How to pay for your dream overseas wedding the right way

So you have made the big decision, you are officially tying the knot overseas! Congratulations and you should expect the best day of your life. Whether you are planning to get married in France, Spain, Australia or Canada; it is important to consider all the financial and non-financial implications to an overseas wedding. One such pivotal factor to consider is how to pay overseas suppliers and not get ripped off by poor exchange rates.

To help get to the bottom of this issue; we have called in the help of international money transfer comparison site MyCurrencyTransfer.com.

Make use of specialist foreign exchange brokers. 

If the amount you are looking to transfer overseas is over £500, consider non-bank foreign exchange providers. The exchange rate margin that most banks apply is substantial, meaning you could be paying up to 5% of the value of the transfer through a poor exchange rate. Banks make money on FX by selling foreign exchange at the interbank rate (i.e the market rate) plus adding a significant margin. Always keep in mind the fact that two types of fees exist in a currency transaction. There is the transaction fee (i.e. £20 cost to wire money overseas) but also the less obvious ‘hidden fee’ which is essentially the exchange rate. 

Specialist foreign exchange brokers offer wholesale exchange rates and apply far tighter spreads on each currency transaction. Expect to receive a margin of 1% and under when sending a larger amount of money overseas. However, when using a foreign exchange specialist (over a bank), make sure they are authorised and regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) for the provision of payment services. 

Questions you should ask your broker:

- How long have you been in business?

- Do you charge some type of setup fee? (most legitimate brokers offer ZERO cost to sign up and a FREE no obligation trading facility

- Is the process simple?

- Do you specialist ONLY in foreign exchange or try to sell me lots of other products?

- Do you segregate client accounts?

- Are you FSA authorised and regulated?

- How much currency do you transact per annum?

- How long will it take for my funds to arrive?

By asking the right questions (detailed above), you are well on the way to making a great saving on your international money transfer. Also, when looking to take some holiday money with you for the wedding, don’t forget to buy travel money at the best exchange rates. A quick shop on travel money price comparison websites will usually get you the best deal.