Today's Foreign Exchange Rates

Foreign exchange can be confusing, so to help break through the confusion, here are some common terms associated with currency:

Sell rate – This is the rate at which we sell foreign currency in exchange for local currency. For example, if you were heading to Europe, you would exchange British pounds for euros at the sell rate. 

Buy rate – This is the rate at which we buy foreign currency back from you into your local currency. For example, if you were returning from America, we would exchange your US dollars back into British pounds at the buy rate of the day. 

Holiday money rate or tourist rate – This is another term for a sell rate. 

Spot rate – This is known more formally as the ‘interbank’ rate. It is the rate banks or large financial institutions charge each other when trading significant amounts of foreign currency. In the business, this is sometimes referred to as a ‘spot rate’. 

Spread – This is the difference between the buy and sell rates offered by a foreign exchange provider such as us. 

Cross rate – This is the rate we give to customers who want to exchange currencies that do not involve the local currency. For example, if you want to exchange NZ dollars US dollars. 

Commission – This is a common fee that foreign exchange providers charge for exchanging one currency with another.