Bureau de Change
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A bureau de change is an organisation or facility which allows customers to exchange one currency for another. Although French in origin, the term is widely used throughout Europe, so that visitors can easily identify such facilities when abroad.
[edit] Usage
Bureaux de change are often located inside banks or travel agents, as well as in international airports, train stations, etc. They make profit, and compete, by manipulating two variables: the exchange rate they use to calculate the transaction, and an explicit commission for their service.
The exchange rates charged at public bureaux are generally related to the rates available to the banks themselves, but adjusted to always be in their favour. Indeed, a bureau will often display a board listing separate "We buy" and "We sell" rates for each currency they deal in; this allows them to "sell" a currency (e.g. a UK bureau converting sterling to euros) at a lower rate than they "buy" it (e.g. converting the euros back to sterling).
As an example, if the internationally traded rate on a particular day was 1.50 euros per pound, making £100 worth €150; a bureau de change might "sell" euros at a rate of 1.40 (so that £100 gets the customer only €140) and "buy" at 1.60 (so that it takes €160 to get £100); the difference makes the profit for the bureau. Their round-turn profit on these trades would be €160 - €140 = €20, or 13.33%.
Commission is generally charged as a percentage of the amount to be exchanged, subject to a minimum fee for small transactions; some bureaux advertise themselves as commission-free, and then make up the lost profit through the exchange rates they offer. As an additional complexity, some bureaux offer special deals on either commission or exchange for customers returning from holiday with leftover foreign currency which was bought at that bureau - although this generally only covers notes, not coins.
In general, changing money at a bureau de change before travelling is more expensive than withdrawing it using a foreign cash dispenser (through a system such as Cirrus Network) or paying directly with a debit or credit card - although this varies depending on the bank/card issuer, and the type of account held. However, there are security risks in carrying large amounts of cash, especially for those travelling for extended periods (who are likely to need more money), to insecure locations, or taking insecure types of holiday, such as camping. One alternative for such purposes is to buy traveller's cheques.
In 2002 many bureaux de change reported substantial reductions in profits due to the elimantion of the currencies of the Eurozone (and being replaced by euro). This is an income which they continue to be without.
While it is certainly true that bureaux de change do not generally like buying/selling coins of foreign currencies, they will often accept them, but at what could be described as an extortionate rate. This is due to the higher cost of storage, compared with banknotes. It is also due to the fact that, if they cannot sell them back to others, they will have to be shipped back to their origin (which would be much more expensive than notes)
[edit] In popular culture
The notable 1994 news parody The Day Today featured a spoof soap opera called The Bureau, set in a "high class" bureau de change and run by soap-opera stereotypes (the arrogant boss, the gay man, etc.). In the programme, the soap supposedly replaced the BBC Nine O'Clock News, and then failed to attract large audiences leading to it being sent on tour on the back of a lorry. This was a reference to the failed BBC soap opera Eldorado.
