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Technically we are spending USD, if we show up somewhere without already having converted our currency. Personally I purchased a Travelex prepaid debit card ah
by AStonesThrow 2y ago
Technically we are spending USD, if we show up somewhere without already having converted our currency.
Personally I purchased a Travelex prepaid debit card ahead of time, with Euros ready to spend in Catalonia, but it was reloadable, and I also needed to do some snap ATM conversions to £ Sterling in London.
Most tourists head to an exchange window, turn their USD into the local currency, and therefore those exchanges have got our genuine Benjamins to do whatever with.
And USD is highly-favored, highly-negotiable money everywhere in the world, as of April 2025 anyway.
- rsynnott 2y ago> Most tourists head to an exchange window, turn their USD into the local currency, and therefore those exchanges have got our genuine Benjamins to do whatever with. … Wait, really, in 2025? You’d likely be far cheaper using an ATM (tip: get a Wise or neobank account; they’ll generally give better rates on this. Revolut FX is _free_ except on weekends). Physical currency exchange has never been cheap, but these days it’s a serious ripoff. > And USD is highly-favored, highly-negotiable money everywhere in the world, as of April 2025 anyway. It fell 2.5% vs the Euro yesterday. Which is going to make the physical currency places into even more of a ripoff, because they’re going to have to significantly increase their risk premium; it has become rather volatile over the last month.
- basisword 2y agoThis sounds like travel in the 90's. These days you pay with a debit card or credit card and get cash from an ATM when needed. I can't remember the last time I actually exchanged cash in one currency for cash in another.