CURRENCY
EXCHANGE FAQ'S
Foreign Exchange
Services and the Best Rate
If you are buying a property in Spain, whether as an investment, holiday
or retirement home, or to live permanently, it is likely that you will
have to pay for your property in EUROS
Q. Where should
I buy currency?
You can obviously walk into any high street bank or bureau de change and
exchange your currency. This may be convenient for your holidays but for
larger amounts of currency it pays to get in touch with a specialist foreign
exchange dealer such as Moneycorp. Specialist brokers will almost always
offer much more competitive rates than high street banks or tourist outlets,
as their overheads are much lower.
Q. What will it cost me?
In general the more money you wish to convert the better the rate. Depending
on your bank or broker, there will be a cost to transfer funds of between
£15 and £40 per transaction. It's a good idea to compare the
total cost of a currency trade as some currency dealers do not charge
a transfer fee but more than make up for this difference in the exchange
rate that they quote.
Q. How do I purchase currency?
Once you have set up your trading facility with Moneycorp, you will be
able to buy currency over the telephone.
Q. Can I hold out for a particular rate?
Yes, you can instruct Moneycorp the moment the rates change to your desired
level. Some brokers, such as Moneycorp, can place an order to purchase
currency outside London trading hours, which will automatically trigger
as soon as your desired rate is achieved. Just make sure you are being
realistic about the rate you are looking for and be prepared to wait!
Q. What if the rate is good now, but I don't need to or can’t
make payment for 3 months?
You can fix an exchange rate for up to two years to make it easier to
plan the cost of your currency payments. This is particularly useful if
you are buying a new property "off plan". With Moneycorp, forward
buying your currency is very straightforward. Simply book an exchange
rate and send your dealer a deposit, usually 10% of the contract value.
The 90% balance of your currency contract is payable when you wish to
have funds transferred overseas.
Q. Will foreign exchange dealers offer advice about market conditions
and rates?
Currency FX dealers are not regulated to give advice but many will provide
you with information about prevailing market trends and currency movements.
However, remember that no one can predict the markets with absolute certainty.
You will have to make your own decision about when to buy currency, but
market knowledge and experience imparted by your currency dealer will
hopefully make that decision easier! Further information can be found
at www.moneycorp.com where you can peruse the latest currency charts as
well as sign up to receive daily or weekly market updates.
Q. If I take out an Overseas Mortgage and have to make payments
from the UK how can I do this?
Moneycorp provides a Regular Payment Plan to assist those clients that
need to make regular overseas payments. Such payments might include overseas
mortgage payments or transfers of UK pension payments or any other regular
transfers.
The Regular Payment Plan allows you to fix an exchange rate on regular
overseas payments for a period of between 6 and 24 months, removing the
worry caused by fluctuations in the exchange rate over that period of
time. Moneycorp will deduct the payments from your account by Direct Debit
each month and transfer your funds directly to the destination account
of your nomination.
Q. How do
I pay for my currency?
After booking an exchange rate with Moneycorp, you will need to transfer
funds to their client account. The easiest and quickest way is by CHAPS
of BACS. Bear in mind that any cheque will have to clear before funds
can be sent. Once we have received your cleared funds, we will transfer
your currency to the account of your choice.
Q. How can I find out current exchange rates?
The Interbank rate can readily be found on the Internet and on Ceefax.
Moneycorp's website has live currency charts and you can also view historical
exchange rates. Although a useful guide to current market levels, do bear
in mind that unless you are trading millions of pounds on a regular basis,
you will not receive the Interbank rate for your own transaction! For
a live quote on the amount you are looking to exchange, it is best to
call Moneycorp.
Q. How long will my funds take to transfer to an overseas bank
account?
Moneycorp use Electronic Funds Transfer and can generally get the funds
into the destination account a good deal quicker than a high street bank.
We have a same-day transfer service to most European countries and North
America, and next day for all other destinations. Bear in mind that there
is sometimes a short delay in the receiving bank before your account is
credited, this can usually be overcome with a "proof of payment"
document that we can provide on request.
CASE STUDIES
Exchange rate volatility will play a key role in your local currency transfer.
It is not uncommon for currencies to fluctuate by as much as 10% over
relatively short periods of time.
For example, a couple
wishing to purchase a property in Europe for 200,000 Euros would
have paid the Sterling equivalent of £134,526.13 in May 2005. Two
months later they would have paid £136,873.80 for the same property.
By securing an exchange rate in advance, they could have made a saving
of £2,000.
In addition, you can
take advantage of the following:
No commission charges
Fast, efficient worldwide transfers
A dedicated dealer to guide you throughout your currency transaction
24 hour market monitoring enabling you to benefit from currency fluctuations
outside of normal banking hours
Regular Payment Plan - smaller regular transfers
Extended office opening hours 7:30am - 10:30pm Monday
to Friday and 10:00am – 4:00pm on Saturday.
TTT Moneycorp Privilege card to purchase currency and
travellers cheques commission free and at preferable rates of exchange
from any of our retail branches in central London, or at Gatwick and Stansted
airports
Peace of mind dealing with a company that has been trading
foreign currencies since 1979, is the only foreign exchange company in
the UK to have been certified to ISO 9000 Quality Assurance and last year
traded in excess of £4 billion in currencies
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