Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with currency

Exchange rate for repaying debts?

Weng — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:41:42 -0800

FinanciallyCluelessFilter: If I borrowed money from a friend in British pounds (when I was in the UK) and am now repaying him in Australian dollars, should I be repaying him at the current exchange rate, or the historical exchange rate at the time of the loan? I'm guessing the latter, but I'm interested to know other people's opinions / if there is a standard practice. I just noticed that the difference between the current exchange rate and that of a few years ago, would make a couple of thousand dollars difference in the total of the debt repayment. (On a related point, should I/he be factoring in the actual fees for currency exchange?)

Best option for regular US to EUR currency exchange?

finitejest — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:23:40 -0800

I'm an American who's just bought a lovely home in the EU. Yay! Now I have to make regular mortgage payments while still living and working in the US. How do I transfer money over to our EU bank account on a regular basis as cheaply as possible?... Some more info: It seems as though the majority of the currency exchange companies are targeted towards Brits. The rest look pretty shady.

We've looked at Currencies Direct, however in the middle of our application process we were informed that because of some new laws they were no longer able to open new contracts with any US citizens not based in the same state (GA) as their only US office.

Now we're out of ideas. We've even looked to see if we could somehow wrangle a PayPal account into euros and do exchanges through there.

Currently banking with BOA and doing wire transfers, but they charge hefty fees on top of the normal exchange rate.

So... halp please! Any suggestions from personal experience?

Most cost-effective way of transfering money from UK to US

moiraine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:30:39 -0800

Need to transfer modest amounts of money from UK to a US bank account every 2-3 months. What would be the most cost-effective way to do so? I am working in the UK. I need to pay off study loans in the US, with the first loan installment due in a couple of months. I intend/ need to transfer between anywhere between $500 to $2000 to my US bank account regularly, say every 2-3 months.

The most cost-effective way that I know of would be to take out the money in the UK, change at the Post Office (with 0% commission rates), and physically the money to the US, and place it in my bank account there. This, of course, assumes my plane ticket is paid for and I am not robbed (I have done this before, and I was fine, but I don't want to do a regular basis).

Wire transfer appears to be the second cheapest method, and I am happy to pay the wire transfer fees (~20 pounds, depending on the bank). However, I understand that the bank have non-competitive exchange rates, which are hidden costs of the transfer (~50 pounds will be 'lost' in the exchange).

I considered making regular transfers from my Paypal UK to my Paypal US account. This would be extremely convenient, but there are hefty commissions -- about 5%, and I think more is taken off from the receiving end (?)

Anyway, I was wondering whether people had any personal experience with wire transfer and non-competitive fees. Any additional ideas are also appreciated. Would appreciate if there were no comments like, "But if you just paid a little more, you could save yourself the hassle!" as I am willing go through a fair amount of hassle just to pay less fees.

I have family in the US who are probably willing to cash in a check for me every month, if this makes any difference.

Protection in a weakening economy

CollectiveMind — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:16:04 -0800

Our deficit and our debt are at record levels, even compared to WWII. Then, the debt was financed internally, not by other countries, so the interest we could pay was lower and the money was recycled in the U.S. Now, the debt and deficit are mostly financed by other countries through bond offerings and the like. And as they grow, those debtor countries will want higher interest rates on repayments, which drains money out of the U.S. Does anyone know of, or can anyone suggest a position to take in-case our national financial fortunes deteriorate slowly? A crash, understandably, wouldn't offer much safety for anyone except the very rich. And I'd expect social unrest would threaten even them at that point. But in general and for the average investor, are there any suggestions for investment or money/asset movement strategies that can protect one in an economy with (a) increasing foreign debt payments in the short term, (b) potential significant interest rate increases in the medium term and (c) lessened national economic influence on the international currency markets in the long term? I just can't seem to find any financial wonk willing to speak plainly on this.

You could sail this puppy away TODAY, for just 7300 pieces of eight. How does that sound to you?

aiko — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:32:09 -0800

What could one piece of eight have purchased in Boston in 1777?

Where to get the best exchange rate to buy a big USD bank draft in Toronto?

winston — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:05:47 -0800

How do I get the best exchange rate when I have Canadian dollars in hand and want to make a large payment in US dollars? I'm in Toronto and the recipient is not flexible with regards to payment methods so I need to end up with a certified cheque or bank draft to send. The money is currently in a President's Choice account and they can get me a USD draft but their premium on the exchange rate seems to be 2.5%. Currency exchange businesses usually advertise better rates than that but is there someplace I can walk into with a draft in CAD and walk out of with a draft in USD? Or is there some other option? I'll only need to do this once.

