Portugal - euro - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - euro

The euro (ISO: EUR) is involved in slightly more than 30% of all foreign exchange deals, and as such, is the world’s second most traded currency, behind the US dollar.

The euro is the currency of the eurozone (officially called the ‘euro area’), which consists of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union, and is used by almost 350 million Europeans. It was introduced in January 1999.

Of all the thousands of exchange rates that exist in the world, the euro-to-US dollar exchange rate is the most actively traded, or most ‘liquid’.

Since its introduction, the euro’s lowest value against the dollar came in October 2000 when EUR/USD hit lows of 0.8231. The currency was strongest in July 2008, shortly before the worst stage of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when EUR/USD reached 1.6038.

There are currently more than twenty nations and territories which peg their currencies to the euro, the largest of which is Denmark.

EUR News, Forecasts and Trends

For more EUR currency market forecasts you can read the full article euro Forecasts.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Portugal

Portugal has been popular with European vacationers. Beaches and high mountains aside, the rest of Portugal is a diverse and verdant country of deep valleys and rolling hills dotted with stone-built villages. The country has with excellent sandy beaches and rugged coastline, as well as cosmopolitan and architecturally-stunning cities. Portugal is an affordable city, prices don't go to high and you can sleep comfortably and eat cheaply with ease.

A city metro ticket will generally start from 1.50 EUR. Inter-country trains and buses are inexpensive. Food, accommodation, wine is all very cheap, especially when compared to other EU countries. Taxis are a expensive way of getting around.

Travel money for Portugal

Save money and time by Ordering your euro online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the EUR cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.

Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.

For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in euro otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Send Money to Portugal - Best Rates

To get a good (and fair) exchange rate when sending money to Portugal you need to find and compare exchange rates for International Money Transfers (IMTs).

The available FX rates for sending money abroad can be very different to the mid-market (wholesale) rate which you see reported online and in the News.

You should especially compare your own bank's exchange rates to those available from Money Transfer specialists to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Portugal

When sending money to Portugal it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or euro amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted EUR amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Portugal.

Use the above Send to euro calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more euro deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!