Currency Exchange for Poker rooms... whats the cost?

[Splash]

At the moment I only use poker rooms that have £ accounts (im mean accounts as opposed to £ tables) so places like BF, Hills and StanJames.

I've never really been interested in some of the US rooms as they only offer $ accounts and i figured the exchange rates would cost both in and out.... i'm guessing a Neteller $ account is the best way fwd... but what is the cost exactly ?

If I have £1000 pay it into a netteller $ account and withdraw it.... how many £ do I end up with?   Trying to find the rates on the netteller site but no joy.

[Sheriff Fatman]

You're correct in assuming that a Neteller US$ account is the best way to transact around the US$ sites.  By doing this you only incur exchange rate hits when you actually cash out to your bank account again, rather than with each transaction.

The actual rates will vary on a daily basis and I'd be surprised if Neteller gave any indication of the rate prior to transfer (from experience of using their debit card where the costs are prohibitive).  If you have a switch card available, a good option is to use Party for your ultimate cashout.  They give you the exchange rate prior to you confirming the transaction so you know exactly how much you will receive in advance.  The transactions themselves are quick too, normally clearing your account within a couple of days.

The only downside is that you can only do this via Switch.  Ordinary Visa debit cards are not accepted at Party for withdrawals (although they are for deposits).  This is a situation common to many of the US$ sites.

Sheriff

[TightEnd]

current spot rate is $1.75 to the pound

so you can compare the rate you are offered there with this

[Splash]

Thanks.... So I'd go...

£ Bank Account... switch payment to PartyPoker account in $....  Party withdraw to Netteller $.... Neteller to XXX poker room $... win a fortune.... XXX poker room to netteller... neteller to Party.... party $ to switch £


Dont party have any restrictions in place where you have to withdraw to same card as you pay in?  (like BF do)

[Sheriff Fatman]

Thanks.... So I'd go...

£ Bank Account... switch payment to PartyPoker account in $....  Party withdraw to Netteller $.... Neteller to XXX poker room $... win a fortune.... XXX poker room to netteller... neteller to Party.... party $ to switch £


Dont party have any restrictions in place where you have to withdraw to same card as you pay in?  (like BF do)

Looks about right to me.

I'm sure if you never played at Party they might query the fact that you were only depositing and withdrawing through them, but as long as you have some record of play there it shouldn't be a problem (and you'll usually have some sort of reload bonus worth clearing there to generate some play anyway).

Party are definitely more flexible with regard to payments and withdrawals compared to other sites.  I've mixed and matched between Neteller and Switch for quite a while without any problems.

By the way, your initial deposit there in from UK Sterling doesn't have to be via Switch - you can use any card, including Visa debit cards.  The restriction on Switch only applies to withdrawals.

Sheriff

[Indestructable]

Having just made a withdrawal I was stunned at the poor rate @ 1.8297 dollars to the pound, compared to a high street bank at 1.7081 which makes a 6.6% difference. I wasn't expecting a good rate, but not as bad as this.

Am I right in thinking that there is no way around this? I read about Netteller but this seems to help with moving money around, but does it help get me  a better rate?

[Sheriff Fatman]

Having just made a withdrawal I was stunned at the poor rate @ 1.8297 dollars to the pound, compared to a high street bank at 1.7081 which makes a 6.6% difference. I wasn't expecting a good rate, but not as bad as this.

Am I right in thinking that there is no way around this? I read about Netteller but this seems to help with moving money around, but does it help get me  a better rate?

I'm pretty certain you're quoting a high street sell rate there, not the rate you'd get if you were selling dollars to them.

Just checked online for an indicative figure and the first one I found with both rates being displayed were Natwest with a sell rate of 1.6933 and a buy rate of 1.8884.  Compared to that the figure of 1.8297 looks pretty competitive.

Sheriff

PS: And in answer to your other query there is no way around avoiding some form of transaction cost in getting $ into £.  A US$ Neteller account will reduce the number of transactions where you take a hit but ultimately you still have to convert at some point.

[Splash]

I looked into this in a little more detail and posted an article on my blog about it.   I'm looking at doing a follow up article on it soon with some more detailed figures.

http://wonkyjim.blogspot.com/

[Indestructable]

Thanks to you both.