Currency conversion UK or Thailand

SRMorris — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:40:07 -0800

Is it better to convert my money here in England or out there in Thailand? Very simple question really but I'm not sure whether it would be best to change my hard-earned money here in England or over there in Thailand. I know not to convert money at the airport as they use higher exchange rates to make their money but any advice/tips I can be given would be smashing!

What is the cheapest way to send $4k USD from Greece to US?

lupefiasco — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:36:44 -0800

What is the cheapest way to send $4k USD from Greece to US? I left Greece today and accidentally left behind $4k USD (I know, quite foolish of me) in a friend's safe. The friend can wire the money to my bank account, but I am worried that the Greek bank will require the funds to first be converted to Euros, and then converted back to USD over the wire, thus resulting in a double conversion charge. Is there any way to avoid this? I'm looking for the cheapest way to send $4k USD from Greece to US.

Current currencies

Soliloquy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:56:50 -0800

Was there a recent book comparing scrip and local currencies to e-cash/online points systems, or am I imagining it? I could have sworn I heard about a book that compared systems of scrip to website based points systems like Linden Dollars, but I'm having trouble finding such a book. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Best currency to take for exchange in Cuba?

inflatablekiwi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:47:46 -0800

Best currency to take for exchange in Cuba (Euro v Canadian v Sterling)? I'm going with a small group to Cuba tomorrow for a long weekend (yay!). We know to totally avoid taking US dollars, but wanted any opinions on the best alternative currency to take.

When exchanging for Cuban Convertibles we've heard that Canadian Dollars are typically getting a much better rate of exchange over Euros or Sterling, but wanted any guidance from recent visitors. I've seen a number of web sites listing exchange rates, but am guessing that its slightly more arbitrary once you land.

Is there a website that can chart historical exchange rates of the last 20 years , or more?

cluelessguru — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:55:09 -0800

Is there a website that can chart historical exchange rates of any 2 currencies in the last 20 years , or more? So far, the popular sites I have found do not go back past 10 years.

I would like to look at a chart of more than 10 years' history between any two currencies.

The only post I can find in metafilter is

http://ask.metafilter.com/25460/Exchange-Rate-Website

But it is not helpful.

I will settle for a website that only charts major currencies going back at least 10 years or more.

Preferably with charts, not just tables.

Please enlighten.

Thanks a million.

What was a million francs worth in 1953?

b1tr0t — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:01:04 -0800

Where can I find old historical exchange rates? Right now I'm looking for the crosses between British Pounds, US Dollars and French Francs in the mid-1950s. Monthly or yearly exchange rates would be fine. Bonus points if you can find currency data that goes back more than 50 years.

I'm reading Casino Royale (which is surprisingly good, by the way) and trying to get a handle on the cash figures being thrown around.

Canadian seeking savings account at a US bank

Penelope — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:55:05 -0800

Canadian who wants to open a high-interest savings account at a US bank, in USD - which bank? As the USD is relatively cheap to a Canadian right now, I'm interested in opening a USD savings account with about 5K, to cash out when the USD rises against the CAD again. Some Cdn banks offer them, but pay no interest and some don't even insure your USD holdings (they do the CAD). From what I've read, I have to physically go to the States and open an account. Does anyone know of a bank where I can just open an account online or by phone? BTW, I have no US mailing address.

Best way to transfer Chinese RMB (earned in China) to a US account as USD

duoshao — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:53:34 -0800

I'm a US citizen, and have lived in Beijing for just over a year. Right now I'm interviewing for jobs here. My salary will be paid in RMB, but I need to convert/transfer a portion of my monthly salary into USD in a US bank account as I still have some expenses in the USA and I would also like to save a bit of money for when I go back. So, I'm looking for advice from someone who has successfully done this: is it possible? what's involved? Whatever job I ultimately accept will be "legit" -- e.g. I'll have a legal work permit, etc, so I'll be able to prove that I paid taxes on the income, etc.

As nice as it would be, I'm not going to be setup with a sweet expat package, so any "wealth management" type solutions set-up for wealthy foreigners will likely not apply to me.

