Money Exchange - Australian Dollars?

pears367

I am planning on taking some Australian Dollars on my trip to South India next week. Are Australian Dollars easily exchanged or should I put the cash into my debit and visa cards?

GoanCanuck

You would be well served by using a debit card to withdraw cash. The only currencies in India that have a "good" exchange rate are the Euro, GBP and US dollar.

The reason for this is that these currencies are more liquid with large amounts being purchased and sold every day. The Australian dollar on the other hand is not.

You may very well be able to exchange Australian dollars at many places but what you will find is that the exchange rate that you will get is noticeably lower than what you would have got by using your debit card at an ATM. The same holds true for the Canadian dollar although the Canadian dollar has the rare feature of being considered a major currency in the northern Indian state of Punjab where the rate available on the Canadian dollar is better than that available in Mumbai or Delhi.

pears367

Thanks mate, you have probably saved me a lot frustration and hassle. Going to put the cash on my cards. Cheers.

palerider

Or you can buy a few Indian rupees before you go. Sydney is littered with money changers. And a Debit card to travel with.
It's good to arrive with a few thousand rupees, just in case.

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Merchant

Just for future reference, the exchange bureaus at the airport and the banks throughout the country all deal in major currencies. Australian dollars are no more difficult to exchange in India than they are anywhere else.

davey

I used my card mainly, never had any problems but we also exchanges some cash and again did okay, we actually used someone we met inb business and we got a better rate with the cash but I would always make sure you are well aware of the excahnge rate before you agree to go this way...personally the card is the best way and we used a Cirrus..westpac card widely in stores and Atm's all ove th place

edwardseco

Yes Merchant is right (lordy, I was answering something on history recently and wished he was there). OZ dollars exchange just as well as any major currency. There is no "good" rate. Its an illusion to believe that having one major currency versus another based on the number of Rupees that come out for one unit of a particular currency is an advantage. What you care for, or should, is the total # of Rupees for a certain total of your currency. If one country's currency had some special value international finance types from Wharton (nod to a Kashmiri friend killed on 9/11 in a tower) would quickly spot the arbitrage and trade it away. The only concern you might have is if you had a marginal currency and thought you might have difficulty finding someone to take it. Even my bank in Paradise, Hyderabad gladly takes Oz $. I take travellers checks. However, less old fashioned people opt for cards. Even I have used a card now to draw money in India a couple of times so even worst of us can adapt..

GoanCanuck

Although what you say is true internationally in the smaller towns there are exceptions. The rate offered on Canadian and Australian dollars in smaller towns by the money changers in India is below the prevailing market rate on those days whereas the Pound, Euro and US dollar even in smaller towns can be exchangesd at rates which are close to that offered in the big cities in India.

I have personally noticed a deviation of 6%-6.5% on the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Singapore Dollar in the smaller towns across India. Of course this deviation is not present when using a Canadian or Australian bank card at an ATM.

edwardseco

How about echange rates in general? I would think that the worst place to exchange money is small town as opposed to major cities..

davey

haggle the same as anything else and know the daily rate so check it out on the net this should give you some leverage

fernandw

Anyone know much fee is incurred using debit cards? I have a m/card (linked to savings) and i believe the fees are dependent on how much you withdraw. Can anyone enlighten me please.

iwanttogoback

fernand, i think it depends on the bank so check with yours so you can work out the optimum way to use your card. and some charge a fee just convert the currency in addition so make sure you find out how many fees and how much you'll be looking at.

enjoy your trip.

fernandw

thanks IWGB

Dr. Gajaprishthakara

When using most debit/credit cards you will pay twice, once for the withdrawal and once for the exchange. Over the last two years that was costing me about 30-60 Australian Dollars a month - so for this trip I am taking cash so stumbled upon this thread as I had an identical question about Australian Dollars being exchangeable at a reasonable rate. One of the reasons that I am keen to take AUD is that it is travelling very well against the INR whereas it is static against the USD.

Having said that - don't be put off the debit card. If you can forget about the fees and charges, it beats traveller's cheques easily in terms of access and reliability.

Spirit of Havelock

Australian dollars are dead easy to change in all major cities and all touristic places. Don't buy US$ to re-sell, as this will cost you more fees in Aus. No need to buy Rs. in Australia either, airport will be fine.

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