Introduction
If you are in a foreign country and you find yourself in the situation where you need to exchange money, here are some ideas that might help you do a fair transaction.
Step 1
The first advice that anyone could give you is never exchange money in the center of a city because the exchange offices that are situated there will surely give you less money than you have expected. This is happening for two reasons. The first one is because exchange offices situated in the center of the cities address strictly to naïve tourist who don't have any idea about changing money. The second reason is that the space they use, being in a central area, is very costly so, in order for them to afford the rent, they will show another currency.
For this reason, you should keep away from offices like that and try to exchange money at another place.
Step 2
An important thing that you must remember is that you can always negotiate the money that you are getting for your money. If you have found a place where the parity convinces you that this will be the office where you are going to exchange money, try to negotiate a little, who knows, it might end with a positive result.
Before going to a foreign country always do a little research about their money, because once you get there and try to exchange money, if it is a shady exchange office, they might give you out of date bills that will be useless to you. So be aware of their current available bills.
Step 3
But the best place for you to exchange money when you are in a foreign country is by going to a bank. Over there, they will surely help you in a professional way. Even so, when you exchange money, they will charge you with a small commission, and the parity is not as good as you would find it at an exchange office, but it is the safest way to change your money.
Tips
For the people who have never changed money in a foreign country, this should be very helpful: never change money in the street, because you risk getting fake money and even worse, being robbed! Is someone approaches you with the intention of changing your money, walk away and don't start a conversation with that person.
Sources and Citations
In conclusion, when you go to a place that has a different currency and you have to exchange money, remember not to use the downtown exchange offices because they will most likely trick you in giving less money, check before you get there what types of bills are still at use so you won’t get expired bills, and never change your money in the street because you risk loosing all your money at once.
Go straight to a bank and even if you feel that their commission is too high, change your money there because it is the safest place in a foreign country to change money and no one will try to trick you.