I've Googled around a bit, and I spoke with HSBC on the phone. It sounds like they can do it. Their "standard" account has a minimum balance of 100,000 RMB which is too much, but if I have to I can eat the 150RMB monthly below-balance fee. But if there's one thing I've learned from being in China is that there's always some wrinkle (or 10) that will make things much more complicated than they seem.

So I'm hoping that someone here has done this, or better yet is currently doing it and can let me in on some of the twists and turns.

Tipping etiquette in Cancun?

cider — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:12:37 -0800

I'm headed to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun this weekend, and I was wondering about the tipping etiquette. Though officially, tips are included in the overall cost, I've read online that it's wise to tip anyway. Does anyone have any experience with this? What sort of tip would be appropriate to a bartender (per drink), for example? Should I also be tipping the housekeeper? Should I be tipping in dollars or pesos? If pesos, will I be able to get them out of a bank machine (my regular method for exchanging cash) or should I exchange at the airport?

(Bonus question -- should I be worried about drinking water/ice while I'm there? I'm staying at Catalonia Riviera Maya, if that makes a difference.)

Thanks a lot for all your help! I'm looking forward to a relaxing vacation, and your answers will help me to relax even more!

Do I open a USD bank account or a CAD one?

Imperfect — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:45:22 -0800

I'm opening a new sole proprietorship in Canada that will be dealing with Americans and American companies. Should I open a USD bank account, or a Canadian one? Theoretically, the answer is easy: USD. But, so far as I can consider, my actual transactions won't be to or from that account. My income will be through a merchant account (which WILL be in USD) and my expenses will be paid via credit card (personal, CAD card to start with, business USD card in time).

I'm really new to this and I can't even really think of many pros or cons for either choice. I guess having a CAD account will make taxes easier? Maybe? Help!

How do I move dollars in a UK Paypal account to a US bank account?

caek — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:51:12 -0800

I have some US dollars in my UK Paypal account. I would like to move these to a US bank account in order to pay for a service. I can think of two ways of doing this. Are my numbers correct? Am I missing something? What's the best (read: cheapest/quickest) way of doing this? I would like to pay a colleague in the US his share of some money that's sitting in the US Dollars section of my UK Paypal account. For the sake of argument, let's call this amount USD 10,000. I can see two ways of doing this:

1. Transfer the USD from my UK Paypal account to his US Paypal account. He can then withdraw it into his US bank account.

2. Withdraw the USD into my UK bank account and then wire it to his US bank account.

My understanding of the fees involved is a little sketchy, and neither the banks nor Paypal make it very easy to figure out. Here's what I think the two methods involve:

1. It seems to me that the fee to send money from my UK Paypal account is nothing. This is based on the UK fees page. I think there is a fee, however, to receive a cross-border payment in a US Paypal business account. This is between 2.9% and 3.9% + 30c, depending on their previous month's income. This is based on my reading of the US fees, especially Receiving payments from buyers outside the United States. But it seems that it is completely free to receive domestic payments in the US if you have a personal account.

2. I would transfer the money from dollars to pounds within my UK Paypal (commission over wholesale exchange rates is 2.5%) and withdraw it into my bank account (no charge). I would then wire it using the terms offered by Barclay's Bank (£20/35 fee depending on urgency + 2.5% currency commission + ominous sounding "Overseas delivery", which "cover the costs and charges for delivering the payment in the destination country. They may be a flat fee or a percentage fee".)

The times involved are a little easier:

1. Paypal—Paypal is instant, and then it takes about 3 days to transfer money from a US Paypal to a US bank account.

2. Paypal—UK bank account is 3-5 days, and then it takes 1-5 days for the wire transaction.

So, my question is, have I got this straight? Am I missing an option? Is my description of the fees involved accurate (especially those for method 1)? Is the only way to be sure to send a small test amount and see what happens to it on the way? Which method do I use?!

Online currency exchange?

krisptoria — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:57:55 -0800

Anyone here have experience ordering foreign currency online? I know I'm over-preparing for my four day trip to Montreal, but I'd really like to have some CAD in hand when I get there. I'm sorta too lazy to find a bank around here that will do it for me...

