Spot Exchange Rates.

If you are transferring money internationally straight away, you will not be affected by fluctuations in international exchange rates and your currency will be converted at the ‘spot’ exchange rate.

A ‘spot’ rate is the rate at which a foreign exchange ‘pair’, such as GBP/USD or GBP/EUR, can be converted for immediate settlement. Large financial institutions buy and sell currency with each other at what is often called the ‘interbank rate’, or the wholesale rate. Everyone else, both individuals and SMEs, must use a bank or an FX broker to convert currency.

Both banks and brokers base their charge on the interbank rate, applying a ‘spread’ (mark-up) to it. They also charge for the sending of the payment, hitting your bank balance twice.

At CurrencyWave we support SMEs and individuals making international money transfers through our payment provider by:

• offering competitive exchange rates with a bank beating service
• providing a quote for your international currency transfer, which you have 20 seconds to accept or reject (as the exchange rate is in real-time and can quickly change)
• allowing you to either access a quote online, or ring our dealing desk, if you prefer
• being open and detailed about what you will pay for currency transfer services
• demanding no payment upfront for ‘spot’ rate transactions