Foreign exchange requiring passports and rejecting bills

[steffi]

Saw yesterday that banks won't do any exchange without passport and that they reject any bills with markings on them. I'm hoping Super Rich isn't as strict but all the bills I tried to exchange were from an ATM in the US.

[ezzra]

Super Rich asking for passport as well as scrutinizing the bills for damage albeit not as

closely as the banks....

[Briggsy]

Depending on where you are, there are usually plenty of alternatives. Keep trying. One will say yes in the end.

The passport shouldn't be a problem, should it?

[4evermaat]

- passports have always been a requirement of fx of notes at thai banks. If you already know staff at that particular branch, you can do some transactions without requiring physical passport at their discretion.

- In this region, having new-looking bills from your home country are of upmost importance. Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation.

- superRich et al private exchangers, YMMV with passport requirement. But bills will be inspected carefully. Remember that they must guard against fraud. And also be able to sell them back.

Edit: be thankful new series of bills arent released and you travel right afterwards with the new bills. Despite the efforts of central banks/treasuries to inform people well in advance, it still takes a couple of weeks to get the word out to the banking staff.

Edited January 3, 2016 by 4evermaat

[bermondburi]

It made me laugh, at one of the super rich places last year, I changed up a load of Saudi Riyal, one note was rejected because of markings in pen on it.

They then proceeded to give me the Thai money, which had markings on it. I pointed this out, but was told that this was okay as Thai money no pwoblem!

[steffi]

So there's no added incentive to make the customer use an ATM then?

[riclag]

So you know the less hassle the better right. In your country what you should do in the future is to decide how much you initially want to bring, example $2000 .Go to your bank tell them you want the one hundred dollar bills with out any marks,tears and stamps and preferably new.My friend got stuck with $1200 of his money that 3 banks wouldn't exchange. There is no set rule here it seems .Some take them and some don't. Better to be diligent.

[PREM-R]

- passports have always been a requirement of fx of notes at thai banks. If you already know staff at that particular branch, you can do some transactions without requiring physical passport at their discretion.

- In this region, having new-looking bills from your home country are of upmost importance. Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation.

- superRich et al private exchangers, YMMV with passport requirement. But bills will be inspected carefully. Remember that they must guard against fraud. And also be able to sell them back.

Edit: be thankful new series of bills arent released and you travel right afterwards with the new bills. Despite the efforts of central banks/treasuries to inform people well in advance, it still takes a couple of weeks to get the word out to the banking staff.

"Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation."

You should use pristine dollar notes to pay for your visa on arrival in Laos, they most definitely will not accept notes that are marked in any way, hotels and shops do not seem to be so concerned.

I have noticed that in Super Rich Thais are asked for their ID cards when changing foreign money into Baht.

Edited January 3, 2016 by PREM-R

[Chivas]

I've never ever had a single UK banknote rejected anywhere !! Most are marked in some way certainly never pristine. Always thought those that get rejected are the customer himself rather than the notes

[4evermaat]

...

You should use pristine dollar notes to pay for your visa on arrival in Laos, they most definitely will not accept notes that are marked in any way, hotels and shops do not seem to be so concerned.

I forgot to mention that. When paying for visas, use the most pristine note available.

[blackcab]

- passports have always been a requirement of fx of notes at thai banks. If you already know staff at that particular branch, you can do some transactions without requiring physical passport at their discretion.

- In this region, having new-looking bills from your home country are of upmost importance. Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation.

- superRich et al private exchangers, YMMV with passport requirement. But bills will be inspected carefully. Remember that they must guard against fraud. And also be able to sell them back.

Edit: be thankful new series of bills arent released and you travel right afterwards with the new bills. Despite the efforts of central banks/treasuries to inform people well in advance, it still takes a couple of weeks to get the word out to the banking staff.

"Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation."

You should use pristine dollar notes to pay for your visa on arrival in Laos, they most definitely will not accept notes that are marked in any way, hotels and shops do not seem to be so concerned.

I have noticed that in Super Rich Thais are asked for their ID cards when changing foreign money into Baht.

At Super Rich Thais have to show a passport too. A Thai ID card is not sufficient.

I know this first hand because I wanted to exchange some currency and I didn't have my passport with me. I asked the wife to use her ID card and the staff flat out refused her.

This was at the head office opposite Central World.

I have a few GBP and USD they have refused to change waiting to be spent when I travel.

[Suradit69]

It made me laugh, at one of the super rich places last year, I changed up a load of Saudi Riyal, one note was rejected because of markings in pen on it.

They then proceeded to give me the Thai money, which had markings on it. I pointed this out, but was told that this was okay as Thai money no pwoblem!