$USD or local currency for international sales

bystander — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:55:24 -0800

Currency for international transactions. Should I offer a pay-for-download in $US only or lots of currencies? I am thinking about selling an item for electronic delivery. Ideally, I would sell it for $USD10 but I suspect that I would get more sales if it is listed as EURO10, 6GBP, 1000YEN, 14AUD etc. so potential customers can see what the price is in the currency they are most familiar. This leads to either daily updating or/and arbitrage as rates change. The third option is the ebay way, where an approximate value in local currency is displayed next to the $USD: $US10 ($AUD14.00).
Non-US mefites, and USians who have an opinion, what would be best.

How to hedge personal finances against currency exchange (Euro/AuD) upheavals?

kandinski — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:04:05 -0800

Please help me calculate the risks and likelyhoods of the Euro rising or falling against the Australian Dollar in the next twelve months. I live in Australia, but derive most of my income from my Spanish clients, so I get paid in euros. In the past year this has meant that my income has grown by almost 25% without me doing anything. Yeah, I can't believe my luck either. In fact the idiot who paid me 10k euros a year late has ended up doing me a favour. But this is random blind luck, and one doesn't feel comfortable having to trust on luck, hence this question.

We are having a baby and we plan to go visit the Spanish family in the next 12 months, and I travel there for work now and then, so it also makes sense to keep some money in Spain. But we don't know when, or how much to keep or transfer. Obviously getting all our money here now is not very smart if the AuD is going to drop further. But neither is keeping it in Europe if the AuD is going to rise.

Does any mefite have a clue of what is the optimal strategy for benefiting from the possible currency ups and downs, or at least not suffering from them? Purely theoretical talk just for the purpose of education also appreciated.

Where is my money stored?

All.star — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:16:50 -0800

Is most money just numbers on a computer screen? Or do banks actually have cash in their vaults to back up the "digital" money. I ask because I never see the actual paper or coin money I have - everything is direct deposited and then I use a debit card. I wonder if there is actual paper and coin money enough to match all the money we have that we never physically see or touch.

Queenback to Greenback

awenner — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:14:10 -0800

Who will tell me when the Canadian dollar rises again? As a Canadian student going to school in the US, I make regular tuition payments in USD. My payments are spread over six-week increments, which means that I can to schedule my purchases of US dollars in order to get the best rate. I'd like to avoid constantly staying glued to Google Finance, but neither Google nor Yahoo allow you to add currency to your portfolios. Is there a service that will just email me when the Canadian dollar hits USD$0.84, for example?

This question could apply to anything traded, I suppose.

oh my should I put my money in a mattress?

borkingchikapa — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:29:53 -0800

I'm moving overseas from the US in less than a year, and my stellar powers of observation tell me that there's a good chance the dollar is going to eat shit before then. My savings are <$10,000, what can I do with them to ensure that I'm not cursing the economy when I leave? Is putting it in foreign currency enough, or is there a better option? How do I do that? I know we're probably not talking about anything catastrophic here (though maybe!), but I've had the dollar devalue on me before and it sucks even when it's a fraction of a percent. I have everything in a money market account now, which I like because I'm earning some interest but all of my money is still easily accessible. I'm not looking for some long-term investment solution, I just want to make sure I have roughly the same amount of money I put in there at the end of next year.

I want to buy some money

lockedroomguy — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:44:27 -0800

Where can I get five crisp Canadian $5 bills in London, England? I know the answer might be "a bank" but does anyone know a specific location?

$ to £ Currency Exchange For Basic Trip

c0nsumer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:23:03 -0800

I'm taking a standard week-ish trip to the UK soon and I'm (obviously) going to need some cash for traveling. What's the best way to get US Dollars converted into British Pounds? There are a few currency conversion options available to me:

- Generic currency exchange at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW). Convenient, but likely has fees and a poor rate.
- Travelex exchange at Gatwick. Probably has a better rate than at DTW, but likely won't be very good. Also, unknown fees (I can't find a schedule online).
- Grab cash from an ATM in the UK. Likely has a good exchange rate, but incurs a 3% fee from the bank (Fifth Third).

In the past I've just converted a few hundred dollars to pounds sterling at Travelex, but I'm not sure if this is the best plan. I had no British currency until I was actually in the airport, but the rate was decent and I was informed that I'd converted enough that buy-back would happen at the same rate, should I need it. Cash beyond this was just withdrawn from ATMs.

Does this sound like the best plan, or is there something else which you would suggest that I try?

I would use a credit card more often there, but all of my cards lack the chips which seem to be required these days. I've been told that many locations no longer have the ability to swipe magstripe cards.