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I usually don’t use Money Changers at all. Other than the ones at Singapore’s Changi Airport or big, official Banks with receipts and all I just don’t trust them. It’s what you read and hear, that most of the time people get cheated or aren’t paid the agreed rates or simply have less money at the end, then what they bargained for. The next episode only confirmed those worries:
Over the last 3 weeks we had some visitors from Germany and Singapore. Driving around the Island it became almost inevitable that someone had to change their cash EURO oder Singapore Dollar into the local currency Rupiah.
What is the obvious institution that comes to mind? Right, a Money Changer!
There is an abundance of Money Changers in Kuta, Legian or Seminyak along the main tourist routes, like Jalan Dhyana Pura, Jalan Legian or Jalan Raya Seminyak. Piece of cake you might say. They announce their rates on billboard signs (see left) standing by their shops. On the above mentioned roads you can see them every few metres.
So what problem should arise? Count your Cash, do the math, hand the bills over and count the Cash you get in return? Unfortunately, not here in Bali.
3 out of 3 Money Changers we tried to exchange Money tried to cheat us. With pretty obvious tricks though:
- First, they almost always come in a pair of 2 guys, who run a Money Changer shop. So one is always trying to keep you busy, by asking questions like “Where you from?”, “What you do?”, “Where you stay in Bali?” and other standard chit-chat.
- The other one will quote you a rate, sometimes already an other, than advertised. They type you the local sum into a calculator, which could be rigged too, although we didn’t have that problem yet. If you didn’t walk out by now already, you are ready for the main show
- After handing over your 50 Euro, 75 USD, 100 SGD or whatever other currency, they will count the local agreed equivalent right in front of your eyes. It matches perfectly the agreed sum. Now it’s your turn. You count and everything is fine usually. Hold the notes tight - because now he wants to count them again! Don’t let him!
- They mainly try to hold it close to their belly so notes can easily be slid out and fall under the high desk on which both sides the 2 of you are standing. All while the other guy is pumping up his ‘chit-chat’ attack, maybe even touching your arm, showing you something he want to sell or jumping around next to you, so you can’t but look at him from time to time.
- Very quickly you have the double-counted money back. Deal done? No. You can bet that you have much less than the agreed sum, especially, if you changed for than just a few dollars or if the sum is pretty uneven
- When you insist to count the money in front of their eyes again, they will begin to make some ‘tohuwabou’ or telling you, that *you* want to cheat *them*. You might say “Excuse me? I just want to count my money again.” and that’s basically it.
- They will grab the money away from you and will quote you another (much lower) rate, say that you have to pay a 5% (!) commission or that they have to ask their boss, if you are allowed to change money with them. Their money is withdrawn.
- You can walk out now!
The trouble with those guys is, that their offer is too good to be true. Their motto is “I give you a good rate, if you let me cheat you!”, but a bad rate if you want a fair deal. They all announce ‘No Commission’, ‘No Tricks’, ‘No Cheating’, (see picture above) but on the contrary, it’s basically all you get. My visitors were surprised that after 3 trials, the outcome was always the same. Us leaving the shop and the Money Changer shouting and swearing after us, that we tried to cheat *them*! That’s no fun.
I wonder, if anyone is still doing business with them?
We found only one better example in Jalan Kunti, at the corner Jalan Sunset Road, close to ‘Chat Cafe’, which had a different setup. One guy is sitting behind a glass wall with only a small opening and you will even get a receipt! Of course the rate is lower and even very different from the announced Standard Interbank Rate, you can see daily in newspapers, CNN or on the internet. The difference is between 3-5%; that way they really don’t have to charge a commission on your amount.
If you really still want to use a Money Changer, here is what you should do:
- use them only, if absolutely necessary
- change small amounts only
- use extra precautions, like walking in with a friend who can keep the 2nd guy busy and watch the counting process for dirty tricks
- count, count, count!
- don’t give the money out of your hands again, after you counted it and the returned amount was correct
My tip: Avoid Money Changers altogether. It’s your hard earned money - not theirs!
Better: Use your Banking Card at an ATM of a well-respected Bank instead. There are plenty in Bali (BCA, BNI, BII, Citi, Bank Negara, Permata and others) and elsewhere. This way, you will most of the time still pay a fee for every exchange, but you will likely get the Standard Interbank Rate of the day and therefore more ‘Bang for the Buck’. The other advantage is, that you don’t have to bring larger amounts of hard currency with you, which might get lost along the way. If you have a Bank Card of a partnering bank (DBS->BII, HSBC->BCA), the fee you have to pay is usually lower or even completely waived.
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Need a comparison of the Pros and Cons of Money Changers and ATMs? Click here:
How to obtain local currency when traveling abroad
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You know what? This is absolutely true! I experienced the same trick last year when I was in Kuta, Bali with my wife. But I have heard of the tricks before, so while the money changer guy was trying to ‘take back and recount again’, I quickly snatched the money and walked off…
The dudes were pissed…Haha..
