Funny Money

[andrewducker]

So, what with being off to Tenerife for a week, we needed some Euros.

The nearest bank to my work is an RBS at the top of the street, so I wandered along at lunchtime.

They have a system I've not seen before - you use a touch screen to tell a computer what it is you want, and it then gives you a ticket that puts you in the correct queue. You can then take a seat, and when someone is free who can deal with your issue then there's an announcement (vocal and on screens) telling you where to go. It seems to work pretty well.

Better than the actual process of getting some cash did, anyway. I don't bank with RBS, but I assumed that I'd be able to just use my Visa Debit card to pay them, and they'd then hand me some European wonga.

Sadly, this was not to be the case. It turns out that (a)accepting payment from a debit card is beyond the abilities of RBS, and (b) they only sell Euros (and presumably other currency) in presized bundles (€100, €250, etc.).

So rather than saying "£350 worth of your finest european currency please, here is my card." I had to go first get the cashier to do some maths to work out what the best fit was for £350 worth of euros, and then go and find a cash machine upstairs, take out £300 on my card (that being the maximum it allows per day), and £60 on our joint card (thank goodness for having a joint account!), take that cash downstairs, and hand it over so that she could hand me four envelopes (sealed, of course, and I didn't have the energy to open each of them and check - so I'll be very grumpy if they're wrong when I get home).

Presumably the cash will then be taken back upstairs and put back into the ATM so that someone else can do the same thing for _their_ holiday money.

Somehow, it doesn't feel quite as efficient as it could be.

Comments

[matgb]

People still go to banks to change money. It really is time charges fo roverseas use of ATMs &c were fixed, always a PITA when you don't know what you're getting, but much much easier.

[andrewducker]

Aha! I assumed it was still horribly expensive to use overseas ATMs.

How can I find out what the charges are like now? Any idea?

[matgb]

No clue, haven't been overseas since 2006, but I never actually bothered with worrying about charges &c, I just took cash when I needed it and mostly paid by debit card for stuff.

Your bank should be able to give you an idea of what they'll charge for usage and exchange rates, and some banks do offer accounts set up for regular travellers, others sting you horribly for overseas usage as it's easy profit.

My best experience with overseas ATMs was in the US, but that was mostly as I'd stopped watching the exchange rate and it went very much in my favour while I was travelling so I spent a lot less than I thought I had.

[cyprinella]

My US bank gives me a list of which international banks I can use the ATM at for free. It took a bit of digging, but it was on their website. (And very useful, because it's the sort of asshat bank that not only charges me an international transaction fee, but also charges me for using an ATM that's not theirs, all on top of the ATM's fee. I'm just waiting for them to give me a reason to dump them completely.)

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Or just go to the post-office. They'll give you however many Euros your cash will buy and most any post-office, including the one round the corner from us on London Road, have Euros in-house (although not necessarily other currencies).

I had to go up to the post-office in the St James Centre when I went to get my Czech Crowns but that also has that touch-screen system which was great as there were two folks queuing for currency and about 20 for the main counters :)

Funnily enough, you can also pay by card at the counter.

[andrewducker]

Cheers. Worth remembering for next time.

Slightly further away from my office, but not dramatically.

[aitkendrum.livejournal.com]

Yep the PO are great for currency as are M&S who I walked into this morning and picked USD as well as Trinidad and Tobago Dollars without having to order ahead without a hiccup. Which is the way it should be. PS: if you pay by debit or credit card they seem to insist on photo ID.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I was only asked for ID for travellers cheques, not for cash.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

Why were you getting USD?

/not stalking honest

[aitkendrum.livejournal.com]

/anti stalker mode on

USD preferred locally when buying things rather than TT Dollars.

[henriksdal.livejournal.com]

yes - M&S were good for Euros, as is (I seem to be forever pimping various moneysavingexpert stuff, but they are good) MoneySavingExpert. I got a great deal by buying online and picking up from Waverley Station, of all places.

