Changing $100.00 in Thailnd

[mmcsusnret]

A quick question. Last time I was in Thailand, 6 or so years ago, I encountered some difficulties changing $100 bills of series before 2003. I have an upcoming trip, and am wondering if there are any other notes that are difficult to change, in particular the newer ones with the blue stripe on the front.

Thanks, in advance.

[jimmybcool]

I also have interest in this. I am bringing over some of the brand new notes and hope Thailand has seen them enough to accept them.

[maccaroni man]

The problem was an abundance of counterfeit bills in circulation, Thais are familiar with most currencies and cashing clean money will not be an issue

[x0r1987]

I only ever travel with $100 bills and never have I had a problem.

I am from Australia... Not sure if that makes a big difference..?

Often they raise the bill.. I assume to see if it is legit.. But thats it..

I have changed at banks, and the small little changes box's you see in tourist / expat dominated area's.

Edited November 28, 2013 by x0r1987

[zeichen]

you get a better exchange rate with 100 dollar bills than other denominations at banks. Make sure there are no marks on the bills other than that never had a problem exchanging USD for the past 15 years in Thailand.

[Jasun]

I only ever travel with $100 bills and never have I had a problem.

I am from Australia... Not sure if that makes a big difference..?

Often they raise the bill.. I assume to see if it is legit.. But thats it..

I have changed at banks, and the small little changes box's you see in tourist / expat dominated area's.

America still uses old paper money which is heavily counterfeited.

[Hedghog]

I am sure banks and exchange booths are aware of any new note designs.

As a previous poster remarked,ensure notes are not marked or damaged.

If you encounter problems.

There is a main branch opposite the JW Marriott Hotel,(Sukhumvit)

The building is set back from the road.

Take the escalator,look soft right about 2 o'clock,you can exchange money no problem.

They are happy to change large amounts.

Sorry forgot the bank name,it looks more like a large office building,as opposed to a standard bank branch.

[Myshkin]

I arrived in Thailand two months ago with 6k in 100$ notes fresh from the printer, oups sorry, from the bank. Did not check the date but they looked brand new to me. Had no problem to change them in 3 different banks here in Chiang Mai. You're lucky, as you will get a better rate than me with the recent drop of the Thai baht.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Myshkin

[Kiniyeow]

I've had issues with bills that were old (very worn) torn, marked up with writing, and erroneous stampings on it. They are very up to date on the new type of bills, so usually, the newer the bill the better off you getting it exchanged.

[moe666]

A friend went to change a few dollars here in CM a couple of weeks ago and the lady at the exchange booth had a stack of the new bills. Just order new 100 dollar bills from your bank and no problem, no problem for 20 years of visiting Thailand

[KK-Mike]

I arrived two weeks ago with some of the new issue US $100 bills, they had not seen them before but had sample

photos to go by. They (Bangkok bank) photo copied every one and gave me Baht.

[thrilled]

They would like newer the better.Chances of the new ones being fake are slim.As far as the old ones,it's been reported banks have given out fake bills.I'm talking about us banks.Technology is making it easier to make better bills all the time.

[jpduggan]

Doubt it as I've been changing a lot of 500euro notes lately and don't get a second glance. I'm based in Pattaya so that's where I speak of

[rsbg1]

We were in Chiang Mai 4weeks ago and I tried to change $200 US dollars two bills, at Bangkok bank they can't do the brand new bills. Even though I opened an account there at that branch. Bring older bill and you will be good.. Ted

[taqila]

Make sure they are perfect without the slightest tear or mark on them. Best if new perfect. I had about a dozen and was only able to have 6 inspected passable. They were from 2003 up. Said you can change non-perfect ones at BKK airport but I needed to do it in isan.. I'll make sure to bring new perfect ones next time I go back to the US for a refil.

[kamahele]

I've never had a problem exchanging bills of any size in Thailand as long as they are "clean"

[DerringDo]

If you're in BKK for a couple of days change at a place called Super Rich.

Do a google search for bankexchangerates.daytodaydata and you should get a very helpful website.

If you don't fancy Super Rich then it shows most bank rates and changes throughout the day.

[jdinasia]

Aren't they still giving better rates for TC's?

[attrayant]

I had a problem last year at a bank min-service counter that was inside a Tesco, as some of the bills were too old. Who knew that money has an expiration date? Took the same bills across the street to a full size bank and they exchanged them, although with much ado (copied my passport, made copies of the bills, made me sign some form in triplicate).

