To buy Euro, Pounds Sterling or Dollars from your bank to fund an overseas property purchase, to buy a car or to transfer pension payments may be convenient - but it's expensive!
If you want to buy 1,000 Euros, Pounds or Dollars for a holiday, maybe the convenience of a high street bank is worth the cost.
It's a whole other ballgame if you need a big chunk of foreign currency for a deposit on an overseas property, or if you need to make regular transfers abroad for living expenses or to fund a mortgage on an overseas property.
If you are in the market for foreign exchange, either as a one-off transfer of a lump-sum or for regular payments, there is a better option than your high-street bank. The savings are well worthwhile and it's much easier than you think!
First, the bank will give you a lower exchange rate than they get on the money-market - say 0.5% lower - so you lose 5 per 1,000.