XE, EXCHANGE RATES, AND MARK UPS EXPLAINED

Deciding when to make an international transfer and at what rate can be critical to protect businesses from exchange rate fluctuations. This is why risk management experts and currency specialists play an important role in the market to safeguard your profits from the volatile foreign exchange markets of the world. So if the fees charged by overseas money transfer providers like PayPal or Western Union make your heart skip a beat, you know it’s time to find someone who rises above the competition.

XE.com-history and position of the site

There are several money transfer companies in the market, so finding one that fits your personal or business requirements can be challenging if you don’t know where to look. This is where transferring money with XE eliminates the hidden fees that other financial institutions charge discreetly or otherwise.

Unlike the scores of other independent exchange services operating in the market, XE has been in the business for over 20 years and is a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, which itself is the leader in facilitating electronic payments between banks, retailers and consumers around the world. In fact, leading brands like PayPal, Google, Netflix and Apple use XE.com international money transfers for their payments.

XE Money Transfers

XE Money Transfer is an online foreign exchange remittance company having its headquarters in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The foreign exchange experts at XE ensure that the customers get the best deal when using their portal. XE.com International money transfers allow you to remit money in 220 countries and across 139 currencies, with almost every transaction being completed in a single working day. There are no fees, the rates are competitive and regular updates are sent on your phone via SMS or through email.

XE collaborates with independent third-party research companies to gather data on rates and fees. These companies then request a money transfer quote from some banks and XE for the specified amount to be transferred within a matter of minutes. These details are then recorded and supplied to XE so that the FX margin for XE Money Transfer can be calculated and passed on to the customer. With zero transfer fees, XE Money Transfer is an affordable and efficient way to send money internationally. However, there may be hidden charges levied by the participating banks, over which XE has no control.

Why do the exchange rates on XE.com and XE money transfer service differ?

Exchange rates provide an indication of how much your money is worth, if exchanged into the currency of another country. Since currency exchange transactions are happening 24×7, seven days a week, there are bound to be fluctuations in the foreign currencies that are being actively traded. These rates are known as flexible exchange rates, as they keep changing constantly from one moment to another, depending upon supply and demand.

Since most of the currencies of the world are bought and sold based on flexible exchange rates, high demand or shortage will lead to an increase in its price. The exchange rates at XE.com are linked with foreign exchange markets. When the markets are open, the rate offered to you will keep fluctuating till you confirm your transaction, after which the exchange rate is treated as fixed. In other words, the rate you see on the XE.com website is not the mid-market rate, because if the markets are closed on weekends, the rate last offered will be when the market last closed and not current.

What is the difference between interbank exchange rate and buy/sell rates?

A question that often crops up from time to time, especially for new entrants wishing to trade in foreign exchange, is that why is the buying and selling rate for a currency pair different? You will always find this anomaly whenever you open your trading portal. In order to fully understand what these two rates mean, you need to have a basic understanding of how trading in foreign exchange works.

The concepts are actually very simple. The buying price, also referred to as the bid price, of a currency exchange rate is considered to be the rate at which the market is willing to buy the currency at. The selling or ask rate is the rate at which sellers within the market are ready to offload their currency at.

The buying rate will always be lower than the selling rate, the difference being known as spread. The spread between the buying and selling rate is effectively a tool to ensure a profit for the agent who facilitated the deal. As a rule of thumb, the more liquid the asset, the smaller the spread, as when trading in Euros or US dollars which are said to be the most liquid currency pair in the world. The spread widens as the liquidity is passed down to smaller specialists who each want to claim their share in the deal.

The interbank rate, also known as the mid-market rate is exactly halfway between the buying and selling rate of a currency pair. Unfortunately, this rate is reserved for big banks dealing in large transactions, which means the average person making a smaller transfer has to pay a hefty markup for the service provider to make a profit. On average, this levy is between 4%-6% and can affect your wallet significantly if you are making international transactions regularly.

Overview

XE charges no transfer fees no matter which currency and amount transferred.XE also offers great exchange rates. However, XE is a business and needs to make a profit to survive. It is therefore important to look closely at the way XE structures the payments.

Since mid-market rate is not achievable through XE, they cover costs through markups. Markups tend to be 0.5% to slightly less than 1% over the mid-market rate for most currencies, except for a few. This against many competitors who have markups of  over 1% in all cases. It is therefore important to check the exchange rate, if you want to consider XE for sending money abroad.