

Ask HN: How do you change money? - amac

I am interested in money changing and foreign exchange, I&#x27;d like to do something in the space. I&#x27;m asking; if you&#x27;re thinking of or going on vacation, how and when do you change money? Do you use a dedicated forex company or your bank? Do you do it at the airport? Do you use a fx vending machine?<p>It&#x27;s clear that the process of managing money is changing from an analogue to a digtal one. We know it&#x27;s changing payments (Square, Bitcoin etc) - but money changing?
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pathy
The answer does depend on where I am heading but in my experience I usually
exchange a smaller amount at home (at a forex company) and later just withdraw
from ATMs. This is especially convenient if you got a debit/credit card with
no extra charge (beyond exchange rates) for withdrawing outside your country.

Exchanging at airports is usually a bad deal, worse rates than else where in
my experience.

Forex is a rather regulated field, some countries more than others. There are
always concerns about risk (robbery, fraud and so forth). For the most part
you can pay with your card, so you no longer have to carry around very large
sums of cash.

~~~
amac
> The answer does depend on where I am heading but in my experience I usually
> exchange a smaller amount at home (at a forex company) and later just
> withdraw from ATMs.

Yeah, that's what I do. I'm guessing you use online banking for the forex? or
a dedicated forex company e.g travelex?

I've never worked in forex or know anyone in the business - I never knew it
was regulated. I assume that kiosk type fx companies use banks for money
supply? and that as long as currencies were pegged to global rates, they are
free to charge whatever they like?

I do hear lots of people complaining about commission, that's what I guess
makes Bitcoin and other P2P options attractive. Maybe forex companies have
little choice, especially when you consider airport rents, staff etc.

~~~
pathy
I tend to go to a forex company if I have to exchange before traveling, never
do online banking for it.

I am not sure how the kiosk fx companies does it but moving money around is
always a risk. They can probably charge as much as they like but it is that
they cannot exchange unlimited amounts, you have to show how you got the money
when exchanging above certain amounts. Money laundering regulations makes up a
lot of the regulations in that area.

Bitcoin fluctuates wildly though, and exchanging it is hardly quick for the
most part. Both brings down the attractiveness for consumer-type fx.

Airports are location monopolies so companies that operate at them have no
incentive to provide cheaper services. They can operate at a healthy (for
them) margin and the customers will still come. There is a reason those
airport sandwiches are expensive!

~~~
amac
> Airports are location monopolies so companies that operate at them have no
> incentive to provide cheaper services. They can operate at a healthy (for
> them) margin and the customers will still come. There is a reason those
> airport sandwiches are expensive!

Yeah, airports are going to only get busier right so they'd be a good bet for
startups (and more monopolies) in this regard.

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bigiain
Most places I visit, I change a small amount of cash, enough for a cab from
the airport at the other end and a meal/coffee - usually at the airport on the
way out. Apart from that, I rely on credit cards and ATMs. That's worked fine
for me over the last 10-15 years travelling from Australia to the US, UK,
Thailand (mostly Bankok), Singapore, Hong Kong, & New Zealand. I've
occasionally had one of my credit cards (Visa, Visa debit, and Amex) or one of
my ATM cards (St George and ANZ) fail to work for me - but get that here in
Australia too.

