The Euro

[sunman]

we talk about this in The Coffee Shop but maybe it should be something we chat about with members & visitors alike?

anyway, the £ is at a 3 month high against the €, over 1.41 on the spot market; anytime it pops over 1.40 I buy a bit for my Mungo's beer vouchers.

a bit of history for folks who have just started visiting or just pop to the Post Office before they travel,

the £/€ hovered around 1.45 for years when it started, we got used to it; then it bombed to below 1.10 in 2007/2008 & hurt residents reliant on UK income & pensions, & tourists got 25% less for their money money;

it started to rally from 1.15 2 years ago & steadily rose; we've been over 1.30 since the start of this year & a couple of times it's climbed over 1.40, & here we are again.

people are betting on the BofE raising interest rates, hence the rise, in my opinion it's a good time to start buying next years holiday money

[djprescott]

Bank of England has just announced this morning that they expect interest rates to stay on hold till 2017.

[sunman]

so, with Brexit, QE and global interest rates all having been a factor since we last looked at this topic the £ has fallen about 23% from just over 1.40 to 1.14 against our much needed Restaurant Hill spending vouchers, it's time to revisit this subject.

this low exchange rate is painful for both residents relying on pension income and holiday makers looking to feed their families in O' Chefe Antonio alike

I advise regular visitors to hold both £'s and €'s if they can and spend whichever is relatively higher. If folk just save up to buy €'s when they go on holiday there's little they can do but suck up the exchange rate of the day.

purely on a momentum basis it's time to start swimming against the tide & to start buying £'s, hard brexit is already factored in; Britain has a strong economy, Trump's promising to put us on top his trade list, and even if he doesn't, can we be any worse off than the bottom of Obama's? companies and pledging loyalty to our shores and announcing expansion programmes here, and Europe has a raft of important elections coming up which may well exacerbate the cracks in the EU system.

[smudger]

local money exchange offering €1.12, best in town, others offering at best €1.1044.
pure bollocks.

[sunman]

local money exchange offering €1.12, best in town, others offering at best €1.1044.
pure bollocks.

£ up from 1.14 to 1.16 on the spot market today, there's plenty of online transfer agents who deal at spot rates, don't go to these thieves in booths,
alternative is to put £ debit cards in the ATM, you get decent bank rates

[widge]

Bank of America has advised clients to prepare for a major rebound in sterling as markets become inured to each breathless twist in the Brexit saga, and focus instead on the underlying resilience of the UK economy.

The bank’s currency team said there may be one last leg down for the pound after Article 50 is triggered in March, probably hitting a three-decade low of $1.15 against the dollar before charging back up in V-shaped recovery later this year.

“The pound looks cheap. We think the start of the countdown to Brexit may prove to be the low and the opportunity to enter sterling longs (positions),” said strategists Athanasios Vamvakidis and Kamal Sharma.

[pickwick]

Getting the best exchange rate for your £s is not easy!!! There is a great free Mastercard called Revolut. You link it to your UK bank account and then charge it up with £s. You can then change to Euros (or dozens of other currencies) as and when required BUT the best thing about this card is that the rate is the interbank rate (so no mark up or fees). Check it out. All controlled via an app on your smartphone, fantastic!

https://revolut.com/


Pickwick

[shanagarry]

There is a great free Mastercard called Revolut

I've been using it for over 12 months and it's superb

[sunman]

update; £ about to hit 1.20 against the €, hurrah!! good news with summer coming on

maybe time to buy a few in stages to get a good average before holiday time

[smudger]

Local money exchange and a pawnbroker were offering €1.16 and €1.17 respectively today. I was in for Kuna and assistant said "just as well you're not looking for euros, we're about to run out even after a large delivery this morning".

The rush may be on!!

[Algarve Eagle]

Getting the best exchange rate for your £s is not easy!!! There is a great free Mastercard called Revolut. You link it to your UK bank account and then charge it up with £s. You can then change to Euros (or dozens of other currencies) as and when required BUT the best thing about this card is that the rate is the interbank rate (so no mark up or fees). Check it out. All controlled via an app on your smartphone, fantastic!

https://revolut.com/


Pickwick

Followed your recommendation on this and yes, it is fantastic! Only slight downside is that if you use it to transfer funds to a Portuguese bank account, it takes a little longer (3 business days) than using say HiFX who get the money into a Portuguese account next day. But easily addressed by a little forward planning, and worth the wait given the favourable exchange rate.

[njc0607]

REVOLUT IS GREAT...

I used it today and got nearly €1.20..

[tricky]

Hi what are the charges for transferring money to portugal? I can't seem to find it on the app

[Algarve Eagle]

There is no charge by Revolut for amounts under £5000 / 6500 euros per month. Above that monthly amount is 0.5% on the excess. What you send within the monthly limit is what you receive in Portugal, unless the receiving bank imposes a charge which, provided that bank is within SEPA, it won't. I use Millennium in Portugal, they did not charge.

Rather than trying to get information from the app, it is best to go to the Revolut website and key on help, which in turn takes you to FAQs where all is explained.

[Bruce Wallis]

Premier Fx are a Barclays Bank UK owned company based in Almancil.
Their usual rate is 1 cent below spot rate, so very competitive. There are no further charges or fees.

You set up an account with Premier, phone them for the current rate. Agree the deal over the phone. They send a contract note by email, usually in less than 5 minutes.
You transfer the required sterling sum to their UK Barclays account by BACS transfer, and the euros will be in your nominated Carvoeiro bank account, usually within 24 hrs.