They were correct. Marked or damaged Thai notes can be exchanged for new notes by commercial banks through the Thai central bank.

The only thing a bank or currency exchange can do with foreign currency is sell it to another customer and understandably their customers want clean money.

Probably not a good idea to laugh too quickly at things you don't understand.

"...no pwoblem!

This probably gave you giggles too.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Suradit69

[Deserted]

It made me laugh, at one of the super rich places last year, I changed up a load of Saudi Riyal, one note was rejected because of markings in pen on it.

They then proceeded to give me the Thai money, which had markings on it. I pointed this out, but was told that this was okay as Thai money no pwoblem!

Made you laugh? Should have made you cry. You would have lost % on that transaction.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Deserted

[DogNo1]

I never bring cash at all. When I need Thai baht, I do a cash advance at Bangkok Bank using a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. I always get the top exchange rate and no charges whatsoever. I recently got 36 baht per dollar at two separate cash advances.

I never use my credit card at some stores though because they knock more than a baht per dollar off of the exchange rate. You have to be careful and check the effective exchange rate before you pay by credit card. Central gives you the regular Visa Card exchange rate so it's OK to use your card there.

[JMWPACIFIC]

So you know the less hassle the better right. In your country what you should do in the future is to decide how much you initially want to bring, example $2000 .Go to your bank tell them you want the one hundred dollar bills with out any marks,tears and stamps and preferably new.My friend got stuck with $1200 of his money that 3 banks wouldn't exchange. There is no set rule here it seems .Some take them and some don't. Better to be diligent.

And if you go to Myanmar, the bills need to be in absolute pristine condition---no marks, no tears, no wrinkles, no nothing

[steffi]

I think this is what Bank of America was offering me when I called to let them know I was traveling.

I never bring cash at all. When I need Thai baht, I do a cash advance at Bangkok Bank using a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. I always get the top exchange rate and no charges whatsoever. I recently got 36 baht per dollar at two separate cash advances.

I never use my credit card at some stores though because they knock more than a baht per dollar off of the exchange rate. You have to be careful and check the effective exchange rate before you pay by credit card. Central gives you the regular Visa Card exchange rate so it's OK to use your card there.

[amdy2206]

I found the 'Yellow bank' the worst for scrutinizing but never had problems at 'Green bank'. Sorry to use colours but you know which ones I mean. Passports always required.

[statman78]

_{I always bring cash and exchange at Super Rich. I get the best rate there. I always had to show my passport. In the past they took almost any bill. Last week I had a couple rejected for writing on them and one had a small part of the corner torn off. Usually the lady at the bank I go to in the US looks over the bills for me. I guess this time she overlooked some.}

[ThaiTony2]

I have only experienced problems with blemishes on currency notes in Bangkok, specifically at SCB on Soi 11. For many years coming to Thailand I had to be sure I brought clean US currency bills. A couple times when SCB was being nit-picky, I've gotten my hotel to take the blemished notes.

What's ironic is that I never once had this issue in Chiang Mai.

[Gutenberg]

With all bank things in Thailand, just go to another branch and at some point you have exchanged all your dolalrs.

[Jonmarleesco]

The idea of checking for marks is a farce. They are particularly fussy about ones on the Queen's or King's features, yet fail to understand that their own CDMs can't discriminate.

[DrDave]

I never bring cash at all. When I need Thai baht, I do a cash advance at Bangkok Bank using a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. I always get the top exchange rate and no charges whatsoever. I recently got 36 baht per dollar at two separate cash advances.

I never use my credit card at some stores though because they knock more than a baht per dollar off of the exchange rate. You have to be careful and check the effective exchange rate before you pay by credit card. Central gives you the regular Visa Card exchange rate so it's OK to use your card there.

Are you sure you aren't paying any additional fees for doing a cash advance on your credit card?

I also have a a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card (from BofA), but this just means that the usual additional percentage fee levied for a foreign transaction is waived. I've never heard of a credit card that allows you to take a cash advance without some sort of transaction and/or interest charges, regardless of where the transaction occurs.

Keep in mind that a cash advance from a credit card is basically a loan you're taking out from the credit card company, as opposed to a withdrawal from a debit card, which is just withdrawing your own existing funds. Credit card companies aren't in the business of giving loans for free.

Regardless of whether you have foreign transaction fees, cash advances nearly always attract two fees: (1) a flat transaction fee, and (2) interest charges that accrue from the day of the transaction (that is, no grace period). In addition, the interest rate for a cash advance is typically higher than that for purchases. You will typically have one or both of these charges appearing on your monthly statement, regardless of where the transaction occurs (your home country, or elsewhere).

So, while you may not see any charges of fees when initiating a cash advance at the bank, I think you'll see a transaction fee and/or accrued interest (but no foreign transaction fee) on the statement you receive later.

