I started to use Everbank about 2 years ago when I inherited some money in Euros that I didn’t want to convert into a declining dollar. Starting about a year ago, I use the checking account to pay my bills.
It’s been pretty trouble-free for me. They’ve handled international wires, automatic debits and all, with no problems I can recall.
Their rates on foreign currency are low. I like the ability to send wires easily to my relatives in Europe, but if I had a larger amount at stake I’d hunt for another alternative. There are (Rydex, Barclays IPath?) funds that pay better yields on larger amounts. I think the Barclays is an exchange-traded note that they claim pays capital gains instead of interest, so you pay less in taxes.
I am considering getting some Yen exposure by buying Yen/USD futures from the CME. Seems pretty efficient, but I’ve been too lazy to research the details and execute, so I don’t know all the pitfalls.
