You may ask yourself "why do I need to use specialist currency provider, when I can just use my bank?" Using a currency provider will ensure that you are guided through the process and taken care of through every step. But ultimately a specialist currency provider could save you hundreds, if not thousands of pounds when making an overseas property purchase.

Let's take an example, you are a British resident and are buying a new villa in France. As the villa is new, you would not be paying the whole amount in one go. You will need to put some deposit down and then further stage payments (instalments) during the construction over the next 24 months, with a final payment upon completion. You have agreed on a price for the Villa and all the payments will have to be made in Euros.

However, the actual cost of the villa in sterling will be dependent on how many euros you are getting to the pound, at the time of purchase. So, if Pound Sterling strengthens during those 24 months, the actual cost will decrease but if the Euro strengthens then your costs will increase. You will need to shell out more Pound Sterling than what you estimated for the same amount of Euro. Which means that your property has just become more expensive! Now, Just to give you an idea of the loss you could incur, the price of buying Euros was 1.5387 to the pound on the 1st March 2003; and two years later, on 1st March 2004 it was 1.4174 to the pound. The property you thought would cost you £129, 979 ended up costing you £141,103.
A loss of £11,124!