Planning a holiday is great fun. From where to visit to booking flights and hotels, there are quite a few decisions to be made and one of those is how you’ll manage foreign currency for your trip. With careful planning, you can ensure that you don’t pay more than you have to in exchange fees, and you don’t run out of cash while you are traveling.
Understanding exchange rates
Before you buy your currency, it makes sense to do some research on the current situation with the exchange rate for the currency you are converting to. The exchange rate is the ratio of one currency relative to another and is expressed with the original currency first and the new currency last. For example, if you are traveling to Australia, the exchange rate of US dollars (USD) to Australian dollars (AUD) is written as 1:1.49 which means that for every US dollar you will receive 1.49 AUD. The reverse rate, which you might use at the end of your trip to convert leftover AUD back to USD is 1: 0.67.*
How to exchange currency online
Currency exchange services allow you to buy currency online before you travel. You can create an account and pay using a debit or credit card and your currency will be delivered to your desired location. However, some of these services don’t offer the best exchange rates and have high transaction fees, so it’s worth shopping around to get a good deal. Let’s look at a few of the ways to exchange currency online.
Online via your bank
Many banks offer foreign currency exchange services, but this is often one of the most expensive ways to convert your travel money. For most banks, foreign exchange is a small part of their overall service, so it often isn’t optimized. This leads to higher internal costs for the bank, which are passed on in higher exchange fees and poorer exchange conversion rates. Unless you don’t have time to search for other options, it might be best to avoid using your bank.
Online specialist currency providers
There are many online specialist currency exchange providers as well as online money transfer services such as Western Union. Some providers enable you to buy currency, which is delivered to your home or other preferred location before you travel. Others offer an online reservation service where you collect the currency from their retail outlet before you leave the U.S.
An alternative for a trip abroad is to send a money transfer to yourself for pick up in the location where you are traveling to. Western Union’s online money transfer service offers a reliable, straightforward way to exchange your dollars into more than 130 different currencies in more than 200 countries across the globe. As you are never very far from one of our 42,000+ agent locations, it’s easy to send money in advance using our trusted service.
Western Union’s currency converter gives you real-time information about how much currency you’ll get for your dollars and shows you the exchange rate and associated exchange fees as well, so you can compare us with other options. In addition, you can lock in an exchange rate for a purchase made within 24 hours of when you complete the transaction.
Digital wallets
Using a digital wallet is another way that you can quickly and simply make currency conversions. Digital wallets provide users with the facility to hold funds in a range of different currencies within one mobile app. Converting the currency from one to another is as easy as moving notes from one pocket to another. All the information about exchange rates and currency conversion fees is available from the app making it simple to see how much it is costing you.
Alternatives to currency exchange online
Other options for currency conversion include:
- Visit an exchange kiosk at the airport – This is one of the most expensive ways to exchange currency as rates are often much worse than other providers and transaction fees are higher. Avoid this option, if you can, and plan to get your currency before you leave for the airport.
- Using ATM machines when you arrive in the country you are visiting – This could be a good option depending on the debit card you are using in the machine. There are some fee-free options, but exchange rates may not be as good as buying in advance. Also, be aware that cash withdrawals on credit cards may come with additional charges from your credit card provider, so look into fees before you travel.
- Use a currency exchange outlet in the location you are visiting – These are often located in shopping malls or other retail areas of high footfall. The rates are likely to be better than kiosks at the airport, but you may not always find one nearby.
Reliable currency conversions with Western Union money transfer accounts
Western Union’s online money transfer service is not only useful for currency conversion when you are traveling but makes cross-border payments very straightforward. You can set up an account in less than 10 minutes and have payments completed the same day to many locations. Simply complete a registration form online or in the mobile app, enter your payment card details and recipient info, and you are good to go.
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If you’ve not sent a money transfer online before, any question you have are answered in our Help Center.
* Rates fluctuate daily, so this rate is listed as an example only based on the rates as of the day the article was written.
