Exchange rate movements

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephen Harding on February 9, 2010 at 9:25am

Hello Helen
We face this problem every year as all our contracts are in Euros. I deal with two foreign exchange companies - AFEX and Baydon Hill. Both offer much better exchange rates than banks and paying suppliers is really easy. Baydon Hill offer an online facility if you prefer not to have a telephone contact.

I hope that this helps
Stephen

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Helen Mavin on February 9, 2010 at 2:00pm

Hi Stephen,

Many thanks for the contact names. I actually spoke this morning to currencies direct and they talked me through forward contracts which I think will be useful. The down side however is that you are committed to buy a currency at a future date and have to pay a 10% deposit to lock in, and a client can always cancel!

I assume you do something similar?

Kind regards

Helen

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dee Edwards on February 9, 2010 at 10:06pm

There are different ways to hedge but there will be some sort of charge involved, lock ins etc so you'll have to work out what sorts of volumes you use and whether it makes sense for you.
This company is quite innovative and has useful information on its site.
http://www.worldfirst.com/

Your bank will also have hedging options of course. You could also do some informal hedging yourself, e.g. you could open a dollar account with your bank and euros and switch money between the accounts when rates are favourable and pay your suppliers directly from them.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Helen Mavin on February 10, 2010 at 4:49pm

Thanks Dee,

I'll have a look at their website.

Having my own dollar account might also be a good idea actually, I hadn't thought of that.

Regards,

Helen

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will Plummer on February 10, 2010 at 3:40pm

Best people I have found are www.transglobalpayments.com - I can give you an intro if you like and they reckon they save about 3-4% on exchange rates when doing foreign transfers. It is a simple online system and they also offer forwarding services which would be ideal for what you are looking for.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Helen Mavin on February 10, 2010 at 4:53pm

Hi Will,

Many thanks for that - I'll look at transglobal and have a word with them. I've got an account with Currencies Direct but its always useful to know other options and compare services, and more importantly pricing.

As Dee suggested, I might also consider having a dollar account.

Regards,
Helen

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Neil Lapping on February 10, 2010 at 4:56pm

Yes, a very difficult problem and fraought with potentional for losing lots of money.

Was looking at this recently and found this article very useful - http://www.travolution.co.uk/articles/2009/01/20/2115/understanding...

Hope it helps
Neil

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ben Colclough on February 11, 2010 at 8:53am

We've just signed up for Amex Forex which probably offers a similar service to the others mentioned above. They have a deal on at the moment where all transactions in the next 6 months cost just £1, after that they rise to £10per transaction - I've not done much shopping round to see if the £10 per transaction is competitive.
They do also offer the ability to buy a forward for the foreign currency when the customer books (10% deposit required).

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Harald Lux on February 11, 2010 at 10:58am

http://www.travelexbusiness.com/uk/payment-solutions/for-travel-cli...

former Ruesch International

could be added to the list

(at the moment: EUR 5 flat for payments in local currency and no deposit for forwards within 45 days)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will Plummer on February 11, 2010 at 11:05am

FYI Transglobal is £7 per transaction all the time and their rates in my experience are better than most. If anyone wants their contact details let me know.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ralph Foulds on February 11, 2010 at 12:15pm

We're also using Baydonhill, and find them pretty good. Charges are £4 per transaction, which is considerably less than the £10 Amex fee you mention Ben. Certainly less than the £30+ that Nat West were charging us! You can also book forward contracts with them as well.
We did get all set up with Travelex, through the TTA, only for them to cancel that agreement and start up with Amex. So, if you are TTA members, you can use the Amex system to pay suppliers out of your trust account, which speeds things up a little.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gary Kniveton on February 24, 2010 at 12:40pm

Hi Sorry to hear Travelex cancelled drop me a line and I will take a look at your details. I have been with Travelex for 10 years and know how competitive we can be.
gary.kniveton@travelex.com

▶ Reply to This