# Buying foreign currency



## Nugbug (15 Oct 2009)

Hi,

I have no idea about buying foreign currency.  Is now a good time to buy sterling as it has weekend so much against the euro?  How safe an investment is this?  I have a lump sum in a deposit account would I be better leaving it there?  Can anybody advise?

Regards,

J.


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## mooney76 (16 Oct 2009)

sterling appears to be almost as weak as its ever been. Some speculate that it will weaken further but there has been. Its as good as its been but could get better/worse, so not a bad time to buy.


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## Chris (16 Oct 2009)

Nugbug said:


> I have no idea about buying foreign currency.



I think this answers your question. Never put money into something you do not understand


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## Boros (4 Nov 2009)

if you would like any information about anything currency related just ask, as i helped set up and work for a independent currency specialist, i have also created a currency exchange advice site, but as i am new to the forum i do not wish to get myself into trouble so if you would like the url pm me

regards

alex

p.s the projections for EUR / GBP are

EUR/GBP forecasts from RBS


+1 month 0.9199
+3 months 0.9380
+6 months 0.9625
+9 months 0.9597
+12 months 0.9515


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## mooney76 (4 Nov 2009)

try xe or currency.ie based in ireland


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## vin1070 (22 Dec 2009)

i buy foreign currency quite a bit for investment and you can make some good money very easily at a very low cost 
first you need to study the currency markets for a bit to get your bearings 
second you need to work out how much you can invest it may be a long time before you can generate a profit ao it may only be a few days it can all change so quickly 
a particular favourite of mine are us dollars and uk sterling 
now to  how i do my buying i go to my bank and purchase a bank draft and make it payable to myself  this means that the draft is useless to anybody but yourself ,usually costs about 3 euro to complete and thats it you do not have to pay comission to the banks for converting your money 
now all you have to do is sit back and keep your eye on the money markets and when the market reaches a point your happy with all you do is deposit the draft back into your account


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## justsally (23 Dec 2009)

vin1070 said:


> i go to my bank and purchase a bank draft and make it payable to myself this means that the draft is useless to anybody but yourself ,usually costs about 3 euro to complete and thats it *you do* *not have to pay comission to the banks for converting your money*
> now all you have to do is sit back and keep your eye on the money markets and when the market reaches a point your happy with all you do is deposit the draft back into your account


 
Sorry if I'm asking what is obvious to others.    If I buy a sterling Draft why exactly do I not have to pay the conversion charge.   How much would you say one would have to invest in such a Draft to make it worthwhile.

Thanks


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## ccraig (23 Dec 2009)

buying a sterling draft as a way to acquire sterling is not a smart option, the rate the bank offer when buying and selling are rubbish. Ask your bank how much sterling you can buy for x amount of euro first, then ask on currency.ie and see who has a better rate


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## roker (23 Dec 2009)

Does a bank draft not have a time limit? can I not just transfer from my euro account to my Sterling account? which I have set up in the TSB?


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## ccraig (24 Dec 2009)

better to do that than getting a draft, watch out though, banks do tend to give rubbish rates when u have both accounts with them


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## Boros (18 Jan 2010)

if you do look to purchase currency i.e Pounds from Euros as per ccraig said .. banks normally give very poor rates of exchange and have additional costs. 

there are a load of currency brokers in Ireland and the UK that can offer more competitive rates of exchange while giving you a a lot better service.

depending on the amounts you can save anywhere from 0.2% - 3.5% in exchange rates with a FX broker

there are a number of good  out there, that talk you through the process.


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## fto (19 Jul 2010)

i know it is an old post and the rate has significantly changed, 

The current direction is dependent if the Euro will continue to benefit from positive news about their sovereign debt concerns


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## jklftdh (12 Oct 2010)

RE online foreign currency providers:

I just wanted to let everyone out there to be VERY careful about using XE to transfer money on line 

They are apparently part of Western Union/Custom House so you would think that they were reliable - however they LOST several thousand dollars of mine recently for over a month and kept stating that it was MY fault

I chased the banks involved in the transfer (as XE were blaming them) for several weeks with many phone calls and emails and then FINALLY discovered that XE had placed my cash into someone else's account (they admitted they were relieved that the other person had not found out before they did!)

I got the money back eventually (and they reimbursed the interest I had lost on my capital) but WHAT a drama...


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## fto (12 Oct 2010)

really, 

at least you got your money back


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## valtom (2 Nov 2010)

check any fx forums, sure they are for trading, nit investing, but you will get a general idea about the trend.


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## Savvy Row (6 Jan 2011)

What about Danish Kroner as an investment?


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## Protocol (6 Jan 2011)

The DKK is pegged to the euro at 7.45 DKK.

http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-dkk.en.html


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