Then my brother swears by only ever using the currency traders in Istanbul, which apparently are cheaper.

Oh and didn't someone get arrested in Greece for trying to buy something with forged Euros - that they had bought at a UK PO?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I've always taken one of three methods to get foreign money.

#1: Hit a currency exchange. Like, an actual one that lets you swap anything for anything. They usually have no problem converting touristy amounts of cash.

#2: Exchange once I'm in the target country - either at a kiosk in the airport, or simply by hitting a back machine and taking a less favourable exchange rate in exchange for the convenience. Or just using my credit card and, again, sucking up the difference as a way of reminding me that Things In Other Countries Are Expensive And I Do Not Need Them All.

#3: Refusing to spend money for any reason under any circumstances because I refuse to prop up the theocratic regime of a backwards third-world currently-self-destructing hellhole. Get someone else to pay for everything, and then leave as soon as possible. (I only really do this one in the USA)

[andrewducker]

I was vaguely tempted by (2), but I do suspect it would be more expensive, so taking with a reasonable amount, and then using the card for anything over that seemed like the best approach.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I've had (2) come back and bite me when trying to change cash. The kiosks in Prague airport wouldn't touch Scottish notes cos "they're not worth as much as English ones".

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

What are "notes"? Doesn't all money that isn't Funny Foreign Currency come on a little plastic card?

(I mean, that's the other thing. I don't *carry* cash, most of the time. When I'm away from home I'll usually keep $40 or so on me in case I want to hit something cheap in a hurry - roadside food stands outside Canada rarely take plastic for some weird reason - but that's all. Cash is... awkward.)

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this was when I was facing a four hour delay on the flight out, was out of cash, needed food and didn't want to get more out on my card. Had £20 in Scottish notes in my wallet and not one of the exchange kiosks would touch them.

I was -very- restrained but it took effort.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Scottish pound notes are basically like German vs Dutch vs French vs Greek Euros, right? Different labels, different design, but worth the same and interchangeably usable as legal tender?

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Yup. They're £Sterling, just not issued by the Bank of England.

Of course it doesn't help that they're issued by three banks: Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank and thus there are three different designs of Scottish notes, but in theory they're just as valid.

At the risk of drifting off-topic, the debate/ranting over Scottish notes in England and whether they are/aren't legal tender or merely accepted is a long-running one which I'm sure others will be happy to weigh-in on.

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

You should try N.Irish notes (with nice big "£" signs on them), they're more disliked than even Scottish notes.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Doesn't surprise me. I've had them accepted in Scotland and Northern England but they got a Look.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I think the biggest issue with Irish notes was that, until the Euro, there were two different currencies, both called "pound" from the same island, one legal in the UK and one not.

As a result most places on the mainland just refused them in case they accepted the wrong ones. In theory it shouldn't be a problem these days now that the punt is no more, but the habit still remains I suspect.

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

Irish *pounds*? That's actually the first time I've heard of that! I've never ever heard punts referred to anything but punts!

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I knew them as punts too, but heard enough folks refer to them as "Irish pounds" (as opposed to "Bank of Ulster pounds") that there was confusion.

And no-one when I was younger was ever entirely sure if the exchange rate was tied at 1:1 or if they were acceptable over here or not. Not prejudice I suspect, just uneducated.

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

I'm just glad that plastic exists, solves so many problems :)

(The debit kind of plastic, not the credit, that has a whole host of other problems!)

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Yes. Although that doesn't always stop stroppy English shop keepers refusing to accept them south of the border.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

And I say this as an English resident of Scotland.

[skington.livejournal.com]

Back in the day when beer cost £1.something, I paid for a pint with a Scottish pound note and change, and got four quid back. Bartender obviously assumed random tatty note = fiver.

[drplokta]

They're not legal tender, not even in Scotland.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

I think we are all assuming he means Scottish pound notes as opposed to Scottish £1 notes. And they did used to be legal tender up here, just not any more.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Scottish physical money can't be used to pay for things in Scotland? You do absolutely everything by cheque or plastic?

