In a word - yes.
Simply put, on top of the mid-market exchange rate (more on this below) we charge 0%, 1%, 1.3 or 2% plus a small spread (more on this too), while banks and bureaux de change charge anything up to 11% and above.
Let’s break it down...
We use the mid-market rate (or Xe.com rate) as a reference to set our rates. This is the theoretical mid-point between buyers and sellers of a currency and is the rate used in global financial markets. More on that here.
As it’s only theoretical, everyone pays a small fee on top of it, even large financial institutions. Therefore, from time to time, we’ll add a small surcharge to that rate (also called a spread); mostly zero or very close.
On top of this, we only charge 1%, 1.3% or 2% (0% if you if you join us and bring 3 new friends to WeSwap). Other places may say they offer 0% commission. But in reality, they manipulate the exchange rate to effectively charge you anything from 2% up to 11% and above. This can be a combination of a spread, fees or commission.
The net result is some of the cheapest currency available. Sometimes cheaper by as much as 90%.
See below for a recent comparison:
| £ - € Rate | % markup | You get | Difference | |
| WeSwap | 1.1100 | 1.00% | € 1,110.00 | |
| HSBC (€ Rate) | 1.0713 | 4.45% | € 1,071.30 | -€ 38.70 |
| Natwest € | 1.0677 | 4.77% | € 1,067.70 | -€ 42.30 |
| M&S € | 1.0770 | 3.94% | € 1,077.00 | -€ 33.00 |
| Tesco walk in € | 1.0612 | 5.35% | € 1,061.23 | -€ 48.77 |
| Post Office online delivery € | 1.1010 | 1.80% | € 1,101.00 | -€ 9.00 |
| Travelex Heathrow € | 0.9844 | 12.20% | € 984.42 | -€ 125.58 |
Rates checked 19.06.2019 at 11:31. £1000 – EUR. Rates were those quoted on the respective provider websites, at MoneySavingExpert.com, or over the phone.
We will always show you the rate you’re getting (just tap the View button next to the swap on your dashboard) and if you want to find out what the mid-market exchange rate is at any time, websites such as www.xe.com provide very close approximations of the rates trading in the interbank market.
Feel free to check out all our fees and limits here if you like.
You can also use our Smart Swap feature to target future exchange rates. Which means you can get some of the cheapest travel money out there while also making sure you take advantage of big market moves.
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