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Exchanging US dollars for Euros

Posted by (Singapore, Singapore) on

My experience exchanging US dollars for Euros in France last summer taught me that this was a mistake because the fees are so high, often 10%, on top of a unfavorable rate.

I'll be in Italy and France again this summer for several weeks, will need a lot of cash (as that is how the owner of my sublet flat wants to be paid, as opposed to using a credit card), and am wondering if I should exchange while in the USA (via a bank or Triple A) or by getting Euros at an ATM machine in either France or Italy. Please advise!

A related question is whether I might do better here in Singapore exchanging a strong Singapore dollar directly into Euros.

Posted by
8700 posts

If the owner of your flat will accept a bank draft in euros, you could open an account with www.xe.com/fx and have a draft mailed directly to the owner's address in Italy.

I use my account to send money to relatives in the UK and to pay deposits at B&Bs that don't accept credit cards. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer, a bank draft is issued in the currency of my choice and is mailed directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated and there are no other fees. For faster service it is possible to do a wire transfer, but that does cost extra.

For security purposes it takes a little time to set up an account, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that.

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