You don’t want to lose money on conversion fees at foreign exchange offices? Or do you plan on trading exotic currencies, but you can’t find them at your local banks and exchange offices? Companies like US First Exchange have made these problems a thing of the past.
These companies offer top-notch online exchange services that will save you a lot of time and money. However, a lot of people are still suspicious of dealing with money online. And they have the right to be – there is a lot of scams on the internet.
This doesn’t mean that you should keep doing it the old-fashioned and harder way. All you have to do is get some basic education on secure ways of exchanging currency online and follow some ground rules. This article should be enough to start with.
Recognize a Legit Online Exchange Service
It’s very important that you learn how to recognize a legitimate exchange service online. Luckily, it’s pretty simple. Naturally, it involves some googling. After you’ve found a website that matches your demand, you should spend a couple of minutes inspecting it.
Make sure that they have a phone number and a physical address displayed on the website. If they do, look up their address online and see if it seems legitimate. For example, if it appears to be a residential suburban house or an abandoned business space, you should probably pass.
If it seems legit, you should google other people’s experiences with the company in question. If their reviews don’t indicate that it’s a fraudulent business, then you’ve probably found a legitimate service. As the last step, make sure to call their phone number in order to increase the feeling of security.
Recognize a Scam
Now that you know how to recognize a legitimate online exchange service, you’re partially protected from scammers. But there’s more work to do in order to decrease the chances of falling a victim to fraud. You just have to pay attention to some common red flags and you will be well protected.
As already mentioned, not having a legitimate physical address is a sign to stay clear of the website. Another major red flag is persistent marketing. If there’s a lot of pop-ups and spam emails convincing you to work with them, you should probably pass.
When it comes to online currency trading, you should definitely avoid robot trading systems. A lot of services will mention these systems as 100% reliable, but that’s simply not possible. The market often fluctuates based on unexpected events, and there’s no way that a robot can predict them.
You should obviously avoid solo agents, as they don’t have an actual licensed company behind them. Anyone promising exaggerated returns is probably lying to you, and don’t let anyone tell you that this business is risk-free. It’s called speculating for a reason. If they are trying to convince you that success is guaranteed, you’ll know that their intentions are suspicious, to say the least.
Read the Exchange Rates Properly
Maybe you’re already comfortable with reading the exchange rates, but it won’t hurt to go over the basics. Let’s say you want to buy some Iraqi dinars, and you’ve found an online exchange service that has them. The converter will probably show something like USD/IQD = 1.4. USD or IQD here represents one unit of the currency.
So does this mean that one Iraqi dinar costs 1.4 US dollars or vice versa? In cases like this, the first code in the pair always represents the currency that you’re buying. So, in this case, the formula says that you need 1.4 dinars to buy one dollar. By changing their positions in the converter, you’ll learn how much does it cost to buy one (or more) Iraqi dinars.
Distinguish Mark-ups From Conversion Spreads
The converter you find on the exchange service’s website most probably won’t show the same exchange rates as Google. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that they’re illegitimate. What you see is the result of a mark-up. The exchange offices don’t charge you a service fee directly. Instead, they mark up the exchange rate in order to profit on the exchange.
That way you end up paying more than what’s the official market rate, but that’s the only way you can exchange money legally. The exchange services are not social services, so they have to make a profit somehow. With this on your mind, you can compare different converters and choose the most favorable.
The Process
With all of the above covered, you are ready to start the process of safe online currency conversion. Assuming you’ve already picked the service that suits you, you should place an order for the exact amount of cash you want to be delivered to your home. Make sure to type in the correct info, especially the exact address.
At the checkout, you will be asked to fill in your credit card info. After you’ve placed an order, you should expect a phone call from the company seeking confirmation and verification of your identity. Once your order is verified and processed, you should receive a confirmation and estimated delivery time and your credit card will be charged.
The delivery is handled by professionals trained to handle valuable packages, so you don’t have to worry about losing your money. They will require a signature confirmation at the time of delivery so that both sides are confident that the package is being delivered to the right person.
In order to completely secure yourself from unpredictable events, you should consider insuring your package. Online exchange services like US First Exchange offer package insurance at great prices.
All in All
Online exchange services only make one portion of all the incredible business innovations allowed by the internet. They really simplify what used to be a tiring process of exchanging foreign currencies.
Plus, these services made everyone eligible to participate in market speculations. This is no longer a licensed brokers’ privilege. Besides, these services make a great assist to exotic currency collectors, since it used to be almost impossible to get in possession of certain currencies.
With the infinite options, the internet offers also comes a lot of threats. The scammers are lurking on every corner of the web, but with some basic education, you will easily avoid them. We hope this article has supplied you with the required knowledge.
