Dollars to Pounds

Foreign exchange rates explanation

2012-04-14
One of the common questions we get asked at Dollars to pounds is why, when you buy your preferred currency, you never get exactly the rate quoted here and why it differs so much on a day to day basis. Well, there are several reasons for this, some of which are outlined on the home page. Firstly, the reason that the rate changes constantly and day to day is the foreign exchange markets are the most liquid markets globally. What this means is that there are many participants and buying and selling forex is easy and quick. This makes the market very liquid and therefore price movements happen constantly.

And the reason that the rate quoted here differs from the rate you actually receive? There are several aspects to this answer and it has to do with what's known as the spot rate, which is the rate quoted here. This rate is the middle point between the "bid" and "ask", which are typically 0.5% less and 0.5% more on either side of the spot rate. However, this rate is typically only available to large organisations and therefore you, as a consumer without access, will need to purchase forex, either in cash or via your credit card. This is where the banks typically make their money! For example, when you purchase cash from kiosk at the airport or a high street bank, they will typically charge anywhere from 2% to 4% above the spot rate, so it pays to shop around and ask what rate you are getting. Credit card companies also add between 0% (good!) and up to an eye-watering 4% on each purchase made in a foreign currency. Again, it pays to shop around - I highly recommend the MSE guide on cheap travel money for further information

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New information sources

2012-03-22
We're now sourcing more information from multiple sources in the database, so the accuracy of the daily FX rates should be improved. As always, if you enjoy the site, tell your friends on Facebook, we'd appreciate it. Thanks!

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Exhchange rate graph functionality added

2011-09-23
We've added additional functionality to the exchange rate graph - you can now zoom to 1 year or 3 months, or back at the orginal entire period

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Site launch

2011-09-15
Welcome to Dollars to pounds. We hope you find the funtionality we've provided useful and simple to use and understand. If you have any ideas or comments, we'd love to hear from you.

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We also source other common currency pairs ( see all )

Last updated: 18 May 2012

Common exchange rates
Exchange Rate Graph