Another scam is the Jimbaran seafood scam. They have this large shell seafood (looks like the scallops’ shell) which when they present it to the table, they switched the meat with this tiny shellfish meat (called lala in Malaysia). The bill? They charge you for this large shell thingy. I guess, after that they wash and refill/reuse the shells again. Gosh I hate that.
P.S: Good post..let other travellers know about this.
I heard about that one too. Or they charge the fish ‘per gram’, but it’s filled with little ‘weight’ items to make it more heavier. Oha!
Even though its not alot of money I hate being cheated. i would much rather pay more or tip.
They have a lot of different tricks to distract you while they swipe some money off. Even though small notes are really handy in Bali when they starting pulling out the 10,000 rp or 20,000 rp notes walk away. There are a lot more things to consider but the best tips are
1. always change in nominations which are easy to calculate i.e. $100.00 that way you can calculate what you get in your head easily.
2. If a rate is too good to be true .. it is. They all get their money changed at the same rate. If the average rate is say 7,800 rp for A$ 100.00 then someone offering 8,100 rp is not going to deliver. Even if you stop them cheating you, they will cancel the transaction (this happened).
3. I would suggest using the one place as much as possible (the one closest to your hotel) and leave a tip each time. If you skim of 20,000rp or so and give it to the guy early it he doesn’t ahve too and it takes a lot of stress out of the transaction.
4. Just becasue a place looks nicer doesn’t mean you can relax. The places on the main street near Matahari’s in Kuta are some of the worst.
Well I would give more tips but I don’t want to make out like Bbali is a horrible place. As soon as you adjust to the fact you are seen as a bit of a meal ticket you should be fine. Just balance being nice with not being a soft touch.
I’m from Singapore… I guess scams like that are really really common in SEA countries (except here). You would know them better than I do…
Scams like how they’ve promised you a hotel room at a cheap rate then when you arrive they tell you they only have the expensive ones left… or people wearing “official” looking uniforms standing near immigration tell you to pay extra to have visas done immediately (otherwise it would take 3-5 days, etc)…. I guess it’s really important to be smart when travelling to these places.
Hey going to link ya up in my blog. I enjoyed the way you wrote.
Go to trusted money changer or bank. Get the latest currency exchange over internet. yahoo finance the most recommended.
Andrew, Bobo and Brokencode - thanks for the additional tips. They are well received and appreciated!
[...] Elsewhere, overseas Filipino workers and tourists are often victimized by unscrupulous Philippine money changers, but do you know that this isn’t a uniquely Filipino crime? Friskodude links to a Nomad4ever entry about their counterparts on the Indonesian island of Bali. Ditto too for Pinoy couples worried about peeping Toms intruding into their motel trysts: Jeepers creepers, your love hotel might be crawling with peepers. [...]
We were in Bali recently. Useful tips. Some more from me:
1) if you use a debit card from a credit union or cooperative bank, like I did, the ATM fee is waived. even though I used a 7-11 ATM.
2) change money in the airport, even if the rate is not fabulous, you are safe. Always count, of course.
3) we changed in a shop where there was only one clerk and changed only about $20 or so.
4) carry your own small pocket calculator and do your math before anything.
very useful tips here, hope that the word spreads so widely that these lousy ‘businesses’ go out of business one not too distant day:-)
You can add to this if you turn the tables and walk out with your money changed at the advertized amount. To do so, take them by their own word - those they advertize. Be very friendly, but determined. Ask them if the rate written on their billboard is correct for today (”please double check, your exchange rate is almost unbelievably good”), and once they confirmed this, continue with asking them if ” no commission, no cheat” is also true.
Some will show you the door at this point, realizing they won’t be able to cheat you, but others will (of course:-) confirm and still try to rip you off.
Then, as you also write, once they counted out the notes (in my experience they are not necessarily always only small notes), and you counted them, too, say “thank you, see you next time”, and walk out.
They will now want to avoid their loss, and find a newer, unfortunately lower exchange rate, but since you first asked them to double check, you have a good argument that this is now their own fault, and you’re not willing to step back. In some instances it may be useful at this point to give some unclear hint which could be interpreted the way that you might otherwise report it to the police, although you defintely shouldn’t say it clearly. Keep smiling at them all the time.
If they shout and swear after you when you leave, you weren’t cool enough:-)
I managed to do this once, just to find out if this would work. Of course it wasn’t a big amount, after all I know how poor the guys are. Also, being alone I didn’t want to try my luck too many times.
To put this in a perspective, I’d like to add that money changers in various European countries offer exhange rates so bad that they could be called rip offs as well - and there’s nothing you can do about it, because it’s all advertized like this. I hate these just as much as the Kuta small time criminals.
[...] meaning that as a foreigner you are naturally overcharged at almost every day-2-day situation. Cheating Money Changers are best avoided by withdrawing money solely from ATM’s or exchanging notes in directly in [...]
[...] Cash with you while traveling in Indonesia, get to an official Bank and exchange them into Rupiah. Avoid Money Changers who publish fantasy [...]