If you’re sending money to loved ones overseas these holidays, or you’re swapping sandcastles on the beach for snowmen in Central Park, you’ll naturally want to get the most out of your currency conversion.
How do you do that, however, without a chunk of it being swallowed up in hidden fees and bad exchange rates?
We’ve put together some handy tips to help you get the most out of your transfer these holidays:
1. Using your bank for overseas currency transfers
Although this may be your first port of call, using your bank to send money internationally is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when transferring money overseas.
Banks are notorious for charging unnecessary fees and offering customers bad exchange rates –which results in less of your transfer reaching its destination.
For example, with a $10,000 transaction to US dollars, banks could add a margin of up to 5 per cent on the Interbank Rate, in addition to their transaction fee – overcharging customers up to $400 more than specialist money transfer providers, like WorldFirst.
2. Do your research on currency transfer providers
Now you know better than to use your bank for currency transfers, it’s time to find a specialist provider who will give you the most bang for your buck. So what qualities should you look out for?
- A provider who can offer better exchange rates than the banks
- A dedicated account manager to facilitate your currency transfers
- Fast and secure transfers
- Award-winning customer service
- Ability to made a transfer online 24/7
- Global presence in multiple locations
3. Know your options when sending money overseas
In many instances, you may want to send funds straight away.
In that case, taking out a Spot Contract – a rate based on the live exchange rate on the day – will allow you to make a payment instantly. With WorldFirst, here is even a best rate guarantee, to ensure customers get the biggest bang for their buck.
If you’re not ready to send money just yet, but want to lock in today’s exchange rate, you can secure a Forward Contract. A Forward Contract allows you to ‘fix’ an exchange rate for up to two years – even if it fluctuates significantly.
4. Understand currency convertors
Currency convertors typically show the Interbank Rate, rather than what you’d actually receive when you transfer your money.
The Interbank Rate is the rate that banks use when they transfer currencies between each other and this rate changes by the second.
When a bank publishes their buy/sell rate for a currency pair, a margin of up to 5 percent is usually added to the Interbank Rate. WorldFirst allow you to transfer your money overseas at a much lower margin than the big banks and in turn, customers receive exchange rates up to seven time cheaper than the big four.
Check out WorldFirst’s exchange rate comparison tool and see exactly how much you’ll save on your international transfer.
To find out more about getting the most of your overseas transfer, speak to a WorldFirst currency specialist today on 1 800 835 506 or visit the website worldfirst.com.
Disclaimer: These comments are the views and opinions of the author and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Whilst information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Please consider FX derivatives are high risk, provide volatile returns and do not guarantee profits. We have no commercial affiliation with any organisation or commercial interest regarding the venues mentioned in this article. The information is only provided as gathered and should be verified before, using your own judgement.
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