(Newswire.net — April 17, 2019) — To get the best possible currency exchange in Tokyo it is essential to first know the basic concepts such as the exchange rate or the types of currency that exist. Once understood, one can go on to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages offered by places such as banks or exchange houses to change money, as this article will do.
The exchange rate
The exchange rate or rate is the ratio between the values of two currencies. This value usually depends on the market, which assigns a dynamic purchase and sale value according to the supply and demand of each moment. It is called the average exchange rate.
Generally, there are few entities that apply the average exchange rate directly, but most use their own exchange rate with a differential with respect to the value of currencies in the market. This in practice means that the client has to assume a worse exchange rate. That is the case of the Spanish banks and most of the exchange houses.
That is why it is important to compare the exchange rate offered by your provider with the average or interbank exchange rate, which can be easily seen in Google.
Currency types
Not all currencies are equally easy to exchange or find. In general, for large currencies such as the euro, dollar, pound, yen, Swiss francs, etc. There are usually not many problems and there is more competition between the rates offered by the entities. Unfortunately the currencies of the less rich or not so rich countries are not so easy to find or offer such a competitive exchange rate. In fact, in many occasions it is not even possible to exchange many currencies from Japan and for this the most advisable thing, and sometimes the only option, is to convert the currency in the country of destination.
If you want to change tickets
The most recurrent places to convert currencies are banks and exchange houses. Both have advantages and disadvantages that deserve to be evaluated.
In your bank
The main advantage of banks is that they are a place of total confidence to convert currency and that they can offer certain advantages for some customers with large amounts of cash. The reality is that, for the great majority, banks impose high commissions in exchange for currency, both with applicable percentages on the transaction and with minimum commissions. And the worst of all is that apart from that commission is very likely that they do not apply the average exchange rate, but one of their own with a premium, which will cause you to take even less away from your money.
In any case, if you decide to do the process with your bank, you may have to wait several days or more than a week until you receive the currency at your nearest branch.
In a house of change
One of the preferred options for exchanging money, especially for tourists, is the exchange houses, which are very easy to find around the most touristic places of the big cities.
Although many times this type of business claim not to charge commissions, the truth is that the secret is that they apply a type of change away from the interbank exchange rate. This is how they usually earn money.
As the exchange rates applicable for each exchange house are difficult to know without moving to this type of business, a good idea is to consult opinions on the most popular exchange houses in each city.
If you want to get currency, use TransferWise
TransferWise is a fully secure financial service specialized in sending international transfers and multi-currency accounts. But TransferWise is not a common service, since it was born with the objective that customers could avoid high fees from the bank in currency related transactions. Although the best of all is that they, unlike most entities, do apply the average exchange rate without any unfavorable addition to the client. Perhaps that is why more than three million customers have already trusted them.
Transfer Wise also has a multi-currency account, the so-called borderless account of TransferWise, which allows you to deposit money in more than 40 currencies, such as Euros, pounds or dollars and convert between them with a small commission. Although, as always with TransferWise, applying the real exchange rate. But this account is not only a place to enjoy multiple advantages related to currencies, but also comes with a card that allows you to get up to € 200 per month for free and use the card to make payments in other currencies of Simple, comfortable and transparent way. This way you can use your money in the way you consider appropriate.