Currency rates / transfering problems !!!

[dave2u]

regards your contract is it not to be paid in sterling hence no problems with exchange rate

 

[Odd-bod]

No its egyptian Pounds, but today the rate is going up-slowly- Tomorrow is decision day.

 

[jojo]

come on odd bod take the plunge and be one of my neigbours on viva reef!! seriously though i know what you mean, i've already paid my £19000 deposit and i'm due to pay my next installment in december so i'm keeping a keen eye on things too. when we paid our £1000 pre contract deposit in july the rate was 10.55, by august it had dropped to 9.89 for our 40% deposit and now its down to 8.6 or something. I must admit i am keeping my fingers crossed to the rate rising as i have my epenses for the venture tightly budgeted for the next 18 months. This fall in the exchange rate has affected the way i can afford the apartment but for 2 years of working overtime and living on rations compared to the gain of a lovely property in gorgeous egypt there is no question in my mind what is the best option.

Would i be better off going through an exchange company like hifx and requesting a transfer at a set rate or to sit it out until December and risk it in the hope of the rate rising to a better rate like 9.5 or even 10 (wishful thinking). then again it could also fall even further. What to do!!!!!!?????

jojo

 

[Odd-bod]

Hi Jojo,

Its been a real roller coster ride this last week. I am due to tranfer tomorrow but I cant now until Monday, but they are not expecting to receive it till next week anyway. I will either transfer with hifx or iceplc.com whoever gives me the better rate on the day, I'll keep you posted ( as long as the economy doesn't take another downturn in the meantime)
The rate is going up gradually after last weeks 'we are in a recession' disaster, assuming I do take the plunge I will lock the rate for the rest of the payments if it reaches 9.3/9.4 again & be happy with that.
I was intending to post you & damon when I had sent the deposit that I have booked a very cheap week on the 26th January & of course I will be visiting my foundations & spending time exploring the area & furniture shops, etc anything in particular you want me to check out is no problem- by the looks of it yours is well ahead, I maybe able to get inside. I have liked how the flats actually look like the computer generated simulation.
Hopefully will be joining you

Audrey:

 

[dave99]

Using HIFX

come on odd bod take the plunge and be one of my neigbours on viva reef!! seriously though i know what you mean, i've already paid my £19000 deposit and i'm due to pay my next installment in december so i'm keeping a keen eye on things too. when we paid our £1000 pre contract deposit in july the rate was 10.55, by august it had dropped to 9.89 for our 40% deposit and now its down to 8.6 or something. I must admit i am keeping my fingers crossed to the rate rising as i have my epenses for the venture tightly budgeted for the next 18 months. This fall in the exchange rate has affected the way i can afford the apartment but for 2 years of working overtime and living on rations compared to the gain of a lovely property in gorgeous egypt there is no question in my mind what is the best option.

Would i be better off going through an exchange company like hifx and requesting a transfer at a set rate or to sit it out until December and risk it in the hope of the rate rising to a better rate like 9.5 or even 10 (wishful thinking). then again it could also fall even further. What to do!!!!!!?????

jojo

Check with any of the currency brokers that you are considering using that they can actually deal in Egyptian currency before signing up
- just because they quote the rates does not mean that they can "deal".
I think HIFX is one that does NOT trade Egyptian pounds.
Some brokers deal in US Dollars as an interim currency which is not helpful.
..
.

 

[dave99]

Interesting to see contracts based in Egyptian currency

regards your contract is it not to be paid in sterling hence no problems with exchange rate

I'm surprised that non-Egyptians are happy to carry the curency risk with contracts in local currency.

Many developers like me are carrying the cost of the exchange rate falls with contracts bieng in pound sterling.
.
.

 

[jojo]

Check with any of the currency brokers that you are considering using that they can actually deal in Egyptian currency before signing up
- just because they quote the rates does not mean that they can "deal".
I think HIFX is one that does NOT trade Egyptian pounds.
Some brokers deal in US Dollars as an interim currency which is not helpful.
..
.

Thanks for that, if they dont deal in egyptian pounds what does this mean if i transfer my money with them. Would i not get the transfer at the rate they quote? i'm new to all this transferring of currency, my last deposit was just paid direct through the banks, would this still be the best thing to do or should i find a currency transfer company to go through instead? any advice is always welcomed!
jo

 

[Odd-bod]

They do trade in Egyptian Pounds JoJo no worries there I have checked (& of course Damon traded with them for his last installment). I also started an account with another but when I phone to check rates they always give the better deal.