[ozyjon]

- passports have always been a requirement of fx of notes at thai banks. If you already know staff at that particular branch, you can do some transactions without requiring physical passport at their discretion.

- In this region, having new-looking bills from your home country are of upmost importance. Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation.

- superRich et al private exchangers, YMMV with passport requirement. But bills will be inspected carefully. Remember that they must guard against fraud. And also be able to sell them back.

Edit: be thankful new series of bills arent released and you travel right afterwards with the new bills. Despite the efforts of central banks/treasuries to inform people well in advance, it still takes a couple of weeks to get the word out to the banking staff.

"Cambodia and perhaps Laos is more lax...but mainly because they actually use USD as their de-facto currency in circulation."

You should use pristine dollar notes to pay for your visa on arrival in Laos, they most definitely will not accept notes that are marked in any way, hotels and shops do not seem to be so concerned.

I have noticed that in Super Rich Thais are asked for their ID cards when changing foreign money into Baht.

I've been in Laos for a month, have not seen a US dollar bill anywhere except at the airport, i paid my entry in Thai baht, changed baht to kip and on i go.

[bangkapi]

I have baht and will give you the same as Superrich.. ha ha ha. US dollars.

[johndudorn]

I never bring cash at all. When I need Thai baht, I do a cash advance at Bangkok Bank using a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. I always get the top exchange rate and no charges whatsoever. I recently got 36 baht per dollar at two separate cash advances.

I never use my credit card at some stores though because they knock more than a baht per dollar off of the exchange rate. You have to be careful and check the effective exchange rate before you pay by credit card. Central gives you the regular Visa Card exchange rate so it's OK to use your card there.

Are you sure you aren't paying any additional fees for doing a cash advance on your credit card?

I also have a a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card (from BofA), but this just means that the usual additional percentage fee levied for a foreign transaction is waived. I've never heard of a credit card that allows you to take a cash advance without some sort of transaction and/or interest charges, regardless of where the transaction occurs.

Keep in mind that a cash advance from a credit card is basically a loan you're taking out from the credit card company, as opposed to a withdrawal from a debit card, which is just withdrawing your own existing funds. Credit card companies aren't in the business of giving loans for free.

Regardless of whether you have foreign transaction fees, cash advances nearly always attract two fees: (1) a flat transaction fee, and (2) interest charges that accrue from the day of the transaction (that is, no grace period). In addition, the interest rate for a cash advance is typically higher than that for purchases. You will typically have one or both of these charges appearing on your monthly statement, regardless of where the transaction occurs (your home country, or elsewhere).

So, while you may not see any charges of fees when initiating a cash advance at the bank, I think you'll see a transaction fee and/or accrued interest (but no foreign transaction fee) on the statement you receive later.

Well written, I just have my wife take the money out using our ATM card, just insure there are no conversion fees, most credit unions qualify. Some can be as high as 3% from the US banks. As for purchases my wife uses the CC at Big C etc., again the CC has no foreign transaction fee...

[NickJ]

I hand pick my 100's at my home branch in the US. My bank in Thailand still goes over them very well. One lady in the bank who knows me well even went as far as to show me the counterfits they have. She also told me that the bank employee who takes them in is responsible . Comes out of there salary. My old office manager's mom was a Senior VP at the banks head office. She said it was the case.

[Dan5]

Once, maybe 10 years ago I had a couple thousand dollars worth of $100 bills to change to Baht. I ended up going to half a dozen exchange places to get them all exchanged. Every place I went would reject some of them until finally at the last place when I only had 2 left, they accepted those and I was finished. I think its standard to have to show your passport.

[Dan5]

Once, maybe 10 years ago I had a couple thousand dollars worth of $100 bills to change to Baht. I ended up going to half a dozen exchange places to get them all exchanged. Every place I went would reject some of them until finally at the last place when I only had 2 left, they accepted those and I was finished. I think its standard to have to show your passport.

I assume there are a lot of counterfeits so where ever you go they just reject any bills that look iffy.

[Khunangkaro]

A couple of months ago I tried to exchange stained dollar bills colored from water damage. Tried a number of banks here back in Issan. Some bills were accepted for exchange.

One bank advised that they could send the rejected bills to head office in BKK. I agreed after copies of the bills were signed for reception.

After about ten days I collected the Thai Baht in exchange.

All transactions processed with copy of passport.

[DiDiChok]

Maybe things have changed very recently, but showing a Thai driving licence has always worked for me.

One upcounty Kasikorn Bank branch insisted on photocopying every single bill and getting me to sign every page, but to me that's Thailand, and as I didn't have to pay for the copies I got on with it.