For people living abroad, knowing where to exchange your foreign currency is an ongoing problem, and an essential survival skill. Brno Daily spoke to Tomáš Ryšánek from Pafin Foreigners about their new service for exchanging EUR, USD and other world currencies. Photo credit: SM / Brno Daily
BD: Pafin Foreigners has been helping foreigners with all kinds of insurance and loans for a long time. What led you to expand your services?
T.R: Actually, our clients came to us with this. We received many questions on this topic. A typical case would be a client who bought some real estate or a car, but their funds were held in an account in a currency other than CZK. The reverse example is clients who work here but want to send money to their families abroad. And we had no way to help them.
BD: Do you provide the service yourself or in cooperation with partners?
T.R: We agreed on cooperation with our partner Cyrrus FX. Most clients know Cyrrus only as an investment broker, but they have been dealing with currency exchange since 2014.
BD: How does it all work?
T.R. It’s very simple. You don’t need to open another bank account anywhere, just send money from your account in CZK or a foreign currency. Cyrrus FX will make the required exchange and the money will come back to your CZK or foreign currency account, depending on whether you are selling or buying. Everything is free of charge, there is no minimum or maximum transaction amount. You can establish a contract online in a few minutes. Only those from a country outside the EU have to come to the Cyrrus FX branch in Prague or Brno to verify their identity after establishing the contract. And all clients who establish a contract via our link (https://www.cyrrus-fx.cz/iz/pafin-foreigners) will additionally receive a discount of 0.10 halérs on the resulting exchange rate!
BD: Are there any obligations arising from registering with Cyrrus FX via your form?
T.R. Not at all. The contract is required by law to provide this service. If someone signs up and never makes a transaction, nothing happens. After registration, everyone receives access to their own account and can start making transactions at any time. In the user interface, they also see the current exchange rates for the desired transaction.
BD: So if I don’t register I won’t get access to the range of offers?
T.R. If you do not have a user account, you will only see the center rates on the Cyrrus FX website. But it is very easy to check that the exchange rate for the desired transaction is really the best one, even before you register. Just call 226 258 226 and check the exchange rate for the desired transaction by phone with the dealer. In the case of larger transactions, clients can also contact us and together we can agree on an even better rate!
BD: Can you give a specific example?
T.R: If, for example, you wanted to sell EUR 1000 on 29 June 2022, the average exchange rate in the bank for EUR 1 was CZK 23.968, at Wise it was CZK 24.475 after taking into account the fee. Clients who made the transaction via our link would receive an exchange rate of CZK 24.60. And we are talking about a relatively small transaction.
BD: Is this service intended only for individuals or also for companies?
T.R: Certainly for companies as well, with larger volumes of financial resources, saving money is all the more important!
For more information on Pafin Foreigners and their financial services for expats, see their Facebook page and website.
