Hi guys, Im looking to purchase from the States or UK,but let me see if i can try explain this currently the USD is R8.87, now I know usually when I make purchases from overseas it ends up being a bit more than just "R8.87" how much more can I expect to pay on top of the USD, as just 50 cents makes a quite a big difference, as I am planning to spend $2000 so need to to budget what I can expect to pay in rands.
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Help with currency please
- Thread starter Saltex
- Start date
I think that mostly depends on your bank, and how you intend to pay
The banks sell and buy foreign currency at rates different to the exchange rate, however I'm not too sure if they still charge swiping fees when you are abroad, my father always told be to watch those sort of things but I have never been charged for using the card except for at ATM's, maby someone who frequently travels can give you a bit more info, but for the mean time check out standard banks rates here
The banks sell and buy foreign currency at rates different to the exchange rate, however I'm not too sure if they still charge swiping fees when you are abroad, my father always told be to watch those sort of things but I have never been charged for using the card except for at ATM's, maby someone who frequently travels can give you a bit more info, but for the mean time check out standard banks rates here
FNB is usually around 40 to 50 cents while Standard bank is around 25 to 35 cents. Not to sure about the other banks. I'm sure you can phone their card division and ask them the rate as the rate is usually fixed for an extended period, not to sure but think it is fixed every day thus why the wide margin.
Rand currently at R8.83/US$
Rand currently at R8.83/US$
Im with fnb gold cheque account, 50 cents is alot, I just made a cheap purchase online to check what the rates are and it was R9.60 that is quite alot imo, roughly 80cents. Multiply that by 2000 and that is an R1600
ozziej
Senior Member
Standard bank has their current rates on their website, you need to look at the "sell" rate, that's what you'll get charged.
FNB charges are a rip-off, no other bank (that I know of) charge such a high rate. As mentioned, SB is usually up to about 20 cents cheaper.
The rates on the link above for FNB is not what you will get charged. You can add about another 20 cents to that if not 30. Think it has to do with the additional charges for the transaction or something.
The rates on the link above for FNB is not what you will get charged. You can add about another 20 cents to that if not 30. Think it has to do with the additional charges for the transaction or something.
Normally if you use a credit card over seas it gives you very attractive rates compared to changing money here. Used a standard bank/visa all over europe for 2 months and atm fees were minimal and it was charging spot rate of the currency and not the spread if i remember correctly or only a few cents out. However i was on a private banking card so dont know if this makes any difference.
Here are the Standard Bank rates:
http://ws15.standardbank.co.za/finSnapShot/GetforexServlet
So at the moment you'll pay R8.99 while the mid-rate currently is R8.86.
http://ws15.standardbank.co.za/finSnapShot/GetforexServlet
So at the moment you'll pay R8.99 while the mid-rate currently is R8.86.
Forex rate is what traders are currently exchanging paired currencies for. eg. of a paired currency is the EURUSD or USDZAR. The banks will use this but will add on their own commission usually at the 5% level. The commission depends on the size of your currency exchange.
Arthur
Honorary Master
Separate from any bank charges, there are two exchange rates - Buy Rate and Sell Rate.
Today, most SA commercial banks are quoting as follows for ZAR-USD TT/ wire transactions under R50K:
Buy rate: 9.08
Sell rate: 9.50
The Buy Rate is typically reported in the SA media and many local websites, because in the old days we quickly wanted to convert gold price to Rand. It is the number of foreign currency units required to buy a Rand, though for historical reasons USD and Sterling and now also Euro quote this in ZAR units.
This means that if today you are converting US dollars into Rand you will get R9.08 for every US$.
The Sell Rate is the number of ZAR you have to "sell" to buy a foreign unit.
In our quoted rate above, it will today take R9.50 to buy US$1.00.
Many websites quote an average of Buy rate and Sell rate, a so-called midrate. It's a rough guide, and cannot be used for real world transactions, because that depends on which way you are converting.
There are many other factors that affect the actual rate you pay, such as payment method, size of transaction, period, standing or ad hoc, etc - normal business factors that affect the price of goods and services (the price of money is no exception).
I deal with this every day.
It never ceases to astonish me how many people in IT importation and distribution businesses fail to grasp even the basic forex issues when pricing.
Today, most SA commercial banks are quoting as follows for ZAR-USD TT/ wire transactions under R50K:
Buy rate: 9.08
Sell rate: 9.50
The Buy Rate is typically reported in the SA media and many local websites, because in the old days we quickly wanted to convert gold price to Rand. It is the number of foreign currency units required to buy a Rand, though for historical reasons USD and Sterling and now also Euro quote this in ZAR units.
This means that if today you are converting US dollars into Rand you will get R9.08 for every US$.
The Sell Rate is the number of ZAR you have to "sell" to buy a foreign unit.
In our quoted rate above, it will today take R9.50 to buy US$1.00.
Many websites quote an average of Buy rate and Sell rate, a so-called midrate. It's a rough guide, and cannot be used for real world transactions, because that depends on which way you are converting.
There are many other factors that affect the actual rate you pay, such as payment method, size of transaction, period, standing or ad hoc, etc - normal business factors that affect the price of goods and services (the price of money is no exception).
I deal with this every day.
It never ceases to astonish me how many people in IT importation and distribution businesses fail to grasp even the basic forex issues when pricing.
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