Foreign Exchange

Exchange Rates Currency band Exchange rate Exchange rate regime Fixed exchange rate Floating exchange rate Linked exchange rate In finance, the exchange rate (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other. ... Image File history File links Forex. ... The currency band is a system of exchange rates by which a floating currency is backed by hard money. ... The exchange rate regime is the way a country manages its currency in respect to foreign currencies and the foreign exchange market. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... A floating exchange rate or a flexible exchange rate is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is allowed to fluctuate according to the foreign exchange market. ... A linked exchange rate system is a type of exchange rate regime to link the exchange rate of a currency to another. ...

Markets Foreign exchange market Futures exchange The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Products Currency Currency future Non-deliverable forward Forex swap Currency swap Foreign exchange option A currency future, also FX future or foreign exchange future, is a futures contract to exchange one currency for another at a specified date in the future at a price (exchange rate) that is fixed on the last trading date. ... This article is about the financial instrument. ... Forex swap is an over the counter short term interest rate derivative instrument. ... A currency swap is a foreign exchange agreement between two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a specified period of time, to give back the original amounts swapped. ... In finance, a foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option or currency option) is a derivative financial instrument where the owner has the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date. ...

See also Bureau de change

A bureau de change is an organisation or facility which allows customers to exchange one currency for another. Although French in origin, the term is widely used throughout Europe, so that visitors can easily identify such facilities when abroad.

Usage

Bureaux de change are often located inside banks or travel agents, as well as in international airports, train stations, etc. They make profit, and compete, by manipulating two variables: the exchange rate they use to calculate transactions, and an explicit commission for their service. For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... A travel agency is a store where individuals or families go to buy travel packages. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street station in 1865. ... The payment of commission as remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. ...

The exchange rates charged at public bureaux are generally related to the rates available to the banks themselves, adjusted to make a profit. A bureau will often display a board listing separate "We buy" and "We sell" rates for each currency they deal in; this allows them to "sell" a currency (e.g. a UK bureau converting sterling to euros) at a lower rate than they "buy" it (e.g. converting the euros back to sterling). “GBP” redirects here. ... “EUR” redirects here. ...

As an example, if the internationally traded rate on a particular day was 1.50 euros per pound, making £100 worth €150; a bureau de change might "sell" euros at a rate of 1.40 (so that £100 gets the customer only €140) and "buy" at 1.60 (so that it takes €160 to get £100); the difference makes the profit for the bureau. Their round-turn profit on these trades would be €160 - €140 = €20, or 13.33%.

Commission is generally charged as a percentage of the amount to be exchanged, subject to a minimum fee for small transactions. Some bureaux advertise themselves as commission-free, and then make up the lost profit through the exchange rates they offer. As an additional complexity, some bureaux offer special deals on either commission or exchange for customers returning from holiday with leftover foreign currency bought at that bureau. Bureaux de change sometimes buy or sell coins of foreign currencies at a higher profit margin, due to the higher cost of storage and shipping compared with banknotes. The percent sign. ...

A Bureau de Change at an airport.

In general, changing money at a bureau de change before travelling is more expensive than withdrawing it using a foreign cash dispenser (through a system such as Cirrus Network) or paying directly with a debit or credit card, ^{[citation needed]} although this varies depending on the bank/card issuer, and the type of account held. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 332 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image needs to be cleaned up, because: Blurry For help, see Commons:Images for cleanup. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 332 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image needs to be cleaned up, because: Blurry For help, see Commons:Images for cleanup. ... Outdoor ATMs may be free-standing, like this kiosk, or built into the side of banks or other buildings An automatic teller machine, automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine is an electronic device that allows a banks customers to make cash withdrawals and check their account balances without... Cirrus Network allows MasterCard users or bank cards with access to MasterCards to be able access Automated Teller Machines (ATM) or Automated Banking Machines (ABM) with their cards. ... A debit card is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. ... Credit cards A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. ...

In 2002 many bureaux de change reported substantial reductions in profit due to the replacement of many European currencies with the Euro).

In popular culture

The notable 1994 news parody The Day Today featured a spoof soap opera called The Bureau, set in a "high class" bureau de change and run by soap-opera stereotypes (the arrogant boss, the gay man, etc.). In the programme, the soap supposedly replaced the BBC Nine O'Clock News, and then failed to attract large audiences leading to it being sent on tour on the back of a lorry. This was a reference to the failed BBC soap opera Eldorado.

The folk-spoof group "Flight of the Conchords" makes an oblique reference to bureau de change in the song "Foux Da Fa Fa", in which one of the band members sings the line "Bonjour mon petit bureau de change" to one of the women in the park. The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs news programmes. ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... Programme titles from 1985. ... Eldorado was an ill-fated British soap opera that ran for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to 9 July 1993. ...

See also

• Exchange rate
• Digital currency exchanger
• Continuous linked settlement
• Financial instruments
• Gold standard
• List of international trade topics
• Hyperbolic coordinates
• Table of historical exchange rates
• Currency Pair
• Foreign exchange market