In essence No! – Some currency provider’s may not charge a commission fee but will make their profit from offering an uncompetitive exchange rate.
When shopping around for your travel money on websites and the high street you will commonly see the term commission free currency. Unfortunately commission free doesn’t automatically mean the best currency exchange rate. The term commission free is widely used to confuse you into thinking you are getting your holiday money at the best rate with no added costs!
Essentially a commission charge is a fee sometimes added when you convert your British pounds into a foreign currency, meaning that the amount of money exchanged is less than the amount you give to the currency provider. A high street bank, travel agent or online currency provider may offer commission free currency but offer an uncompetitive exchange rate meaning that you are still out of pocket.
When considering what provider to use when buying your travel money you need to look carefully at both the exchange rate offered and any commission charges which may be payable. In order to find the best deal on the market you need to know when I give a company x amount of pounds how much foreign currency will I receive in return.
Let’s look at an example of two differing companies to find out who is offering the best deal for you:
John is looking to exchange £500 into Euros to take on holiday to France
| Provider | Commission | Exchange Rate | Currency Received | Saving |
| Company A | 0 | 1.12 | 560 Euros | |
| Company B | £2.00 | 1.14 | 568.70 Euros | 8.70 Euros |
This example shows that even though Company B was charging a commission fee the amount of Euros John got for his pounds was more thanks to the better exchange rate offered. Therefore it is vital that you compare both exchange rates and commission charges before you purchase your holiday money! To read more about how to get the best rates check out this really useful guide at Compare Currency.
Visit our comparison tables to view exchange rates and commission fees offered by the leading currency providers.
