Before you leave on an international vacation or business trip, you should be knowledgeable about money converter or currency exchange rates. It can seem like a constant guessing game to try and get the best rates possible. Today at Voila Moola, we’re going to make it a little bit easier for you. Here is what you need to know before you seek out a money converter.
With the sheer amount of currency in the world, it’s difficult to keep track of how each stacks up against the US Dollar. Not all currencies are valued at the same rate. The balance between any two countries’ currencies is always changing as a result. Each country’s currency is impacted by things like its political instability, inflation rate, and debts. All of this is important to us because the stronger the dollar is, the less we will have to spend.
Depending on where you look, exchange rates take one of two forms. In either form, each country’s currency is labeled. 1 Euro (abbreviated as EUR) might be equivalent to 1.2 U.S. dollars (abbreviated USD). In other words, 1 EUR has the spending power of $1.20 USD. In this case, the Euro is stronger than the dollar. If you are coming from the US, you might see this exchange written as 1 USD = .83 EUR. This means that 1 USD has the spending power of .83 euro.
The most helpful tip we can share is this: the best exchange rates almost always come from using an ATM machine, but you may make up the savings in fees. Certain cards don’t charge a fee–check with your bank first. You will also get good rates by using a credit card to make overseas purchases. If possible, use a credit card that doesn’t charge international transaction fees. Discover Card and Capital One Card are two that do not charge international transaction fees.
Before you leave, alert your credit card company that are traveling overseas to reduce the likelihood of your card being flagged for possible fraud and frozen from use.
The final tip is that when you’re given the option, choose to conduct the purchase in your own currency. If you don’t, the merchant’s payment processor will add an extra currency conversion fee. This is in addition to the exchange rate.
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