[drplokta]

Don't confuse "legal tender" and "what you can spend". Cheques and plastic are also not legal tender, but as you observe, they are widely accepted. Scottish notes are also widely accepted in Scotland. But you're allowed to refuse to accept payment in Scottish notes (or indeed English/Welsh notes, which are also not legal tender in Scotland) as settlement of a debt (in theory, anyway; in practice, if it comes to court, the court will tell you not to be so silly).

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

So, wait, there is *nothing* anyone in Scotland is legally required to accept for payment of a debt?

How... odd. I'm shocked that SOME bright soul hasn't decided to refuse all payment while still charging interest, and then go to court to claim assets in lieu.

I mean, it's really like the classic definition of chutzpah - the man who murders his parents, and asks the court for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan - but I'm still shocked nobody's tried it if there really is nothing you're required to let people pay with.

[drplokta]

Coins are legal tender, and pound coins are good up to any amount.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's what you meant, sorry for getting the wrong end of the stick. I didn't know that notes weren't actually legal tender.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I normally would consider a "coin" to be "physical money", but I do see where the confusion came up in the discussion.

So someone COULD be all silly buggers about not accepting paper, plastic, or cheque - but then you'd call your bank, borrow a wheelbarrow, and pay in pennies, and make them count it and carry it. Right, then.

[drplokta]

Not pennies, I fear. Pennies are only legal tender for up to 20p. It's only pound coins, two pound coins and five pound coins that are good for any amount.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

How... odd.

No, seriously.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Do you have an official link detailing all this? I'm intrigued by the definition of legal tender being quite that pedantic compared to what we all take for granted.

[drplokta]

http://www.royalmint.com/corporate/policies/legal_tender_guidelines.aspx

Although it doesn't specifically address the status of Scottish and Northern Irish notes.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_position.php

[skington.livejournal.com]

You're thinking of the coins, which have one side reserved for a national symbol. (The Vatican can mint its own Euros, which annoys coin collectors as they don't make that many.)

The Euro notes are all the same.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

Heck, half the time you can't change Scottish notes in *England*.

I'm about to go to Morocco (well, assuming it's not the next stop on the Middle East Protest Tour 2011) and stopped by RBS to ask about dirhams. Turns out they're a restricted currency, as I'd vaguely suspected they might be, so I need to buy them in-country. The bank teller advised me to bring English notes, or Euros.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

It would be more expensive, but generally only 2-3%. Which, for a short trip where I'm expecting to spend maybe 50 Euros or few hundred New Zealand dollars, is a fair tradeoff versus the amount of my time it would take to get the slightly more favourable rate in advance.

(Of course, if I *can* get the more favourable rate in advance without going way out of my way, I will.)

Anything more than that, yeah, getting it in advance is nice.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

I love #3. I'm currently just avoiding travelling to the US but I may attempt this strategy if forced into it to visit my partner's family.

[mindwanders.livejournal.com]

We always get ours from M&S. Mostly because they are open after work (although not normally as late as the actual shop for some reason) and you can park at them.

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

I usually get foreign currency at the airport. If you pre-book it, rather than turn up at the desk, TraveleX usually offer the best rates available.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Buying in a post-office-wise, as long as you have ID, they let you buy vast amounts directly, as long as they have the currency in question :)

[lilaanne.livejournal.com]

A method I've found really really useful is a 'Travelcard' some bank accounts offer them for free or you can buy one for a nominal amount. They send you a VISA card and a PIN number and login details for a website (also provided is a telephone number) and you can then use your UK cards to put money on it.

When you arrive at your destination you can use it as a VISA card (proper - not debit) or withdraw money on it (charges depending on the bank you use).

They tend to expire after a year but usually it's free to renew. I use it know when I go to Euroland and Dollarland and I've never had huge charges or any issues using it at all anywhere.

[lilaanne.livejournal.com]

Oh and the rates are decent too (matched with the post office and most exchange counters).