Bureau de change

A bureau de change is often located at a bank, at a travel agent, airport, main railway station, large supermarket branches, and anywhere else where there is likely to be a market for people needing to convert currency.

Some of the major players include HSBC, Travelex, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

The exchange rates charged at bureaux are generally related to the spot prices available for large interbank transactions, and are adjusted to ensure a profit.

Theoretically, an average consumer could exchange £2 and receive €3 (or vice versa), but in practice they would find it very hard if not impossible to secure such a rate.

If exchange rates are relatively stable, the fees charged by a bureau may exceed any likely fluctuation and it also makes the company's accountancy easier.

[citation needed] In the alternate, some prefer to buy their currency before they travel, either just for a sense of security against credit card fraud typically achieved by tampered card readers or hackers, or because they expect to benefit from more favorable conditions thinking the exchange rate is better at that time than it will be when they make their trip.

[citation needed] In 2002, many bureaux reported substantial reductions in profit due to the replacement of many European currencies with the euro.

The Financial Action Task Force offers a set of recommendations for money services businesses to identify risky customers and transactions, however it is up to the various regulatory authorities to set out the specific regulations that govern the money services businesses in different countries.