Currency Conversion: Best Way to Convert Currency while travelling

Currency Conversion: Best Way to Convert Currency while travelling

We need cash - in - hand wherever we live or travel or stay anywhere. We need money to buy our basic necessities. But many a times it seems risky to carry currency wherever we go. In general also we don’t keep excess money at home. We either invest it or keep it in a bank for safety. The same rule applies when we are travelling. In a case when you are travelling abroad, it’s never advisable to carry currency from your home place to wherever you go. Some of the tips for converting the foreign currency when we are travelling are shared below:

Use ATM Cards: When you travel abroad you can withdraw currency from the ATM at the place where you travel. This will help o make you available with the currency of the home place where you are travelling, whenever you want to use it. This will be risk free as you don’t have to carry more currency with you.

Use Credit Card: At the time when you need to pay at the place you have travelled, you can prefer to pay using credit cards. Ultimately this amount will be recovered by the credit card agency from your bank account and payment will be made in foreign currency by them.

Traveler’s Cheque: Traveler’s cheque is the most common and traditional way of converting currency when you are travelling. It is also a very safe way of converting currency. In this case you can get traveler’s cheque from the bank at your place by paying the amount as much as you want, and can submit it with the bank at your travelling place whose currency you need in exchange. That bank will give you the foreign currency which you can spend there.

Exchange cash at the travelling place: You can convert your currency to foreign currency at an agency or bank in foreign country. This will attract fewer charges as compared to converting the same at your own place.

Carry US Dollars: You can prefer to carry some U.S. Dollar as it is a generally acceptable currency in most of the countries. When you don’t have the currency of the place you are travelling, you can opt for paying the U.S. Dollars.

Exchange Cash at airports: You can opt for converting the currency at an airport, as the same will e helpful if you want to buy certain things at the airport or at any place before reaching your stay.

Buy currency Online: You can opt for buying currency online. This is the modern way of converting your currency. You can register and logon to the sites such as oanda.com, X-rate .com, travelex.com etc. Such companies will deliver the foreign currency at you home place at an agreed rate.

Points to be kept in mind when you consider the above options:

     -          Keep in mind that such conversions attract lots of charges. So choose the best option that levies least charges.

     -          Never convert your currency at a hotel, except when you need it for emergency because hotels are the places which charge the highest charges on such currency conversion.

     -          Always check the currency rates before you go for converting your currency. It may differ in many cases. So find the cheapest source and then go for such conversion.

     -          If you have planned for traveling in advance and the market conditions states that there may be increase in foreign currency rates, you can enter into forward transaction. So, whenever you need the foreign currency, the inflation effect will not affect your transactions.