How can my remittance beat the exchange rate?

Q. Recently, due to rapid fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate, expats in Korea and Koreans who frequently make overseas remittances have big concerns. Are there any products to help those people respond to huge fluctuations in foreign exchange rates?

A. After 2007, the dollar’s value against the won soared. Though its rapid rise has been mitigated and its volatility reduced, it is true that customers who remit money overseas are still very sensitive to exchange rate changes. And it is difficult for ordinary customers to check rates daily.

These people can use a service whereby the customer designates the foreign exchange rate under which he or she wants to make a remittance and, when the market rate reaches the designated rate, the remittance is made automatically or a notice is delivered to the customer’s cell phone.

Several banks offer such services. Korea Exchange Bank’s is called the “Multi Exchange Rate Designation Service.”

It allows customers to designate three exchange rates in advance, and when the bank-posted rate hits any one of the designated rates, an overseas remittance is executed automatically from the previously indicated amount.

You can designate up to three different rates, and you can register a new designation anytime you like, so only one visit to a KEB branch is necessary to sign up.

The service supports remittances in U.S. dollars, but also in other currencies such as the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swiss franc, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Hong Kong dollar and the Singaporean dollar.

Customers cannot check rates all the time in their everyday lives, and some customers do not have time to visit a bank even if they do know the rate.

But if you visit a KEB branch or a branch of your bank, a service should be available to meet your needs.

Kim Hyoung-kyoung, Assistant manager, business division, KEB