Brexit

On the 23^rd June 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (52%/48%) at the end of a historic referendum. The referendum results caused the GBP to instantly plumet to its lowest level for thirty years. Since then it has regained some ground but at the time of writing this Brexit still has not fully happened, we are still in the transitional period and politicians are debating deal or no deal.

Whatever is decided in 2020 Brexit will have a big impact on the British economy and the British pound.

If you regularly transfer money from Britain you will have noticed the volatility of the GBP and that today it does not buy as much as it used to. The pound may have recovered from the referendum fall but over the past few years overall the value of the GBP has fallen steadily. In June 2016 the GBP to EUR was 1.3 and in June 2020 it is 1.1.

For those transfering EUR or USD into GBP it's good news but for those transfering GBP into USD or EUR it's not. A "No Deal" conclusion will, no doubt, push the GBP down further. A "No Deal" conclusion will mean banks and financial services based in the UK will be unable to serve clients in the EU.

With the GBP fluctuating so much and generally falling; getting the best currency deal possible is more important than ever. That's why employing the services of a professional transfer company is vital. Transfer companies offer better exchange rates than banks because their markup is less and the fees charged by transfer companies are 80-100% lower than most banks.

If you know you have a transfer to do in the months ahead and you suspect the GBP will fall then a Forward Contract could protect you from such future uncertainties.

On the other hand if you need to transfer EUR or USD into GBP then the falling pound is in your favour. CurrencyFair, OFX and TorFX offer a Limit Order that only triggers a transfer when a certain transfer rate is reached.