As a traveller or tourist, you’ll need to get used to using foreign currencies (or at least using different types of payment). When leaving the country there are many options in terms of what kind of money you can take with you. It’s not recommended to take credit cards. Some better choices include travel cash, bank transfers, or currency cards. They each have their advantages but it’s important to know about the exchange rate tourist before you go anywhere.
No matter where you travel to, you’ll need to exchange your country’s currency for the currency used in that specific country. The reason we have to do this is because all types of currencies are not created equal. But there is a charge for exchange rate tourist. These exchange rates are commonly known as foreign exchange rates or FX rates. Different places will exchange money for you but everyone has their own price. Depending on where you exchange your money, you may be paying skyrocketed prices.
There are many places to exchange your money when travelling. Some examples of places you can go to exchange your money include airports, banks, and kiosks. Keep in mind that these places are expensive and the exchange rate tourist will vary. They often offer a terrible exchange rate because they know they can get it from travelers who need the currency they offer. Likewise, they’ll take a percentage above and beyond the exchange rate. You can often find better exchange rates online and get your exchanges done conveniently and inexpensively. Who doesn’t like convenient and cheap?
You will come across places that offer no commission exchanges or no fee exchanges, but this is just a way to get your business. It costs money to exchange money and there are no exceptions for anyone (not even that company with the pop up who promises to give you everything for free). Everybody knows nothing, or almost nothing, is free. How that works is they hide the fees in the high exchange rate tourist they charge. The best option is to exchange your money beforehand. That way you don’t have to worry about whether you’re overpaying.
With FairFX, you can get some of the best rates around, since we trade directly in the wholesale currency market, and are based completely online, so we save on overheads. Have a look at our rates, and see how much you could save on your next trip!
Tuesday 09 March 2010, 09:49am
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