find the best online rate for your holiday cash
How TravelMoneyMax works

London-only collections

Since TravelMoneyMax.com launched, lots of smaller, very competitive bureaux de change have been added to the tool, boosting the amount of holiday money you can get.

However, many of these are based in one or two locations, often in London, meaning if you opt for collection you'd have to get to their store.

This is great if you're in and around London, and able to pop to a branch to pick up the cash, but as this isn't practical for some MoneySavers, we've added the option to exclude these providers from your search, and see only bureaux with a wider store network.

What does FSA authorised mean?

Bureaux de change do not have to be registered with the regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under the 'Payment Service Regulations', because they are not viewed as providing a payment service - instead the business is simply seen as selling you a good (foreign cash) like your corner shop would sell a tin of baked beans.

So the first point is, whatever the companies regulaton status

If any bureau, authorised or not, go bust when it has your money you're NOT protected.
Don't let it hold your cash for any longer than needed.

What advantages does FSA authorisation give?

Companies with this level of regulation for payment services have to meet specific 'capital requirements' - basically meaning its money and assets will have to be set up in a certain way, so it's been checked out a little more. It also must provide all customers with specific info about transactions, such as all applicable charges, details of safeguards and risks and how to complain - Find out more.

Banks, building societies, the Post Office and certain other public bodies can operate in this market without explicit authorisation, as the FSA is supervising them more closely already for other aspects of their business.

What about the other types of regulation?

Some smaller firms are FSA-registered, rather than authorised. They must disclose the same information to customers, but don't have to meet the same solvency criteria as if they were authorised, making this level of regulation far weaker.

In addition all the companies in the TravelMoneyMax tool are registered with HM Revenue and Customs under the Money Laundering Regulations which means it must have put in place certain controls to prevent it being used for money laundering by criminals and terrorists. For full details, read HMRC's guide.

This tool whizzes around online currency bureaux to find the best exchange rates including all fees.

If you want foreign cash, the key question is "How many euros/dollars/shekels will you give me, after all charges and fees, for my pounds?", then go with whoever gives the most. TravelMoneyMax.com does this for you, searching 23 major online foreign currency bureaux in seconds

It factors in exchange rates, commission fees and any delivery costs. TravelMoneyMax.com repeatedly gathers information from bureaux's websites throughout the day. This means there is a very slight chance the prices will be a few minutes out of date after a rate change.

Always double check the deal before buying your currency

How to use it

Enter the currency you need, then either select how much you're willing to pay e.g. "I want £100 worth of dollars" or how much you want e.g. "I want €200". Then pick delivery, or collection. TravelMoneyMax.com displays the prices from online bureaux de change, taken directly from their websites, ranked in order of how much cold hard cash you'll get.

Who's included?

The Travel Money Maximiser only searches online providers; primarily as it's a web tool and these are much easier to search. Luckily though, many high street providers and banks now offer their rates online, though you may have to go instore to collect.

The providers currently included are: ACE FX, Best Exchange, Thomas Exchange UK, Thomas Exchange Global, No1 Currency, ICE, Post Office Online, Tesco, Travelex, M&S, Natwest, HSBC, FX4You, FairFx, Interchange FX, Crown Currency Exchange, Travel Money Services, Bupa, Saga, Nationwide, Co-op, Travelcare, Online FX, First Direct.

What's Buy-back?

A few providers also offer to change back your left over foreign cash back into British Pounds. The rates for this will always be worse than the other way round; however, attempt to do it at big high street names and they'll be even worse! To do this by post, you often have to send the currency back by registered or special delivery in order to guarantee it reaches the bureau.

Find the cheapest travel money
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How was this calculated?

To find the overall cost of buying €1000 in Pounds, we assumed the following 'typical' transactions when using a credit or debt card...

  • 30 overseas purchases (in a shop), worth €750
  • 10 cash machine withdrawals worth €250
  • Exchange rates as at 15 May 2012

Where credit cards or loans use a representative APR, this means that 51% of successful applicants will be given the stated interest rate.

Credit Cards

With credit cards, the rate for purchases (as opposed to balance transfers or cash withdrawals) is used as the main rate to advertise the card.