I still have a few Franklins at home. I wonder if they're expired now too.

[Lee4Life]

I have had problems many times changing 100$ bills here at NongKhai, I use the bank at Tesco that we have an account with, and I always have my bank in the U.S. go through their bills and give me nothing but the best with no pen marks.

Last time I went in their with three one-hundred dollar bills, all looked like they just came off the press. The teller took them and held all of them up, then singled one out and started waving it in the air with one hand, while waiving another in the air with the other hand, then she held it up on the flat of her palm while holding the other one up on the flat of her other palm...as if trying to compare their weight.

She then gave me the one in question back and told me she couldn't change it. When I asked why not, she said that "it's not the same color as the other ones". I then told her that I couldn't see any difference at all and asked her why the banks in Thailand don't use the counterfeit checking marker pens like the stores in America...but I already knew I was beating a dead horse at that point.

If at all possible I just use wire transfers to my Thai bank account, it's just not worth the hassle to me to go through that every time.

[JusMe]

I arrived at the end of last month with some Canadian $100 bills, but then discovered that in the exchange I lost approximately ½ baht per dollar in comparison to the bank transfer amount if I'd simply used my debit card at an AEON machine. Over a few thousand, that adds up to a good few boxes of beer

[tim armstrong]

Recently I have found that the bank exchange booths at Suvarnabhumi airport are the best places to change anything. I don't know if they have higher commission that high street banks but they certainly see a greater variety of the world's currencies than anyone else, and they are open at better hours.

[Mrvalentino]

I always bring $100 AUD notes to Thailand and found no problem exchanging money as long as the notes are not torn or damaged. The best exchange rate provided seems to be at SUPERRICH. You can also download the SuperRich app for Android at Google Play store - not sure if one is available for Apple.

[SteveB2]

Make sure they are perfect without the slightest tear or mark on them. Best if new perfect. I had about a dozen and was only able to have 6 inspected passable. They were from 2003 up. Said you can change non-perfect ones at BKK airport but I needed to do it in isan.. I'll make sure to bring new perfect ones next time I go back to the US for a refil.

The above paragraph is the best advice based on my experience.

It should be noted that most legitimate money changers are now using hi-tech money scanners to check for both the authenticity and condition of all currency bills presented to them.

i recently had a whole pile of hassle trying to exchange a few thousand USD presented to us by various customers for payment - here are the problems and reasons for rejecting the bill.

1. USD pre-2003(all denominations). Not accepted due to security risks from Iranian super bill forgeries(see attached photos of rejected notes, and info link below))

2. Pen marks, writing or any other marks or stains on the bills. Not accepted

3. Tear marks, bits of the note missing, extremely worn bills. Not accepted

The days of holding a note up to the light, or maybe even using a UV black light test to determine authenticity are now over.

The cause of all this hassle being that dam_n Iranian super-bill forgery. More info here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar

We now convert any USD Invoices into Thai Baht at www.xe.com and insist the clients convert the USD bank notes into Thai Baht themselves.

We also save on any exchange booth commission charges this way

[namdocmai]

Recently I have found that the bank exchange booths at Suvarnabhumi airport are the best places to change anything. I don't know if they have higher commission that high street banks but they certainly see a greater variety of the world's currencies than anyone else, and they are open at better hours.

Mate those booths at the airport give you 1 baht less then the booths in the city from the same banks.

In the city (in siam paragon for example) they just change it in 10 seconds. If you go to banks outside the city they need a passport/driverslicense and copy all and ask you 10 stupid questions before you get your change.

No bank can beat this: http://www.superrichthailand.com/new/print_page.html but make sure you go to the real superrich and not superrich1965 because they give a lower rate.

[Wombat6]

A quick answer....you need to be specific as to which currency you are talking about....Hong Kong Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar.NZ Dollar etc etc. believe it or not,....this is not an American forum.

[lostmebike]

Move to Laos, you'll be a millionaire!

Edited November 29, 2013 by lostmebike

[Mudcrab]

Easier to just use a card an the ATM. Sure they might charge 180baht per transaction. Pull out 20,000 and its hardly worth worrying about.

[namdocmai]

Easier to just use a card an the ATM. Sure they might charge 180baht per transaction. Pull out 20,000 and its hardly worth worrying about.

Can we pull 20.000 again now? I don't use the atm anymore since they changed it to 12000 a time so i don't know.

[monkey4u]

Any bank is happy to exchange Aussie dollars,

They copy Pass Port and for some strange reason photo copy all the notes