Best Way To Buy Ringitt / Yen

[UKJASE]

Hi Guys,

the mrs and i have a trip to kuala lumpur planned and a trip to tokyo.  I have bought some ringitt here in hua hin already, but i dont want to carry too much cash with me (else the mrs will hit the shops hard!) ????

 

what is the best / cheapest way to get hold of local currency whilst abroad?  i have a kasikorn debit card, uk credit cards, paypal account, wise account....

 

i feel that using baht to buy currency means that i am paying to exchange twice (ie pounds > baht > yen/ringitt)

 

are there any more efficient methods to get pounds converted to local currency?  credit cards are normally expensive / offer poor rates, right? any cool apps that will let me deposit pounds in uk and withdraw cash cheaply in asian countries?

 

also, KL/Tokyo are not going to be cashless are they, and i need to swipe for everything, rather than pay cash?

[TheAppletons]

In KL (and most places, really), I've always just used my home country ATM card to withdraw local currency from an ATM.  My bank reimburses any ATM fees so if yours doesn't, that may change the equation.

 

I also try to pay with credit cards wherever possible - you get the interbank rate (about the best exchange rate available), provided one has credit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees.

 

 

[Stocky]

3 hours ago, UKJASE said:

i have a kasikorn debit card, uk credit cards, paypal account, wise account....

Do you have a Wise debit card? If you do you can buy Ringgit on Wise and use from your debit card, ditto Yen. Only an option if you opened your Wise account from the UK, no Wise card for Thailand unfortunately.  

 

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Edited January 20, 2023 by Stocky

[lkn]

I am a big fan of Revolut. If you use it on weekdays and less than ~$1,000 per month, you get the “true” exchange rate (although recently I think this is not entirely true, but still better than what Wise offers me, when I have compared).

 

The alternative is, as what another poster already said, get the Wise debit card. Here you get the mid-market rate plus a small fee (less than 1%), and unlike Revolut, there is no fair use limit or weekend fee.

 

Though both Revolut and Wise have fair use limits on cash withdrawal in an ATM, so be sure to check these. Also, some ATMs have their own fees, especially “independently” operated ATMs in tourist areas. I generally seek out bank ATMs, as these tend to not have withdrawal fees.