Hi, I have bought some UK shares lately in sterling. However when I purchase them it always seems the stockbrokers exchange rate is 2% lower than that on websites such as xe.com at the time of buying. Is this normal?
Hi, I have bought some UK shares lately in sterling. However when I purchase them it always seems the stockbrokers exchange rate is 2% lower than that on websites such as xe.com at the time of buying. Is this normal?
Absolutely - it's a margin that all providers of foreign exchange take. It can vary between 0.001% (large corporate transaction with a Bank) and as high as 10% (some 24hour tourist booths). Paypal for example take approx 3-4% margin so you are better off paying with your credit card and taking your bank's exchange rate on your credit card bill.
You'll get a better rate from currency.ie but why dont you just call your broker and currency.ie to find out. Issue with your broker is that they probably wont give you a rate until your funds have landed with them and then its too late