So if that is described as 19.9% representative APR, then 51% of people accepted will get 19.9% APR, but 49% will get a different rate (likely to be higher).

Personal Loans

Loans are slightly simpler as they only have one rate. So if a loan is advertised as being 7.5% representative APR, this means 51% of accepted applicants will get 7.5%, and 49% will get a different rate (likely to be higher).

Of course, some people will be rejected outright for the card or loan too.

Not going yet? Using currency ISN'T cheapest or safest!
Get the top specialist travel plastic: beats even the best bureaux AND is safer.

Most cards add a 3% 'load' cost, giving a rubbish exchange rate, plus ATM withdrawal fees.

These four avoid most, but always repay IN FULL to avoid interest. See full Cheap Travel Money guide.

Cost of €1000 in pounds

What's the difference?
Top specialist card: £799
Best cash via TravelMoneyMax: £804
Typical credit card: £856
Debit 'card from hell': £886
At 15 May 2012's rates (full details)

Top pick: Halifax Clarity* (full info)

Perfect exchange rate, zero ATM fee, lower cash withdrawal interest.
Chart Rep APR: 12.9% ATM: 0%

Alternative: Post Office* (full info)

Perfect exchange rate, 2.5% (min £3) ATM fee & 24.1% APR on withdrawals.
Chart Rep APR:24.1% ATM: 2.5%

Over 50s: Saga (full info)

Perfect exchange rate, no interest on cash withdrawals but does charge fee
Chart Rep APR: 11.9% ATM: 2%

Top prepaid: FairFX* (full info)

Top-up with cash. Only fee for ATM usage. Rate not quite perfect, but no credit check
Chart Spend: £0 ATM: €1.50/$2

Beware the 'cards from hell'
Most plastic doesn't give good rates.

Some DEBIT cards - Lloyds TSB, Halifax, RBS, IF, Santander & Natwest - also add a fee of up to £1.50 every time you spend! Read about cards from hell
Full details in the
Cheap Travel Money guide.
Currency Companies Aren't Protected
If these companies go bust, and have your money there's no protection. Don't let it have your cash any longer than needed. Inclusion here does not imply solvency.

Some cards add an extra charge when you buy currency in the UK!
ALL credit cards charge fees. Full details

Some smaller travel money delivery firms request you pay by cash, cheque or bank transfer rather than using a card for payment. Before you do this it is important to remember, these companies don’t have any form of compensation scheme if one of them goes bust with your cash – so you’re on your own.

Yet when you make a payment by debit or credit card, you have more chance of getting your money back if the company you're paying went bust, than just sending them the cash. Also it's likely the currency provider will have your dough for a shorter period, decreasing any risk.

While this is untested for travel money transactions – it at least means you have a potential secondary route (your card provider) to getting your money back. The rules that apply are as follows.

  • Credit cards - 'Section 75': This law means your credit card is jointly liable for anything you buy on it over £100, so if there's a problem or the company goes bust you can still get your money back from your credit card provider.

    This isn't the lender being nice, it's a legal protection put in place so that you're never in the position of paying debt for something you didn't receive or wasn't as it should've been. There is a worry ‘cash’ transactions aren’t covered - the Ombudsman said it thinks foreign currency would be ok – but again it's important to understand that isn’t tested.

  • Some debit cards - Visa chargeback: If you pay on a Visa debit or electron card, or Visa credit card under £100 (otherwise go for Section 75), then the Visa Chargeback system means you can ask your bank to try and get the money back off the companies bank.

    However, this is part of Visa's internal rules and not a legal requirement, so can't be 100% relied upon.

For further information on these protections, and their limitations, plus how to make a claim through them, read the full Visa chargeback & section 75 guide.

Does YOUR card charge for buying foreign cash?

Sadly, buying currency from a bureau de change in the UK on a credit or debit card isn’t always treated as a UK transaction. All credit cards and some debit cards charge an additional fee on top of what you pay the bureau de change.

The cards that charge...

  • All Credit Cards. All credit cards charge a fee of around 2.5% (minimum £3) when you buy foreign currency; it's treated like withdrawing cash from an ATM. In addition, you could be charged interest from the day you make the purchase, even if it's repaid in full at the end of the month. See a full table of charges

    Yet paying on a credit card if you're spending over £100 the card company is jointly liable if things go wrong, which means you may get added consumer protection see the section 75 guide for more info.

