tommyd1888

Hello all

Only 2 days left until I finally come to Italy.

I was just wondering if it is cheaper to bring pounds to Italy and exchange them there or just exchange them here in the UK?

If it is cheaper in Italy where is the best place to do it? I will be staying at a hotel in the centre of Torino until I find an apartment so there should be plenty of options.

Cheers
Tommy

tommyd1888

To give a little more information the best exchange rate I have found here in the UK is 1.1565 with zero commission.

Would I get better than that in Italy?

Cheers

Lorna at Vicenza

Hi Tommy,

have you thought of using your cash card here and just taking euros out directly? Or would your UK bank charge you each time you did this?

tommyd1888

Hi Lorna

Yes i will be charged an initial fee of £1.50 and a percentage of the withdrawal according to the website. I have a meeting with them tomorrow to withdraw money so I will ask then.

I have still to arrange an apartment. I am viewing properties Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I will need a lot of money for security deposit and commission and I won't be able to draw this from an ATM anyway.

I have just read that you can only pay foreign currency and imported euros into a non resident account, does this mean that I will have to have my salary paid into my UK account? Sorry I'm going a bit off topic

Lorna at Vicenza

I am not a banker but where did you read this? That can't be true.

If my dad gave me a gift of 5.000 quid I could put it into my bank account here. They'd charge of course but wouldn't refuse. (It's never going to happen but he might win the lottery one day )

Can't help with salaries I'm afraid but maybe someone else will come along with more info. There are some members here with UK accounts and UK salaries.

tommyd1888

Can someone confirm if this is true or is it a load of codswallop

http://italy.angloinfo.com/countries/italy/banking.asp

If it is true, I'm going to need to open up a temporary euros account here in the UK or I'm going to lose out on money through exchange rates. And I thought I was prepared and well researched.

It would appear that Italy is doing my nut in already.

Cheers

indiebird

I must admit my OH gets his UK salary paid into his UK account but I'm not sure why it is this way.... maybe something to do with the BACS system....

indiebird

p.s Tommy I reckon you're less likely to get fleeced exchanging money there somewhere reputable than here. We've never done it. My OH normally transfers a big amount in one go every-so-often with a money exchange company to the Italian account to cover things like rent etc.... and our cash needs now that Nationwide charge for withdrawals....

37100

Oh yeah! Trotted of to ask hubby who confirmed you can only pay in foreign money.

Margaret M

You will also find that transferring larger sums through a currency broker will get you a much better rate than changing small amounts anywhere else.

indiebird

This is what my OH does. Good luck Tommy.xxx

tommyd1888

Can anyone recommend a good currency broker to use? What is the exchange rate they are currently offering in Italy?

Cheers

Margaret M

I play World Wide Currencies and HIFX off against each other. HIFX is internet based to I get the rate from them first, then tell World Wide Currencies, who always better it, but we did transfer 6figures through them when buying our house, and a further 6 figures since, plus lots of 5 figure sums, so I think that counts for something.

tommyd1888

Thank you

chrismortley

Hi Tommy
If you are looking to buy euros for everyday expenses you could try getting a sterling/euro debit card.
I use the Caxton Fx card for general use ie ATM cash withdraws,fuel & house hold shopping etc.
You buy your currency online & the rate offered is not far of the business rate
Also it's one of the cheaper cards to use if booking flights with Ryanair
Your exchange rate is locked & the time of purchase.
There are no ATM charges & it's backed up by Mastercard so it can be used virtually anywhere
I know there are several other similar cards on the market.
Agreeing with everyone else for large sums of currency use a broker , I use Interchange & an quite happy with the rates they offer
Regards

Chris