We use a currency broker, Tor
Submitted by bunterboy on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 09:14In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We use a currency broker, Tor Fx (Douglas Palmer is our chap) we get a pretty good rate for 3000 euro or so. Give it a google! Also keep an eye on https://www.interchangefx.co.uk/
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Money exchange
Submitted by Fabbriche on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 11:14In reply to We use a currency broker, Tor by bunterboy
Thanks bunterboy We will check both of these out. Fabbriche
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Changing money
Submitted by Fabbriche on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 06:23In reply to We use a currency broker, Tor by bunterboy
Sorry Bunterboy, I meant to do this sooner. We used Torfx and they were great. Let them know that you recommended them and they might give you a cornish pasty, or something! Regards Fabbriche
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3000 euro.....
Submitted by sprostoni on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 12:24In reply to We use a currency broker, Tor by bunterboy
caio bunterboy..............I'm intrigued to know what is a 'pretty good' rate. I'm not unhappy with my regular £2000 payment through Moneycorp. My last payment was July 31st.........£2,000 + £4 fee (total £2,004) left one of my UK accounts. Amount received here in my Italian Bank account = 2,239.20euros. (exchange rate 1.117) If I had upped that to £3,000...........it would have cost me £3,000 = £4 fee (total £3,004), Italian bank account would therefore increase by 3,358.80euros. Is this 'good' or not? IF there is a major difference via other suppliers around that date..........., I'd be happy to hear ! ciao S
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IMHO - Could do better
Submitted by Serrano on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 14:22In reply to 3000 euro..... by sprostoni
My last payment was July 31st.........£2,000 + £4 fee (total £2,004) left one of my UK accounts. Amount received here in my Italian Bank account = 2,239.20euros. (exchange rate 1.117)
I use HiFX, and they send me a daily email showing the previus day's rates. Looking at 31 July their rates were LOW 1.1928 and HIGH 1.2043. Let's be pessimistic and say you bought at exactly the low point of the day, you'd have got 1.1928. Now, that is not the rate they give you, but for larger quantities (£10,000) they usually come in about 1 cent less. So for that sort of amount you'd have got something like 1.18 to 1.19, as opposed to your 1.117 - a big difference in my view. Oh and on these larger sums, no charges whatsoever. I exchanged money on 23 June, when there was LOW 1.2061 and HIGH 1.2192, and I got 1.2018. So, is there any way you can do fewer but bigger transfers?
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Interesting.
Submitted by sprostoni on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 06:23In reply to IMHO - Could do better by Serrano
Thanks Serrano, I like to have a comparative value to work with, I may consider the larger sums and with less frequency. I'm very happy with the Moneycorp service, but hundreds of euros extra would buy quite a bit more wine (!) Cheers, S
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Second hand place
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 12:28In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
As far as I know 'MercatoUsato' was still open, went past the other week.
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Any FX company would be better...
Submitted by stevegwmonkseaton on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 15:33In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
... as long as you are ok with them not being under and FS control. Any of the big FX companies should be ok, hifx , moneycorp. You can fix a rate for regular transfers for up to a year or so and no matter what anyone else says on here, it's far, far better than any bank (even if a little more risk, no more than the likes of northern rock of course...). The rate currently is 120.32, so I reckon you would get around 1.17 at best from any bank , for smaller amounts Nationwide card would probably be the same or better... for an FX company you would get around 1.19.... On a large amount of money it makes a big difference... :)
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Moving money
Submitted by Fabbriche on Thu, 06/17/2010 - 10:10In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thanks to, Bunterboy and Stevegw for your input., I have been on to Tor fx. I hadn't realised it was so easy. And thanks to Tinker - we will look in to MercatoUsato on our next trip.
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I use XE.com - much better
Submitted by Lingpupa on Thu, 06/17/2010 - 13:39In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I use XE.com - much better than the transfers offered by the bank. Takes a day or two to get set up, but worth it IMHO. I'm sure other companies are good too. Alex
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SORRY, I WAS AWAY....
Submitted by Gala Placidia on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 06:44In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Sorry, I was away and I missed your question about Mercatino dell'Usato, which is still open every day, except for Mondays. There is also the Vintage and Antique Fair in Lucca, inside the walls, on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
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To give another comparison -
Submitted by Andiamo on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 15:52In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
To give another comparison - on July 13th we transferred £8500 (approx) ie it was €10,000 that arrived in our Italian bank account via HIFX so no fees and the rate was 1.1737 HIFX always used to say they would refund any bank charges (from receiving end) if the transferred amount was below €12000, not sure if this continues and we never put it to the test
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sprostoni. Average spot
Submitted by Capo Boi on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 17:36In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
sprostoni. Average spot rate on 31 July was 1.20. (little intraday fluctuation). Dealing at 1.5% away from spot (including any charges) which pretty much any foreign exchange broker would have been able to achieve for you would have yielded an effective rate of €1.182. I would go back to Moneycorp if I were you and ask them to justify their rate.
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money transfer
Submitted by Celticfire on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 06:24In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I have used the site: http://www.comparemoneytransfer.co.uk/personal_money_transfers/ which I find useful. I have accounts with smart currency and Interchange, both of which worked well. I also have an account with Crown Currency for fixing rate in advance. all of which gives a variety of options. All three are registered with the FSA.
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Nationwide cash card
Submitted by Cassini on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 11:34In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Just to pass on the bad news. The golden days are over. From the 1st November 2010 cash withdrawals are subject to a £1 charge per transaction and a fee of 2%. It still seems this is the cheapest transaction fee from figures on their website. Here is the link. http://www.nationwide.co.uk/current_account/flexaccount-changes.htm
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