When choosing from offline and online currency exchange services, you might prefer the ones that charge the lowest fees. In this article, you'll find the list of the most lucrative options.

When you want to exchange a foreign currency in Europe, you don't necessarily need to pay a large fee. From this article, you'll get to know about the places and solutions that should help you to minimize your expenses. Mind that the selection of the available options might vary considerably, depending on your exact location. Also, service providers tend to change their fees and conditions frequently — so please make sure to double-check them before you confirm the exchange.

Credit Cards

Many credit cards enable their users to purchase things from all over the world without paying any transaction or exchange fees. This is especially typical of those cards that offer travel rewards. Besides, credit cards are remarkably safe and well-protected from fraud.

On the flip side, credit card companies lack mechanisms to ship paper currency to you. You won't be able to hold any physical banknotes.

Mind that not all types of cards offer such lucrative conditions! For instance, prepaid travel debit cards might have less protection. Also, they might carry fees for the following services.

• Monthly maintenance

• Using an ATM

• Foreign transactions

• Seeing your statement

• Delivery

Traveler's checks also involve high transaction fees, poor exchange rates, and low-security levels. So if you're interested in checks and cards, credit cards seem to be the only highly viable alternative.

Online Currency Brokers and Payment Systems

The popularity of these two options has been growing steadily for the following reasons.

• Their exchange rates tend to follow the current market

• Their fees tend to be lower than those of in-person currency exchange services and banks

• Many online platforms allow you to transfer money abroad instantly or very quickly

• Some brokers can deliver cash right to your front door

When choosing an online service, make sure it has all the necessary permissions, certificates, licenses, and whatever other documents it might need, depending on your country's legislation.

eBay or Amazon

This might seem like a very unusual option — but it might come in handy if you need to get some of not as common currencies. Since online marketplaces don't specialize in financial services, they might have the following drawbacks.

• They don't verify the authenticity and are not responsible for any fraudulent notes

• They won't insure the entire value of the package

• It might take them up to a week for delivery

• They can't guarantee the quality of notes, so you can never know in advance whether you'll receive circulated or uncirculated ones (this might be especially important for collectors)

And the good news is that marketplaces will ship foreign currency to your home or any other location. Plus, their fees are built into the price that you pay for this currency.

Additional Options

In addition to the methods that were described above, you might want to consider the following alternatives.

• Street vendors. This option is typically available only in large cities and it involves high risks. Very few vendors verify the authenticity of the notes with a currency detector. Plus, their fees might vary widely, depending on location and competition.

• Post offices. Some offices that deliver packages from foreign online stores might exchange currencies too.

• Some travel agents. Normally, they allow people to exchange currencies in their offices regardless of whether they have booked a trip or not.

• Selected shops and supermarkets. Only the largest chain stores might offer this service — such as Tesco, for instance.

Mind that in most cases, it's easier to get euro banknotes and get rid of uncommon notes than carry out the exchange in the opposite direction without prior arrangements.

Options with Higher Fees That You Might Consider Anyway

Banks and Credit Unions

Their fees might be rather high — but still, we'll mention them in this article because this is probably the safest exchange option. Such institutions verify all notes they buy and sell. However, they have a few shortcomings.

• To be able to use their services, you might need to become their client.

• They usually only hold popular notes at branches. If you want to exchange euro or other European currencies for other notes, these notes need to be ordered from elsewhere. You might need to order them at least one week in advance and pick them up only in a certain branch.

Also, before you go abroad, you might want to inform your bank or credit card company about it. Otherwise, they might freeze your account because of fraud suspicion.

Foreign ATMs

A foreign ATM might charge you a fee for an international withdrawal — but the exchange rate should be rather favorable. Eventually, you'll end up paying more or less the same sum as if you were visiting a branch of a bank in person.

Mind that the fee that an ATM charges might depend on its location. Machines in airports and other places that are convenient for travelers tend to offer the least profitable conditions.

Airport Kiosks

Frequent travelers know that such kiosks might charge very high exchange fees, especially when you sell euros and buy some other currency. But if you carry out the transaction the other way around, the exchange rate might be rather affordable and the kiosk might charge you only the transaction fee. It might be slightly higher than the fee of an online broker — but you'll get cash immediately.

The main issue with kiosks is that they're normally ready to process only the most popular currencies.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article came in handy, and now you know how to exchange foreign currencies in Europe without paying huge fees. Many exchange services have a rule: the larger the sum, the more lucrative the exchange rate, and the lower the fees. Before you start the transaction, ask the service provider about any hidden fees that the exchange might involve — for instance, there might be delivery fees. Avoid acting in a haste and don't allow the service provider to rush you — this trick might be typical of street vendors.