When Should You Check the Exchange Rates, and How Often?

So, you’re looking to make a money transfer. Maybe you have a bill that needs paying, or maybe you have future travel plans and want to have some local currency. Whatever your reason for transferring, what’s the first step? Odds are, you’ll be checking the exchange rates on the Currency Converter.

For a lot of people, the exchange rate can be the deciding factor in whether or not they want to send money at a given time. As a result, some people wonder, “Is there a best time to check the rates or transfer money?”

The markets can be complicated, but we can give you (some) answers.

Is there a best time of day to check the exchange rates?

You might have heard the rumors. Some people claim that the exchange rates are “best” in the mornings. The truth? Not even close.

For starters, no one has found any correlation between exchange rates and time of day. Exchange rates are impacted by a host of factors—such as inflation, recessions, and national disasters—but the time of day is not one of them.

There’s also another question that bears asking: in the global markets, when is morning? Sure, it could be 8 am for you, but it could be 5 pm elsewhere (such as in the country you’re planning to transfer money to). Currency values and exchange rates are affected by global events, not just things happening within the country, and as the old saying goes, the market never sleeps.

The bottom line? No need to wait for a specific time of day to check your rates.

How often should I check the rates?

In general, we recommend checking the exchange rates first, any time you’re looking to make a transfer. The markets can move quickly, and the rate that you saw earlier today might not be the rate that’s currently live in the markets.

If you find yourself checking the rates nonstop in hopes of catching a favorable rate in the moment, there are better ways to ensure that the rates will be in your favor next time you try to transfer. If you set up a Rate Alert, we’ll monitor the markets for you and notify you as soon as your targeted exchange rate has been reached.

What other options do I have?

Do you like the rates right now? If you set up a forward contract, you can lock in that rate for a money transfer on a future date. Then, when the time comes to make your transfer, you won’t need to worry about checking for a good rate: you’ll already have one.

Or do you want to make a transfer in the future, and hope for a better rate? In that case, set up a market order and specify your target rate. When that rate is reached, we’ll automatically purchase the currency for your transfer.

At Xe, we’re committed to helping you to find the solution that best fits your currency and money transfer needs. Want to know more? Sign up for a free account to get started.