consider are the current exchange rates being offered and the fees that are applied for the service.

If you have the opportunity to do your research, you'll find that the classic last-minute dash to the airport exchange bureau is unlikely to provide you with the best exchange rates for your holiday dollars. The airport bureaus have a captive market and typically offer poor foreign currency exchange rates and add commission fees to them. The same usually applies to high street banks and building societies - hiking up their profits but leaving you with a poor return on your exchange. Sometimes your bank may have special offers for existing customers, so can be worth checking with, but in general, only use these services if you don't have any other option.

High-street foreign currency exchangers can offer good exchange rates as they are in competition with similar businesses and want to attract customers with competitive rates. Sometimes exchanges are offered 'commission free', which can seem like a good money saver at first, but it's likely that you will be offered a poor exchange rate. This will leave you with a poorer return on your exchange than a service with a one-off commission charge and a better conversion rate.

Be wary of flat fees, minimum charges and handling fees too. Minimum charges make it less efficient to change small amounts of money, but flat fees can offer good value if you are changing larger sums. In general, the more money you exchange, the better the rate you'll get with lower fees. Shop around, always asking "what amount will I get, after all charges, for this amount of dollars?", and then you can compare the real values and go for the best one. Remember though, exchange rates change rapidly, so if you're comparing several companies do it all at the same time.

If, individually or for business, regularly or one-off, you need to transfer larger sums of money overseas, consider using a specialist foreign exchange broker. They constantly deal with such large volumes of money that they are able to offer excellent exchange rates and still turn a profit. Most brokers offer exchange rates and fees on a sliding scale - the more money you convert, the better value the deal. While banks often offer sub-optimal money exchange rates, they will also charge you to make overseas payments. Certain foreign exchange brokers will cover these banking fees for you, so the amount you transfer is the amount that ends up in the nominated destination bank account.

The basics when choosing a broker remain the same: look for the best exchange rates and fees, but also investigate the different services specialist brokers offer, such as "forward contracts", where exchange rates can be fixed in advance to nullify changes in the volatile foreign exchange markets, and online tracking of transfers. Shop around and search online for the best rates and fees and the services that will be of most use to you.