After giving you credit for talking me into continuing I haven't transferred.
After its recovery last week the rate dropped even further when I was preparing to transfer this THursday when the Bank of England announced its base rate cuts. I will not contract as long as the rate is at 8.4 if they are unwilling to wait so be it, in a year I maybe getting 9.5-10 again, put into perspective that is a minimum of£4000 I would save. so I will need to see what happens.
Audrey

 

[dave99]

No easy decision

Thanks for that, if they dont deal in egyptian pounds what does this mean if i transfer my money with them. Would i not get the transfer at the rate they quote? i'm new to all this transferring of currency, my last deposit was just paid direct through the banks, would this still be the best thing to do or should i find a currency transfer company to go through instead? any advice is always welcomed!
jo

If any currency broker quotes you a rate then that means that they deal in that currency - but that's not the same as seeing prices quoted on a web site for quick conversion.

Depends on you bank - some banks get close to the best rtates if transfering say £10,000 or over at ata time, others are a lot worse.
I use my own bank, HSBC, and they are not the best but is suits the way I work over the internet without having to deposit the money somewhere else before I can send it to the other party.

Easy with hind sight but had there been a bigger market in Egyptian pounds then it may have been possible to "buy" a chunk of currency for use in the future at a set rate, but I'v e not found anyone willing to do this over the last 18 months and it's not likley to change anytime soon.

What you can do is use the two easy to find rates on the internet and then compare that to the rate that you can get at your bank.
The tourist rate is the lowest point and the interbank rate will be highest (which you are unlikely to ever be able to get).

eg use this link to see rates:

FXHistory - Historical Currency Exchange Rates
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[jojo]

They do trade in Egyptian Pounds JoJo no worries there I have checked (& of course Damon traded with them for his last installment). I also started an account with another but when I phone to check rates they always give the better deal.

After giving you credit for talking me into continuing I haven't transferred.
After its recovery last week the rate dropped even further when I was preparing to transfer this THursday when the Bank of England announced its base rate cuts. I will not contract as long as the rate is at 8.4 if they are unwilling to wait so be it, in a year I maybe getting 9.5-10 again, put into perspective that is a minimum of£4000 I would save. so I will need to see what happens.
Audrey

dont blame you. were tied in now so we've got until december 14th until our next instalment is due. i think we'll just have to bite the bullet and deposit at a rubbish rate and pray it picks up by april for our third instalment. if it conitunes the way it is though it will end up costing us between £5000 to possibly £10000 difference in the price from when we budgeted at the very start when the rate we were getting was 10.5. im still sure though that the property will still be well worth it for us even at the highest price. the only problem ius trying to find enough money to cover the shortfall! think the furniture will have to wait a while...
jo

 

[Odd-bod]

Hi JoJo

More bad news I'm afraid. Last night I e-mailed Karen to say I was going to pull out as the £ fell again - 8.25- 8.35 today- tourist rate is only 7.39. However they said they knew of the situation & I could leave it and they would review on a monthly basis- ie see how quickly the flats continue to sell I suppose, I only stand to lose my reservation fee at the moment.

Audrey:

 

[egyptian]

Exchange rates

Hi does anyone have the latest exchange rates for sterling in hurghada only 8.12 here

 

[Georgina]

Just rang HSBC bank in El Gouna and they said LE8.028 ?!?

El Gouna TV is saying LE8.10.

Usually the rate is better here than in the UK.

And the weather for today:

High 28
Low 16

 

[egyptian]

Exchange rates

My mistake 7.12

 

[queenie40something]

Hi I have merged your thread with this existing one.

I always use this site for checking exchange rates in Egypt Central Bank of Egypt
Today is it showing Buy - 8.1211 Sell - 8.1593. I have always got at least 1% more by exchanging sterling in Egypt rather than the UK.

 

[MrSkipsey]

Last week ( 17th Dec) in the Marriott on Sheraton Road the exchange was 8.38 LE to the £. The week (7th Dec) before it was 7.30 LE to the £ in the UK.

Ive always found that the exchange rate is always slightly better abroad. I always take £100 in foreign currency with me then look for the best deal to change the rest up once Ive landed.

 

[john'n'kate]

We are due to fly out to Hurghada on the 6th March, hoping against hope the exchange rate rises a bit before then.

Any idea what it is (localy) now, anyone?

 

[hiszein]

uk pound

uk pound = 7.79 L.E
let me know if u need more info

 

[john'n'kate]

uk pound = 7.79 L.E
let me know if u need more info

Thanks for that, lets hope it doesn't drop any more. Was thinking of exchanging pounds into Russian Roubles as they are doing better in the exchange for LE.

Going to be extremely fed up if I end up paying £5 for a bottle of Stella

 

[samui13]

Currency question

we need to take quite a bit of cash out to Egypt again in September. We want to change it over there for egyptian pounds as the rate is so much better.

My question - if we take UK Sterling travellers cheques, will we get the same rate for our money or will it be lower than the rate for cash? Would prefer to take travellers cheques as we are on a boat for the first week and normally the doors dont lock!!

If anyone has experience of travellers cheques out there rather than cash it would be appreciated - we will be changing them in the bank over there

Thanks.

Lou