Here in the UK, election campaigning seems to have gone on forever. For every one of us who is engaged and energised, there’s another one of us (or more than one) that’s just not interested in the political wrangling and posturing from candidates and leaders, and are looking forward to the day when the whole thing is over. The chances are you’re reading this after the votes have been counted, but still there’s no end in sight.

But even if you’re not particularly energised by the election, you might be interested to hear how exchange rates could fluctuate in the event of a hung parliament – an effective no result – and how uncertainty around the pound could affect your online business.

With no-one clear on who or what parties will end up running the country in the event of a hung parliament, this economic instability could lead to a period of economic uncertainty. The pound could weaken, and this could have a serious effect on the running of online businesses everywhere, and their bottom lines.

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Of course, the pound may ride the storm and remain stable as it has done over the last few weeks. In this, the most fractious and divisive election campaign in living memory, sterling has been paying no attention to the polls, acting as if everything is plain sailing, and has remained stable.

But it’s possible that the pound will take a hit, and this will affect etailers in a number of ways. When importing goods from overseas, they’ll get less for their money. The goods they’re purchasing to sell on will become more expensive as the pound loses buying power.

Then again, on the flipside, for an online business which has sold its goods abroad and now needs to repatriate their funds to a bank account back home, their money will go further as they’ll be able to get more pounds for their money.

Whatever happens in the aftermath of the election, there’s only one way to be absolutely sure about what you’re going to get – or what you’re going to pay – when you make an international payment, and that’s by fixing an exchange rate in advance. With what’s known as a forward contract, you can take the rate as it stands now for a transfer up to three years down the road. Then, if the rate goes against you in the meantime, you’ll be unaffected, having already agreed that rate. Hedging options then allow you to benefit should the rates go in your favour. A currency exchange company, like World First, can tell you more about this sort of thing.

For now, it’s all eyes on the election, and online businesses would be well advised to keep tabs on how the performance of the pound could affect their profits.