An extra service alongside your removal
Currency exchange when moving abroad
Moving abroad often means currency exchange too: a deposit, the first month’s rent, a shipping or customs payment, or the money from selling a home. We don’t exchange money ourselves. We introduce you to a foreign exchange provider we work with, and the provider shows you its rate and every fee for your transfer before you decide.
We receive a fee from the provider when we introduce you. You pay us nothing for the introduction. We don’t give financial advice, and we never hold your money.
Start an enquiry and tell us you’d like to hear about currency exchange. Nothing is sent until you check and confirm.
Try a currency conversion
A guide to what an amount is worth in another currency. It is not an offer or a quote.
Enter an amount to see an indicative conversion.
This is a guide only. The figures come from the European Central Bank’s euro reference rates, which the bank quotes against the euro. We work out the other pairs ourselves from those rates, such as pounds to euros or pounds to dollars, so those figures are our calculation, not ECB rates. Any provider’s own rate will differ, because providers add their own margin or fees. If you ask us to introduce you to a provider, we receive a fee from that provider.
The different names for currency exchange
You will see the same thing called several names. Here is what each one means on this page.
Currency exchange
Swapping money in one currency for an equal amount in another, for example pounds for euros. It is the everyday name for what this page is about.
Foreign exchange (FX)
The formal name for currency exchange. People and businesses shorten it to FX.
Forex
Another short form of foreign exchange. It is also the name of a kind of trading, where people buy and sell currencies hoping to make a profit. Here it only means exchanging money for a move. We don’t offer trading, and we don’t advise on it.
International money transfer
Sending money from an account in one country to an account in another, often with a change of currency on the way. You can do this through your bank or through a specialist provider.
Sending or wiring money abroad
Everyday ways of saying the same thing. “Wire transfer” is the usual American phrase for an international bank transfer.
How a currency exchange introduction works
We introduce you to one foreign exchange provider we work with. We aren’t the provider: the exchange, the rate and the transfer are arranged between you and the provider, and we never handle the money.
- Tell us you’d like to hear about currency exchange
Start an enquiry and say which currencies you have in mind and roughly when the money is needed.
- We introduce you to a provider
We pass your request to a provider we work with. We receive a fee from the provider when we introduce you, and you pay us nothing.
- The provider shows you its rate and every fee
Before you decide, the provider shows you the exchange rate and every fee for your transfer, so you can see how much would arrive.
- You compare, then decide
Compare what you would receive with what your bank offers. If you go ahead, the provider may ask you to prove who you are, as the law requires of payment firms, and the contract and the transfer are between you and the provider.
When you need another currency during a move
Most people moving abroad need to exchange money at least once. Each moment below has a date attached, so it helps to think about currency early rather than in the week of the move.
Deposits and rent
A deposit or the first month’s rent is often due in the local currency before you have a bank account there. Ask the landlord or agent for the payment details and the date it is due.
Shipping and customs payments
Some charges at the destination end, such as port or customs fees, may be due in the local currency. Ask the removal company which charges apply, which currency each one is in and when it is due. Our guide to how the cost of an overseas move is worked out shows where such charges sit in a quotation.
Selling or buying a home
Money from a sale, or for a purchase, often moves in one large transfer on a fixed completion date. Note the date and the rough amount as early as you can.
Savings and regular payments
Some people move their savings when they emigrate. Others send money abroad every month, for example a UK pension paid into an account in Spain. How much to move, and when, is your decision, or one for a financial adviser. A provider explains how its service works, not what you should do.
Exchange rates change during the day, so the same sum can be worth a little more or less from one day to the next.
Currencies the converter can show
The converter uses the European Central Bank’s daily reference rates, and we work out the pairs from them. You can pick any currency in the lists below. The list headed “No rate information here” names the currencies it has no rate for.