Got a card that charges?

There are a number of options...

  • Use a different card if possible. This is the simple option.

  • With debit cards withdraw cash and pay with that. Take the money out of a UK cash machine with a debit card and use that to pay at a high street bureau de change and you'll avoid the fee, though check the gain isn't defeated by a worse rate (and if you are ordering rather than picking up the cash there and then, remember this leaves you with no protection).

  • Spend on the card itself. With most of the cards you're likely to be better off by just spending on it while overseas, than buying foreign cash with it.
Including all charges 100.00 Euros costs you the following in pounds:
Pre-ordering for collection is often cheaper than just turning up.
Note this is an automated list ranked on quoted price, it doesn't indicate quality of service or any other implied recommendation.
Provider Rate:
£1=		 Total cost in Pounds
Best Collection Inc. London | Best collection excl. London 		Delivery Details
(all fees included in amount)
Best Foreign Exchange 1.161 £90.07 Warning! You can't pay by credit/debit card, meaning you are less protected. Find out why
Cost: £3.90 per £2,500

FSA Authorised?: No
ASDA 1.142 £91.49 Cost: £3.95 for orders under £500. Free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: No
Tesco 1.141 £91.61 Cost: £3.95 up to £500. Free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: No
Best Exchange 1.154 £91.66 Warning! You can't pay by credit/debit card, meaning you are less protected. Find out why
Cost: £5 per £2,500

FSA Authorised?: No
Ace FX (Delivery) 1.150 £91.97 Cost: £5.00 for orders under £1,000, free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: No
Moneycorp (Delivery) 1.145 £92.34 Cost: £5.00 for orders up to £500. Free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: Yes
Halifax 1.133 £93.26 Cost: £5 for orders under £300. Free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: No
Thomas Exchange UK 1.146 £93.26 Warning! You can't pay by credit/debit card, meaning you are less protected. Find out why
Cost: £6.00 up to £1,500. Free for larger amounts.

FSA Authorised?: No
Post Office Online * Below its minimum amount
Covent Garden FX Below its minimum amount
travel:premier * Below its minimum amount
Telegraph Travel Below its minimum amount
FairFX * Below its minimum amount
ICICI Bank * Below its minimum amount
ICE (Delivery) * Below its minimum amount
HSBC Below its minimum amount
First Direct Below its minimum amount
Sainsburys Below its minimum amount
Travelex (Delivery) Below its minimum amount
Saga Below its minimum amount
American Express Below its minimum amount
travel:budget Below its minimum amount
Thomas Cook Below its minimum amount
Co-op Below its minimum amount
Marks & Spencer Below its minimum amount
Thomson Below its minimum amount
First Choice Travel Below its minimum amount
Natwest Below its minimum amount
The Change Group Below its minimum amount
Ace FX (Collection) Collection Only
ICE Chelsea Collection Only
ICE Heathrow Collection Only
ICE Scotland Collection Only
ICE Waterloo Collection Only
ICE Westfield Collection Only
Moneycorp (Collection) Collection Only
Moneycorp (London) Collection Only
No1 Currency Collection Only
Square Deal FX Collection Only
Travelex (Collection) Collection Only
The sites are included based on their competitive online rates and feedback. Yet there is little regulation of foreign exchange bureaux and this site can't take any responsibility for problems that occur. Please be careful before you part with your money. Small local specialists can beat online rates, yet it's rare. Try areas with many overseas visitors e.g. Bayswater. If you spot another competitive online provider that you think merits inclusion, let us know

Explanation (of * links) Any links with a * by them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in exactly the same way. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: aqua, ICE, Online FX, Post Office, FairFx, Travelex, Saga, Halifax, Nationwide, Moneysupermarket, EHICPlus, Direct Travel, Kayak, Car rentals, Travelsupermarket Hotels, Travelsupermarket Car Hire, Holiday Extras, APH, Airmiles, BMI (MBNA), Skyscanner, Opodo, Travelocity, Expedia, Ebookers, Tripadvisor. Read more about this in how this site is financed.

 
TravelMoneyMax.com is brought to you by MoneySavingExpert.com. This website is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research . See Full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.