Money Matters - IsraTransfer Currency Exchange Weekly Round-Up Podcast Episode 12

In this week's episode of MONEY MATTERS: THE WEEKLY CURRENCY EXCHANGE ROUND-UP, our Head of Trading, Daniel Engelsman takes a look at the latest currency updates and answers some client questions.

📢 Tune in below for expert analysis and key takeaways!

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TRANSCRIPTION:

PRESENTER:

Welcome to Money Matters, the weekly currency roundup podcast brought to you by Isra Transfer. Whether you're a seasoned investor and expat managing your finances, or just curious about the world of currency exchange, you're in the right place. Each week, Isra Transfer's co-founder and head of trading, Daniel Engelsman, will inform us of the latest trends, insights, and market movements that could impact your money.

From currency fluctuations to economic news, we're here to equip you with everything you need to navigate the ever-changing landscape of foreign exchange. So let's dive into this week's roundup. Daniel, what's the latest update on the exchange rate?

DANIEL ENGELSMAN

Welcome back to another week of analysis.

I can do things slightly differently this week. I will analyse the markets very quickly, but I wanted to cover two questions and things I've clients fell with over the last couple of weeks and some feedback from people. So in terms of the currency exchange markets, we've basically seen Shekel strength against all major currencies, both the pound, dollar, Canadian dollar, they are all much, much lower against the Shekel, or a lot weaker against the Shekel than we've seen for a long time.

Things have stabilised over the last week or so, but we're still seeing pretty low rates compared to what we were six weeks ago, or even two or three months ago. So we're seeing dollar currently hovering around the 3.34 level, pound around 4.53, and the Canadian dollar around 2.45. So that's where we're kind of ending the week.

PRESENTER:

Any advice for those looking to exchange funds over the coming weeks?

DANIEL ENGELSMAN:

Now, in terms of a couple of main points that I really want to discuss, the first one is about preparing funds before you need them.

So we've had a client over the last few weeks who agreed to purchase a property at a certain price, and they didn't really have access to their funds in order to sign the contract yet. So they had to release the funds from investments that they had, and it took them about two or three weeks to have those funds released. Now, the difference in the exchange rate in the time that they agreed to purchase the property, and when they actually converted the funds, it was over a 5% difference.

They transferred over a million dollars. So on a million dollars, they effectively lost out on $50,000 just because of the exchange rate and not having instant access to their funds when they needed it. So really, really important when you're buying a property, make sure you have your funds in order.

You know, when you need to make stage payments, perhaps, make sure that you prepare the funds in advance so that you have access to them. And don't make the mistake that our client made by not having access to the money and effectively losing out on $50,000. Another thing I really, really want to point out, whether you use IsraTransfer or any other Israeli-based company, there's a reason that most people that are purchasing property in Israel use a locally-based company.

There are quite a few different service providers that are recommending companies in the UK or the US to convert their money because they're getting commissioned to do so, and it's not in the best interests of their clients. Why is it not in the best interests? Because if you're buying a property in Israel, you will almost certainly either need a bank check prepared for you or you'll need Shovarim, which is vouchers paid for you. Now, if you're sending the money from an account in the US or the UK and you convert the money with a company there and you have your own bank account here and you're going to handle the bank check and everything else around it, then great, go ahead.

If it's cheaper for you, it's more convenient for you, do it. But if you don't have a bank account here and you don't have a lawyer's trust account, normally people who use a company like us or any other company that does this will allow them to make a bank check so that they can have that for the signing or to pay a Shovarim for a new-build property. If you get stuck, which I've seen so many times over the last couple months, where a client comes to us later in the show, i.e. after they've already converted their money with a foreign currency company, and then they're stuck.

They've got the money in Shekel, but they can't really make a bank check or pay a voucher Shovarim without having a local account in that case. So please don't fall foul of that. If someone's recommending you, you're buying a property, but recommending that you transfer using a company in the UK or the US, just bear in mind that if you don't have your own bank account here, you will probably fall into trouble and it will cause you delays.

Reach out to me, I'll happily discuss it with you. Use another change company that does this in Israel, but please don't, if you're a US-based company, to do that conversion because it will probably cause you problems in the end. On that note, I welcome any new questions and I'll happily answer them in future podcasts.

I'll see you all next week and Shabbat Shalom.

PRESENTER:

And that wraps up this week's Currency Weekly Roundup. We hope you found this episode informative and engaging.

If you enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe and let us know if you have any questions you'd like Daniel to answer. For more information on currency exchange and to stay updated with the latest trends, visit us at isratransfer.com. Join us next week for more insights and analysis. Until then, stay informed and take care.