Rate shown here
- Pound sterlingGBP
- EuroEUR
- US dollarUSD
- Australian dollarAUD
- Brazilian realBRL
- Canadian dollarCAD
- Chinese yuanCNY
- Czech korunaCZK
- Danish kroneDKK
- Hong Kong dollarHKD
Rate shown here
- Hungarian forintHUF
- Icelandic kronaISK
- Indian rupeeINR
- Indonesian rupiahIDR
- Israeli shekelILS
- Japanese yenJPY
- Malaysian ringgitMYR
- Mexican pesoMXN
- New Zealand dollarNZD
- Norwegian kroneNOK
Rate shown here
- Philippine pesoPHP
- Polish zlotyPLN
- Romanian leuRON
- Singapore dollarSGD
- South African randZAR
- South Korean wonKRW
- Swedish kronaSEK
- Swiss francCHF
- Thai bahtTHB
- Turkish liraTRY
No rate information here
- Bahamian dollarBSD
- Barbados dollarBBD
- Caribbean guilderXCG
- Cayman Islands dollarKYD
- East Caribbean dollarXCD
- Jamaican dollarJMD
- Trinidad and Tobago dollarTTD
- UAE dirhamAED
Notes on the euro, the Nordic currencies and the US dollar
The euro (EUR)
The euro is the currency of 21 EU countries, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and the Netherlands. Other EU countries, such as Poland, Czechia and Hungary, keep their own currencies. For the detail, see moving money into euros, or send your euro request with the sum and your timing.
The Nordic currencies
Sweden, Denmark and Norway each have their own currency: the Swedish krona (SEK), the Danish krone (DKK) and the Norwegian krone (NOK). All three are often written “kr”, so the converter shows the three-letter code to tell them apart.
The US dollar (USD)
The US dollar is the currency of the United States, and some other countries and territories use it too. Check which currency your destination uses before you ask about it. The converter shows pounds to dollars, and dollars to pounds, below the result.
Questions about currency exchange and your move
Do you exchange the money yourselves?
No.
We're an introduction service. We pass your details to a foreign exchange provider we work with, and the exchange, the rate and the transfer are arranged between you and that provider. We never hold or move your money, and we don't give financial advice.
Do you get paid for introducing me?
Yes.
We receive a fee from the provider when we introduce a customer to it. You don't pay us anything for the introduction. The provider shows you its rate and every fee for your transfer before you decide, so you can compare it with your bank.
Is the rate in the converter the rate I would get?
No.
The converter shows an indicative reference rate from the European Central Bank, published at about 16:00 Central European Time on most working days (not on TARGET closing days). Only a rate from euros to another currency is the bank's own figure: any other pair, such as pounds to euros, is calculated by us from the bank's rates. It is not a live rate and not an offer. A provider's own rate will differ, because providers add a margin or fees, so ask the provider for the total that would arrive.
Will I get a better rate than my bank offers?
We can't promise that, because rates change during the day and depend on the amount, the currencies and the provider.
The fair test is the total amount that arrives after all fees, for the same sum on the same day. Ask the provider for that figure and compare it with your bank's.
Is the provider regulated?
Payment firms that are not banks must be authorised or registered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
You can check any firm on the FCA's Financial Services Register before you send money. Money held by these firms isn't covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so ask the provider how it protects your money.
Which currencies can I ask about?
Tell us the currencies in your enquiry.
The converter on this page lists the currencies it has a reference rate for, and a few others, such as Caribbean currencies, that it has none for. The provider confirms whether it can handle your currencies and tells you about any limits in the destination country.
Ask about currency exchange
Start an enquiry. We tick “Foreign exchange” for you under “Anything else you need?”, so we know you would like to hear about it. You can also say which currencies you have in mind and when the money is needed.
Prefer to write? Email [email protected]
About International Removals Companies
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD. We don’t move goods or money ourselves. We introduce you to a removal company, and to a foreign exchange provider if you ask about currency. We receive a fee from the provider when we introduce you. You pay us nothing for an introduction.
- Email[email protected]