Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

When I need cash I trot down to an ATM, put in my card and out comes the required amount, most times. On my UK bank statement two days later the transaction shows up, with the exchange rate , which agrees with the rates published in the press here and of course, a charge for the transaction. Now several of my friends suggest that the go to an ATM in Girne and draw Sterling from their UK account
and take this to an Exchange to convert to Lira as they get a much better rate. Has anyone any experience of this and how do the exchanges give a better rate that do the banks and businesses that operate here?

I was told like wise, it works I used the HSBC cash point by the Taxi rank, I do have an HSBC bank account, but Im positive my wife used her Lloyds card as well and there was no charge for sterling
Good Luck

You will always get a better rate at the exchanges in Girne than from any form of banking here eg ATM or over counter. You may also get reduced charges for drawing sterling rather than TL from ATM.

Also, if you are living here then you may find it cheaper to transfer funds by wire or internet than using atm.

Yes, we've been doing that for years now. We get sterling out from HSBC, Garanti and TEB banks and poodle off to the Exchange. ALWAYS a better rate. As far as we're concerned we use the Garanti bank near Mr Pound and then walk across the road to the exchange. Plenty of parking behind Mr Pound. You can also use the Garanti bank in the centre of town and there are plenty of exchanges there. Unfortunately it does appear that TC banks are not geared up to supply sterling. BTW, we get our Euro cash out of the TEB bank as well. We use both Visa and Mastercard UK banks for these transactions.

I draw sterling from the HSBC ATM, as a premier customer I can take £1000 without charge. I then pay the sterling into my HSBC sterling account. When I get home I transfer to TL via the internet as HSBC give a much better exchange rate online than over the counter - it is so much higher that I would be surprised if any other bank or exchange could beat it.

I always withdraw sterling from my HSBC account, which my UK pension is paid into..then pop off to the exchange shop, always the best way to do it. Never withdraw from HSBC account in lira cos the rate is not as good as going to the change shops.

JBA...sorry you have lost me....that all sounds very complicated......why take sterling and then pay it back in to sterling account, sorry but I really don't understand the logic around all those transactions.

mrsgee wrote:JBA...sorry you have lost me....that all sounds very complicated......why take sterling and then pay it back in to sterling account, sorry but I really don't understand the logic around all those transactions.

mrsgee .. The money is drawn at the ATM from a UK account with a UK card .. It is then paid into a TRNC sterling account ..

The money is then changed on line from sterling to TL ..

To do this you require 3 accounts .. A UK account & 2 TRNC accounts, sterling & lira ..

Hope this makes sense

Yes thanks for that Harita, I understand now....I have all those accounts, being a Premier customer myself...so will maybe test the logic to see if I do in fact get a better exchange rate by going through that process...maybe it will better the exchange shops.

Sorry mrsgee, I didn't explain that very well did I? And thanks harita, that is exactly right.

As a further point mrsgee, once the money is in TRNC HSBC sterling account I can watch the exchange rates online and pounce when they are favourable without having to make a journey. The online exchange rate is usually a point or more better, e.g. if their 'over the counter' rate is 2.50 they will give around 2.515 online. Set up the exchange and then click the 'rate' button at the bottom; they then display 2 rates - the 'normal' and 'special just for you'.

JBA & mrsgee ..
Whilst on this subject .. It is possible for you to do all the transactions from the comfort of your armchair & no need to visit the bank ATM to draw out & go in the bank to pay in ..
You can move your money from your UK account to your TRNC sterling account by making a phone call ..
Your money can then be left in sterling or changed to the lira account as & when required ..
Apologies if you know this ..

I tried once to transfer here by telephone but it was fraught with difficulties and the cost of the call, necessarily from my mobile, was horrendous. Their security questions included 'What is your postcode?' which I clearly couldn't answer and my 'haven't got one' didn't satisfy - but of course they don't tell you why. I can only transfer online via SWIFT which takes 3 days and is not always reliable.
Eventually I hope Turkey will be included in HSBC's Global facility - I use this system to transfer to other countries and it is fast and utterly reliable.
And finally I never make a special journey, I just visit the ATM and bank when I am in Girne so it isn't a big deal. Premier customers have a private counter upstairs which usually eliminates any waiting - although I always take a ticket (using my card which gets you higher in the queue than non-customers) and then I can use whichever is available first.

I use HSBC in Jersey. Submit details of transfer on line and if done on morning usually in Girne A/C by afternoon.
JBA, the answer to your post code question will be Mersin 10 that is always the one we use. As for exchange rate, I bank with Garanti and on a good day the rate may be close to Exchange Offices but never better Have always found HSBC offer worst Exchange and interest rates that is why went to Garanti.

I have a real example today. I changed UK£ online - the standard HSBC counter rate was 2.7118. The rate for online was 2.7344.

Anyone know as a comparison what the rate was at any of the Girne Exchange offices? They almost always better the rates at banks even on line.
Garanti was 2.73

You can usually check http://www.monexcyprus.com to get an idea of the exchange rate at the offices - Monexchange in Karakum very often offer better exchange rates than the exchange offices in town. In saying that, I've found that the HSBC online rates are generally better.

well never mind the North hows this for robbery in the South?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21797888