Fix Foreign Exchange Rates for up to 1 Year with the Post Office
Post Office
The new Post Office Overseas Property Money Transfer foreign exchange service has launched, enabling customers to make international bank to bank money transfers. It also offers customers peace of mind by enabling them to fix at a favourable foreign exchange rate for up to a year, giving valuable protection against volatile foreign currency fluctuations.
The Post Office Overseas Property Money Transfer service offers competitive foreign currency exchange rates, with 0% commission and no hidden charges. The service reimburses customers for any charges that the destination bank may impose, meaning that customers can save hundreds of pounds a year. Anyone needing to transfer money to an overseas bank account can benefit from the online service.
Sarah Munro, Post Office head of money transfers, said: "Until now, many users of international bank to bank money transfer services have found it to be an expensive business, with limited options for small transfers in foreign currency. They have often been unable to capitalise on the great foreign exchange rates offered by foreign currency specialists because they weren't buying in bulk. And they were also at the mercy of volatile foreign currency markets, making it harder to get the most from their money."
"The Post Office Overseas Property Money Transfer service offers customers the ability to fix at a competitive foreign exchange rate, giving them peace of mind for up to a year, which is a real advantage in current markets. We calculate that with 0% commission and our competitive foreign exchange rates we will be saving customers a serious amount of money if they've just sold their house or are paying a deposit on a new property."
Source PRWeb UK
NS&I Finds the Luckiest Premium Bonds Regions
National Savings & Investments
NS&I research has discovered the luckiest areas of Britain for winning Premium Bonds prizes, showing that those firstly in the South West, and then in the East Midlands, win more Premium Bonds prizes of £1000 or more, than the rest of the UK. Ranking as third luckiest was Wales, while the North East of England emerged as the least lucky of all the regions.
Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager at NS&I, commented: "Each month ERNIE randomly generates the winning Premium Bonds numbers from his home in Blackpool, where all eligible Bonds - regardless of their age - have an equal chance of winning."
"The last year has seen the South West region receive the greatest luck in having their numbers come up, though all other regions were not without their own significant wins. As the numbers are generated randomly each month, we may very well see a change in the rankings of the luckiest regions in the UK next year."
NS&I also discovered that there are currently more than 599,000 unclaimed Premium Bonds (http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/unclaimedprizes.jsp) prizes across the UK, worth over £35 million.
The current odds of each £1 Bond number winning any prize are 36,000 to 1, so with average luck, an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds could win 10 tax-free prizes a year.
The good news is that there is no time limit for claiming prizes. Premium Bonds results can be found by using the Premium Bonds draw (http://www.nsandi.com/news/pbnotice.jsp ) prize checker or writing in to NS&I.
Premium Bonds (http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/index.jsp) are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. They were officially launched by Harold Macmillan, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his 1956 budget.
At the end of June 2009, more than 23 million people had a total of over £40 billion invested in Premium Bonds. There are currently more than one million tax-free prizes from £25 to £1 million being won each month.
All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Source PRWeb UK
Earn Cash as You Shop
Quidco.com - Earn cash back as you spend
As an alternative (or in addition to) voucher discount sites Quidco.com is a great site that gives you cash back when you buy online. You just follow the links that Quidco.com provide and then shop as normal, once Quidco.com have received payment from the merchant, they send it to you.
Earning cash back with Quidco.com is easy, here's how:
- Sign up for a free account at Quidco.com
- Use their search to find a merchant
- Use the link provided
- Make a purchase
- Quidco pay you direct to your bank account or via PayPal
More fivers in cash machines
Typical ATM - © Ian Britton FreeFoto.com
In a bid to get more £5 notes in circulation, HSBC are stocking hundreds of their ATMs with the notes. The trial is taking place in the Midlands and South West of England to begin with, but may be extended if it is successful.
It is estimated that £5 notes have a lifespan of around one year due to their popularity, the Bank of England is very keen to get more of these in to peoples pockets.
Make the most of your ISA allowance
6th October 2009 is an important day for the over 50s.
The Individual Savings Account (ISA) limit will be raised to £10,200 if you are above 50, £5,100 of that can be saved in cash. The uplift applies to the 2009-10 tax year. So if you fit in to this age bracket, now is a great time to start thinking about making the most of your tax-free savings.
There are bound to be some new ISA accounts launched to tie in with this increase, so keep an eye out for some great deals coming up.
Don't panic if you're under 50, the new limits will apply to everyone else from 6th April 2010.