How to exchange currency?

I would like to get some foreign currency to lessen my exposure to the dollar, I don't like all my eggs in one basket (the dollar) or two baskets (dollars and silver). Is there an easy way to exchange say $500 or $1000 dollars for Chinese yuan? or Canadian dollars, etc?

 

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Good question, I've always wondered the same thing, I think International Airports and embassies do this, but I have none of those at my disposable...

 

https://www5.bankofamerica.com/foreigncurrency/index.action

This is BofA for florida, if you have an account, you can exchange up to 10,000. Maybe other banks also by google.

Jim

 

Would it matter if you invested electronically or if you held the paper? Seems the "physical" paper would be the way to go... wow I never thought I would use those 2 words in the same sentence lol!

 

Most national banks will exchange currencies. Some keep the popular currencies on hand. They may have to order what you want. See the teller at your bank for more info. Don't go to the airport, though, as the fees are higher there than at a bank. It is most important that you do your homework before trading.

 

National banks will also charge a high fee for buying and selling foreign currencies. The national bank I deal with in the States, for example, would pay me 5 cents below the exchange rate to buy Japanese yen. I imagine the fees would be even higher for Chinese yuan.

 

I would think the easiest would be just to have a bank account denominated in a foreign currency. You can just wire funds into it. THis is the cheapest option. I keep a Euro account just for this reason.

 

For the best exchange rate I would just phone all the five big banks in Vancouver. They would never connect me to a main exchange person, I would have to deal with a local branch manager who in turn would phone their foreign exchange department to give me the best rate that day. I would then wire transfer the US funds, and I would get the Cdn rate on the day they received the transfer.

I'm a US citizen when I used to hold large amounts of Canadian currency, I would open several accounts at many different Canadian banks as there equivalent insurance to our FDIC insurance was not comparable.

 

I have to ask, since this is a bullion forum, isn't this what you are really doing anyway buying PM? I mean, a commodity is independent of any currency, if your currency goes down, the PM goes up since it has not lost value all over the world.

To me, this is the best aspect of PM since it is NOT denominated in dollars. There are problems with PM investing, namely storage costs and dealer markup between buying and selling, but I thought this was its primary advantage, currency diversification.

Chris

 

Check out xe.com.

Convenient to use, better exchange rate/fee combination than most banks, and waaaaaaaay better cost than airport locations.

They handle just about any size transaction, from very small to huge.

 

Good topic.................
just wondering how a U.S. citizen manages to open several accounts at Canadian banks.
I always understood you had to be a Canadian citizen to open or have a bank account in Canada.

 

My understanding is that a US citizen can open an account in Canada, but it has to be done in person.

 

It's been awhile since I did this, but Bank of Montreal gave me an account #, over the phone, while I was living in Calif. I wired the funds to that account #. Maybe because it involved a substantial sum they accommodated me. At the time Canadian banks equivalent "FDIC" insurance was 1/4 of our FDIC for a H/W.

 

well I live 45 minutes from the Canadian/US border here in Michigan. I wanted a few things in their currency once when I went over to visit family and just exchanged my US currency for theirs at the border. I know not everyone has access to another country like I do lol.

 

I visit Canada regularly but I'm looking more for things like Chinese, Euros, etc that cannot be had right across the border.

 

I think the restrictions on setting up bank accounts in foreign countries have become move severe since 9-11, and especially in the last 5 years or so.
And you have to report all foreign accounts to the Treasury Dept. if the cumulative balance reaches $10,000 at any time during a tax year.

 

I would invest in British Pounds and Euros.

I live near an airport so I get my money changed there every couple of months.

 

What about AAA, they sell foreign currencies as they are a travel agency. That was were I bought some AUD before my trip to Australia. Not sure how much they charge though...

 

I'm hoping someone more versed than I can chime in here, but since China controls so much of the US debt I've heard that their yuan is directly tied to our dollar. Wouldn't this make it a poor choose for a forex investment? I apologize, I am blatantly ignorant on this subject matter, so I hope this isn't an absurdly stupid question =D

 

If you are only concerned about protecting your money due to $ erosion, then open a Forex account. It's liquid and you won't have any difficulties like with the other options. If your plan is to horde foreign currency, physical or in foreign bank account as safety do to a $ default, keep in mind that if that happens, they will most likely not redeem your money. In such an event, it's very possible if not probable that foreign countries will freeze assets until the USA pays them back their debt. None the less here is some advice.

Stay away from China. The communist dictators running that country are balancing the demands of an unsustainable population vs heavy exploitation of the people and environment with their western corporate partners. Only about 12-15% of the population is gaining the benefits and there is heavy corruption. Huge riots are taking place there that now go unreported in the Western media. Stay away from any country where 2/3rds of the population is living in dire poverty and has no hope of improvement. (India)

Stay away from any country that is in the EU and especially those in the Eurozone. That place is unraveling like a Chinese made sweater. Don't bother with the UK. It's banksters are willing partners with the USA banksters. Japan? Fukushima should be worrying to everyone. It's a disaster of epic proportions that also is going unreported in the western media.

I would recommend Russia instead. It's mostly insulated from events that are occurring for these reasons.

• It has oil. In fact more oil than it needs. These days it is Russia that sets pricing for oil, not OPEC.
• It has a relatively small population compared to it's land area that is highly educated and which can sustain itself if needed. As an example, at the end of the year, it will be the only country on earth that has a manned space program.
• It can completely defend itself, even against the USA. While a war with the USA would probably mean end of life on Earth, this really means the USA military won't screw around with it. It's probably the only country in the world with this ability.
• It has a 6th of the world's resources.

Russia has resources, oil, an educated population, a very sophisticated industrial base, and isn't worried about the continuing antics of the USA. I don't see much of a downside.

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One other piece of advice. If you are going to park your money outside the USA, make a habit of reading the online newspapers and other media in that country. Do it daily so you understand what is going on in wherever. The Internet makes that easy now even if you don't speak the language. Don't rely on the USA corporate media.