Is a 50% commision rate at Bangkok Bank currency exchange normal?

[Jake McClinton]

To a few unhelpful comments, i say don't throw stones.

To the vast majority, of which has formed a helpful discussion, i thank you.

I know IDR is a poorly traded currency. But, how can it be so low as 4.6? when at the exact same time Bangkok Bank was advertising almost double that on their own website. Just think i've lost almost half of my money to their rate in the exchange when compared to the additional funds i had to secure from my visa card whilest in Bali, which traded at the normal rate.

My reciept achknowledges no extra charges just the exchange rate offered by Bangkok Bank at Don Mueang.

[misterphil]

I have an XE currency app so I dont get ripped off like this.

[HerbalEd]

It's foolish to exchange money in an airport for the currency of another country ... in Thailand, USA, etc. In fact, I try never to exchange any currency in any airport in the world. If I arrive in a country and "must" exchange some money I exchange as little as I'll need until I can exchange money in town at a standard rate.

Edited May 24, 2015 by HerbalEd

[asdecas]

For the future, a good rule of thumb to observe if you travel to Thailand or any other country frequently - always keep enough small notes (in Thailand's case two or three hundred Baht), for emergencies when you arrive - to get you downtown, or at least out of the clutches of the rip-offs. It also helps with peace of mind on arrival.

[LivinLOS]

Welcome to the airports of Thailand.. Home of unashamed scamming.

[gandalf12]

Welcome to the airports of Thailand.. Home of unashamed scamming.

It isnt a scam, every country in the world does it. If the country you are changing the money in doesn not do a great deal of business with the country the money is from then the rate is bad. They have to send it back to get credit in a hard currency. They lose on that rate plus the cost of sending the money back and the insurance. Because it is a high rate against say the US$ they have to send a lot of it back and again it costs. It is the same the world over and it isnt a scam

Edited May 24, 2015 by gandalf12

[dotpoom]

Bad form indeed from the bank.

Edited May 24, 2015 by dotpoom

[Qman]

Indonesian Rupiah is a high risk currency so there is probably a substantial risk premium. There may also be costs involved in handling low value currencies such as this whereby more labour is required to count and dispense the currency. It may also be a currency that is not much in demand in Bangkok, in which case you pay for low liquidity. Furthermore, it probably costs the bank just as much to dispense one million Baht of foreign currency as to dispense 8000 Baht of foreign currency, so low value transactions have consequences in transaction costs.

You should always be aware of exchange rates before you perform a transaction to be informed as to whether the rate offered is appropriate.

Complaining afterward is a waste of time.

The 50% "commission" is a fee not a commission.

I have found the Bank FX dealers at the airport to provide a reasonable FX rate for currencies of major countries. The best rate is always provided for SWIFT transactions between banks.

This has been my experience and banks will often show different rates forwire transfers versus cash. The airport will only be doing cash and they have the issue of keeping cash notes on hand for currencies which are not in demand or may fluctuate a lot along with security for cash so do not expect them to give you good rates. Currencies like Euro, UK Pounds, Australian Dollar or USD are more frequently traded and less of an issue for them. Always better to get currencies like Indonesian Rupiah with an ATM card or using USD in the arrival country.

In hind sight, a better option would have been to convert Baht to USD and then use the USD to convert to Rupiah when you arrive in Bali. I have used my Kasikorn ATM in foreign countries to get local currency and the rate charged by the bank is a wire/electronic type rate rather than the cash to cash rate since can all be settled between banks electronically.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I always look on xe.com to see what the money market rate is. Then i look at bank rates and money changers to see whos doing the best deal or not.

Normally best to buy you currency at the destination so in OP case buy the rupiah in Indonesia. Buy you baht in thailand when you arrive, buy your hong kong dollars when you get to HK either with an ATM or a exchange, etc etc. i know many people who buy all thai baht for their holiday in the UK before leaving.They lose about lost 8-10% of their cash in the transaction! Strange thing is if you warn people first most still do it. They say " its done now, i dont need to worry about it, i can just enjoy my holiday".

I was in Okinawa once with a lot Taiwan dollars cash. The japanese didnt really want Taiwan dollars so the rate was about 50% off! I kept my Taiwan Dollars and used an ATM at the post office.

Its always worth a minute or two on google to get up speed with exchange rates before going off to change some cash.

[The Deerhunter]

Vasu, corner of Soi 7/1 Sukhumvit are better than even Superrich who are a lot better than banks. SR have a booth inside the tollgates section at BTS Nana (or possibly Asok) more or less sort-of upstairs from Vasu, anyway. i

[nithisa78]

maybe you got cheated. forget it, move on. it happens to all of us.

[ggt]

They were running a special the day you exchanged your currency...the CUL Thainess goodbye special...

[natway09]

Never, ever change Baht (or any other currency) for Rupiah outside of Indo.

I got 390 for 1 bht at money changers 3 weeks ago in Nth Jakarta.

Likewise if remitting funds into Thailand always send to your Thai bank in it's original currency & get them to change to Thai Baht.

Australian banks in particular are just a rip off on THB with up to 23% "commission"

[IMA_FARANG]

To those very few unhelpful comments, i say don't throw stones.

To the vast majority, of which has formed a helpful discussion, i thank you.

I know IDR is a poorly traded currency. But, how can it be so low as 4.6? when at the exact same time Bangkok Bank was advertising almost double that on their own website. Just think i've lost almost half of my money to their rate in the exchange when compared to the additional funds i had to secure from my visa card whilest in Bali, which traded at the normal rate.

My reciept achknowledges no extra charges just the exchange rate offered by Bangkok Bank at Don Mueang.

__________________

Today is the 25th of May and the rate you are asking about is listed today as:

IDR Indonesian Rupiah 2.37 THB

[Naam]

To those very few unhelpful comments, i say don't throw stones.

