About Online Currency Conversion and Currency Converters

There are many options on the web for currency conversion. Here are some available currency converters for reference.

Search Engines e.g. Google

Most search engines comes with its own currency converters, however, you will need to buffer 10% discrepancy or shortfall should you exchange money from money changer in your country. The reason being whatever it is reported on search engines are real-time figures, and normally there is lapse period between reported figures online and the money changer. The money changer would have gotten the currency at much earlier timing in different rate than reported.

Yahoo! Finance provides currency converter. It is easily accessible as you can see from Yahoo! Finance homepage. It is user friendly as it allows you to invert currency as and when needed and it provides a chart of currency fluctuations over a period of time for reference.

MSN Money has currency converter under Investing. However, you need to click on several pages before you get to currency converter tool. You would need to select Money, followed by Investing and finally Currency rate to access currency converter page. The quotes are delayed for 60 minutes. It is not real-time.

Banking Institutions

All banks provide online currency rates for your own conversion. It is a hassle as you will need to do your own calculations based on the amount that you need. However, it is the most accurate, especially if you want to do online fund transfers such as telegraphic transfer or inter-banks debit.

The rates reported at all bank websites are the rates that you will be buying or paying, excluding administrative fees. One disadvantage is not all currencies found in the world is available in bank websites. Only major trading currencies such as United States dollars, Euro, British Pounds, your home currency, and some other commonly traded currencies will be available.

XE-Universal Currency Converter

This is the commonly used currency converter to obtain exchange rate or to convert currencies that are unavailable in bank websites by many corporate companies and multi-national companies based on my working experiences. This is the most sought for currency converter for exchange rates and most relied for in reporting your expenses in local currency. The difference is normally 3-5% between reported and actual spent. i.e. when you receive your monthly credit bill for your overseas expenditures.

Tips on Exchanging US Currency for Foreign Currency

When you are visiting another country for business or for pleasure, you will likely need to obtain some of the local currency.

There are a huge range of places from which you can exchange foreign currency. These include banks, travel agents, foreign exchange businesses and airport kiosks. All of these providers offer similar services and so the deciding factors for which to use will depend on convenience, risk and the charges they make.

Currency fluctuation is not likely to be a major consideration for most short stay visits. It is unlikely that currency fluctuations will be large over a relatively short period of time. Nevertheless, when this does occur, its affects can be quite considerable. There are three main ways in which currency conversion rates might fluctuate:

1. There may be a steady and gradual decrease in the value of the foreign currency against that of the US dollar. This might be because the US is doing well and its currency is appreciating. It could also be that the currency of the country you are visiting is decreasing because of economic difficulties. Maybe a combination of both.

Whatever the reason, if the currency is effectively becoming cheaper to buy on a day by day basis, then you are likely to benefit from buying your currency as late as possible. This would mean buying the currency in the country you are visiting, unless charges negate any currency fluctuation gains.

2. There may be a steady and gradual increase in the value of the foreign currency against that of the US dollar. This might be because the US is economically challenged and its currency is depreciating. It could also be that the currency of the country you are visiting is increasing because of good economic performance. Maybe a combination of both.

Whatever the reason, if the currency is effectively becoming more expensive to buy on a day by day basis, then you are likely to benefit from buying your currency as early as possible. This would mean buying the currency in America before you travel.

3. It is possible that, if you are visiting a country that is economically unstable, such as Zimbabwe in recent times, there could be a sharp devaluation of that country's currency. In this case, it would be much better to leave buying your currency to as late as possible.

Having decided whether to buy in the States or the country you are visiting, you then need to decide from whom to purchase the currency. Where to exchange will depend on the evaluation of a number of factors including:

1. The best deal, taking account of exchange rates offered by the provider and any other charges that they levy. It is usual for there to be a slight difference between providers in the rate at which they sell the currency. This helps to cover their administrative charges. Some will levy a minimum fee, particularly if you are exchanging only a little amount of currency.

2. Whether or not there is free exchange of monies back into US currency. If you wish to buy currency before you leave America, there is the possibility that you buy more currency than you will need. In that case you will want to change the money back on your return. Look for a provider who will offer to exchange left over foreign currency to dollars at no charge. There are some about.

3. availability of other services with a discount if currency purchased at the same time (or better exchange rates if buying travel insurance for example). There are a range of offers that might be made, and it is worth considering these packages as some significant savings can be made.

For sheer convenience and the ability to take just the amount of money you need, it is often useful to simply draw funds direct from your bank account from local ATM machines. This will provide you with the amount of foreign currency you need, as you need it.

It is unlikely that you will be left with any significant amount of foreign currency to change back if you use this method. However, remember that this is not often the best rate that you could get.