Most currency suppliers publish their travel money exchange rates online for all to see, but some high street banks such as The Halifax only make their exchange rates available to customers who are logged into their online account. Naughty Halifax!
I'm not a fan of companies hiding their exchange rates; it makes it difficult to know how competitive their currency deals are, and in my experience if a company chooses not to publish their exchange rates it's usually because their rates are pretty awful.
So, in the interests of science, I've done the work for you and compared Halifax's exchange rates for some of the most popular currencies ordered in the UK.
This isn't as good as getting real, live exchange rates from The Halifax, but it gives you a rough idea of where they stand against the competition. The rates below are a snapshot of how competitive Halifax's travel money deals were compared to the best and the worst rates available online at the time.
| Currency | Halifax rate | Best online rate | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euros | 1.121 | 1.1622 | -3.68% |
| US dollars | 1.206 | 1.2548 | -4.05% |
| Canadian dollars | 1.467 | 1.5761 | -7.44% |
| Croatian kuna | 8.029 | 8.7962 | -9.56% |
| Turkish lira | 18.117 | 20.1806 | -11.39% |
Data compiled at 19:55 on 30 May 2022. Best online rates were those available on CompareHolidayMoney.com at the time of writing.
Halifax rates are 7.2% lower on average
The results show that on average The Halifax exchange rates were 7.2% worse than the best rates available online at the time. The difference was smaller for euros and US dollars and larger for the more exotic currencies like Croatian kuna and Turkish lira.
In real terms, if you were buying £1000 worth of euros, you'd get €41 more by going with the best online rate compared to if you had ordered with The Halifax.
You might think it's a bit unfair to compare The Halifax's exchange rates with those available online at the time but it doesn't make a difference - you can order travel money online through Halifax (if you're a Halifax account holder) and you'll get exactly the same rate that you would have if you ordered over the counter in a Halifax branch.
As an aside, the worst online exchange rates were all from other UK high street banks; notably Barclays and Santander (who do publish their exchange rates online).
The obvious conclusion from this is banks offer some of the worst exchange rates in the UK so if you can buy your currency literally anywhere else, you'll probably get a better deal.
Where to get the best exchange rates
Unsurprisingly, the best exchange rates can always be found online. For high street currency providers including supermarkets and the Post Office, you'll usually get a better deal if you order online via their website instead of walking in off the street.
To find the very best currency deals available in the UK right now, use our free comparison tool to see who is offering today's best exchange rates.