I have recently got a cheque in australian dollars and I live in Ireland, can anyone give me advice on this. Is it just a matter of converting it to euro or would it be worth putting into american dollars and if so can you open one of these accounts in Ireland. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi TomC, lucky for you the Aussie Peso is at its strongest level against the Euro ever.
Its at 1.44 right now, average level over the last 10 years is 1.70 to 1.80.
Unless you're planning to go over there and spending it I'd recommend converting it to Euro.
20k is too small an amount to bother with currency speculation. Whatever you do dont convert it to US Dollars - the worst currency in the world.
Don't accept the over the counter FX exchange rate at the bank. Ask for the interbank rate. Look at www.xe.com for the interbank rate. Shop around and see the best exchange rate you can get. I have transferred Euro out to Australia before through AIB and you get a good exchange rate.
Also be prepared for a long wait for the cheque to clear when you cash it (30 days)
if you lodge an aus dollar cheque to your bank account, the bank will take weeks to lodge and wont give you a rate more than likely. The rate you get will be rubbish.
You can
a. lodge and fingers crossed on when and how much you get
b. open an aud account with a bank and then try and get a rate but again
the bank know you have the account with them so need to get their rate
c. try transfermate.com , theyre in dublin and can probably hold a rate for
you and clear the cheque.
Cheques need to be cleared so id say you're snookered on how long but you can work on the how much by looking for a rate