Do not change money in Airport on arrival

[babutv2000]

I was just shortchanged and hence want to share experience. I wanted canadian dollars since I had to pay for my accommodation on arrival and that too for full one month. Only mode of acceptance was cash in canadian dollars. I got exchange rate of 0.95 canadian dollar for one usd. Following day when checked with the bank the correct exchange rate was 1.01 cad for one usd!!!.

 

[jes_ON]

Hi - you are confusing the buying and selling rates.

.95 is if you sell USD and buy CAD. (how much you get in CAD for 1 USD).

1.01 is if you sell CAD and buy USD. (How much it costs you in CAD to buy 1 USD).

This is a good site to check exchange rates
http://www.xe.com/

All foreign currency exchanges (including banks) set their own rates, based on the
official rate and their level of profit from the transaction. Airport exchangers are known for taking a higher cut, but you actually got a decent rate.

 

[babutv2000]

Just to clarify further, I sold usd 1500 to Master Burea de change and received CAD 1425.
Following day I sold usd 100 to HSBC bank and received CAD 101. This was done online and thru bank transfer between two accounts held with them.

 

[jes_ON]

Well then, you know which way to go in the future

This is nonetheless surprising, I don't think the CAD has closed at parity with the USD siince.... April 6. Timing is everything with electronic transactions, you got lucky Two hours later it would have been lower...

 

[babutv2000]

I have also found out that money change bureus offering slightly higher than bank rate if we are selling usd.

 

[tran]

http://www.acb.com.vn/contentssharing/bieudo.jsp

The indicative price for USD/CAD in interbank trading is 1.0420/1.0425.
Of course, for the layman, you can't get this price when you want to
sell or buy CAD.

1.01 to buy CAD is not a competitive rate, and 0.95 is unspeakable - it's almost
like daylight robbery.

 

[Nari]

So, how is better to do the exchange, in bank or not?
Thanks for the information!!!

 

[jes_ON]

Airport - worst
Banks - fair
?? - good?

I use XETrade to transfer money between the US and Canada; all electronic. The rates are better than (my) banks, but it's not instantaneous (can take up to a week to complete the transaction), and there's some initial paperwork. Still, I have been happy with them, particularly since they allow smaller transactions (some services require a minimum trade of $2,000 for example, and sometimes I'm only sending $200 -500). The rates are constantly updated - for better or worse - since the CAD/USD rate has been fluctuating quite a bit. if you're transferring larger sums of money, you can wait and watch for a good rate, but that personally makes me crazy - I'm just not a gambler

Anyone else?

 

[joecreosta]

money exchange is all big BS.thats why we r going to protest summit 20

 

[VictoriaM]

Hi babutv2000,
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Now I know where to go for a fair exchange