To the vast majority, of which has formed a helpful discussion, i thank you.

I know IDR is a poorly traded currency. But, how can it be so low as 4.6? when at the exact same time Bangkok Bank was advertising almost double that on their own website. Just think i've lost almost half of my money to their rate in the exchange when compared to the additional funds i had to secure from my visa card whilest in Bali, which traded at the normal rate.

My reciept achknowledges no extra charges just the exchange rate offered by Bangkok Bank at Don Mueang.

__________________

Today is the 25th of May and the rate you are asking about is listed today as:

IDR Indonesian Rupiah 2.37 THB

the amusement is getting better with every posting

mid rates

1 US-Dollar = Indonesian Rupiah 13,123.-

1 US-Dollar = presently Thai Baht 33.50

Bangkok Bank cash rates

selling 1,000 Rupiah = 2.86 Baht

buying 1,000 Rupiah = 1.93 Baht

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/WebServices/Rates/Pages/FX_Rates.aspx

Edited May 25, 2015 by Naam

[Jonmarleesco]

Not sure what you mean by 7/8, but BBL's current selling rate - which is what you would pay - is 2.86 per 1,000; though 4 is still a 40% premium. Why don't you ask the bank?

[sandyf]

Not long ago I was down in Pattaya and many of the exchangers had a notice in the window that they would not accept Russian or Indonesian currency, When a currency is volatile they just do not want the risk, I have even seen FX brokers suspend trading on a currency.

If you plan to go somewhere that has a volatile currency it is safer to exchange in the country concerned and the same applies with regard to taking currency out, may not be able to redeem it.

[siam2007]

Welcome to the airports of Thailand.. Home of unashamed scamming.

Hard to believe such a nonsense-post from someone who already made 15.000+ posts.

The spread at the Airport exchange counters is worse than in downtown, but still SIGNIFICANTLY better than at most Airports in the world, be it Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Frankfurt......

[Tomtomtom69]

Although I have only ever been to Indonesia once some years back and am therefore not all too familiar with their currency, I recall that the current exchange rate, at least against the US dollar is somewhere around 12000 to 1. Since the Thai Baht to US dollar exchange rate is around 33.5, it should be quite easy to work out, roughly speaking, how many Rupiah one should receive if purchasing or selling them in Thailand.

BUT I have noticed that for certain less "desirable" currencies such as the Rupiah, which are in fact generally considered to be non-trade-able outside of their home countries and have only in the last few years been able to be exchanged in foreign countries, mainly in the region, the rates offered by Thai banks and money changers may not be so good.

Rates may be terrific for all sorts of major currencies, but perhaps not for Rupiah, Myanmar Kyat, Lao Kip, Nepalese Rupees, Cambodian Riel or even Vietnamese Dong.

For example, at Siam Exchange near MBK I noticed that the spread between the buying and selling rates for Kyat were very high - 22.22 selling and 40 buying. Wow. The actual exchange rate should be around 30 but you'll only get that in border towns such as Mae Sot or Mae Sai, or on the Burmese side of the border. So it pays to exchange Kyat either in Myanmar or near the border, not in Bangkok. Had I exchanged my Baht for Kyat there I would have lost a significant amount of money - I received 31 ish later that day when I was in Mae Sot.

Maybe it's the same with the Rupiah...but to answer that question be aware of the exchange rate and check what you receive afterwards. But without even bothering to open up the Bangkok Bank website or any currency conversion tool, the simplest advice is to do the above when you actually need to exchange them BEFORE you get to the counter - but as my example with Kyat shows, it could very well be the case that what the OP received in Rupiah is all that Bangkok Bank owed. It may also pay to compare if it's better to exchange Baht inside Indonesia or to buy Rupiah in Thailand.

[MikeOwen]

why not bring an atm card and withdraw cash at the airport?

Simples

[IMA_FARANG]

As I said before regarding this topic the exchange rate for Baht to Indonesian Rupiah is:

IDR ........Indonesian Rupiah ........2.38 ......THB

Which means if you change 1000 Indonesian Rupiah you will get about 2380 Baht.

The rupiah has tanked recently, mainly due to the fact that Indonesia is an oil /gas producer and as oil/gas prices are low now, the Rupiah has been devalued greatly in the last few months.

By comparison the exchange rate for $U.S. is roughly 33.56 baht for one dollar.....so if you change $1000 Dollar you will get roughly 33, 560 Baht.

Edited May 30, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[Jip99]

XE Currency Converter

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Read important information about the THB. 1.00 IDR = 0.00255018 THB Indonesian Rupiah ↔ Thai Baht 1 IDR = 0.00255018 THB 1 THB = 392.129 IDR Convert again View Chart Mid-market rates: 2015-05-30 07:32 UTC

[EmptyHead]

Its a funny currency. You may have been better off changing Baht in Indo.

[sandyf]

As I said before regarding this topic the exchange rate for Baht to Indonesian Rupiah is:

IDR ........Indonesian Rupiah ........2.38 ......THB

Which means if you change 1000 Indonesian Rupiah you will get about 2380 Baht.

The rupiah has tanked recently, mainly due to the fact that Indonesia is an oil /gas producer and as oil/gas prices are low now, the Rupiah has been devalued greatly in the last few months.

By comparison the exchange rate for $U.S. is roughly 33.56 baht for one dollar.....so if you change $1000 Dollar you will get roughly 33, 560 Baht.

I think you mean 2.38 baht., common mistake.

[fatgraeme]

Just arrived home from los. Advertised rate for thb in airport was 4 baht lower per pound than atm 20 metres away.

[Terrygabi]

i'm shocked about this topic

[KhunBENQ]

I am shocked that it lived so long and being bumped after three months by a first post