Keeping track of Euro dealings

PT writes: We own a manufacturing business that trades within Europe, and all our payment receipts for goods are made in euros. For some years we have made one large transaction each month to convert all the money from euros into sterling. This transaction has always been done through one of the high-street banks. Since exchange rates fluctuate constantly, we have no idea what commission the bank is taking. Apart from high-street banks, are there any other options available to us?

Answer

The first thing you need to do is get some information from your bank, writes Chris Lane, partner of Kingston Smith. I would be very surprised if it were not possible to give you a report on the currency sale. This report will show you not only the rate at which the bank bought the euros from you, but also the commission charge. In addition, there are numerous websites that you could visit when you have euros to sell to get the exchange rate for that time. For example, the BBC website bbc.co.uk shows euro exchange rates throughout the day, updated every two minutes. Once you know the breakdown, you can decide whether your bank is giving you good rates and you can then compare these with those of other banks or institutions in your area.