Advantages of using a foreign exchange provider

Published on October 19, 2010 by RMarday · No Comments

With continued economic instability in the market place and the collapse of well-known and smaller financial firms (Lehman Brothers and most recently – Crown Currency Exchange), it is understandable that many people are reluctant to move away from traditional methods (i.e their local banks) for making international payments.

It is a common misconception that using your local bank is the safest and most efficient way to transfer your monies abroad and one should always explore and research the various options available.

Major banks are in place to service the immediate needs of a client i.e Current accounts, credit facilities and savings. Foreign exchange is merely an additional service on offer to the client and like most add-on services, these come at a price. Not only will you be subject to an unfavourable exchange rate but you will more than likely receive charges on every foreign transaction that you make through your bank.

Using a specialist foreign exchange provider will give you access to traders whose sole focus is transferring your money from one currency / country to another. These specialists are well informed in terms of the market movements for the particular currencies you are looking at, and will be able to offer preferential rates of exchange and free of charge transactions on amounts over £5,000.

Well established foreign exchange specialists are FSA regulated for payment services and hold client monies in partnering bank ‘client accounts’ ensuring that your funds are secure. It is important to ensure that the foreign exchange company that you use, has both these elements in place, and that your in order to ensure that your funds are held and transferred safely

The benefits don’t just stop there. Many of the established foreign exchange providers make the process of transferring money abroad a great deal simpler removing the hassle and worry whilst ensuring that the required funds will arrive in time into the destination account. In addition to this, many firms will watch the rate on your behalf and notify you when it is moving in the direction of your required rate, allowing you to budget and maximise the value of your base currency. There are a number of services offered by foreign exchange providers to suite your individual requirements and budget, assisting you to manage your overseas payments effectively.