Buying Euros in a Small Texas Town (A Bit Long)

[Silas G. T. Brontë]

These incidents happened when I used to work as a bank teller about one year ago. Now I truly liked this job so I had very little to complain or any sucky customers. I worked for a branch of one of the largest banks in the U.S. (think of the Stage Coach), and as such, was one of the few banks that bought and sold foreign currency to its checking/savings account-holders (for a S&H fee), which was a convenient service if they plan to travel outside of the country. Now I live in a small Texas town that is quite a distance from the nearest large city.

The other important thing to know is that to get foreign currency, a bank representative would have to order it by phone as bank branches do not carry any foreign currency in their vaults, except for the little they received from buying (in exchange for U.S. dollars) it from account-holders after a trip, which then we quickly send it out to a special office in Nevada because their value can change drastically.

One of the most popular requests were for buying Euros for customers who were traveling to any of the countries in the Eurozone, countries of the European Union that currently use the Euro. The U.K., Sweden, Denmark, and about a dozen new member countries are EU members, but don't use the Euro, so they aren't in the Eurozone.

The Catholic School Principal

SC=Our local Catholic School principal known for having little patience. Normally comes to make deposits for the school's bank account.
Me=Who else?

Me: Hello, Sister <insert name>, and welcome to <insert bank name>! How can I help you?
SC: Hello, I need to buy some Euros because I need to go to Europe soon. <starts pulling out all these $20s and $100s in front of me in a hurry> Somebody told me you sold them here!
Me: Yes, that is correct.
SC: Oh, and I want some €5s, €10s, €20s, and €50s!
Me: <sensing where this is going and exactly what she's probably thinking> OK, but you do know that I have to order these by phone and they won't be here for a couple of days, right?
SC: WHAT?! But someone told me you had them here! I need to go to Europe tomorrow! <I wish I gotten a hold of that someone and strangle them>
Me: No, normally we don't keep them in our vault because we normally don't trade in Euros everyday and that's why we have to order them and in advance.
SC: <in a snappy tone> Then give me back my money! <grabs it quickly from my counter and leaves>
Me: OK, you can always try out at the airport to buy Euros, if you want to. Just a suggestion.

Now why would we have all this stash full of Euros in our vault in this small town in the middle of Texas? If we were in a border location like by Canada or Mexico, one might expect to trade in Canadian Dollars or Mexican Pesos, but Euros?

Why can't you just fax me the money?

SC=Whiny, old lady who just "has" to go to Europe. Came to me from another window because I was the only one there who knew how to order foreign currency.
Me=Me

Me: Hello and welcome to <insert bank name>! How can I help you?
SC: Hello, I need to buy some Euros because I need to go to Europe. I need $165 Dollars in Euros <Her exact words as I remember>. (Note: This was around the time when the price of fuel went up like crazy making all travel quite expensive).
Me: OK, let me get that started for you. <started standard procedures for ordering foreign currency and made the call to the other Foreign Currency Exchange sales representative and stated what I needed>. (Note: During the conversation I often said $165 Dollars in Euros and the lady was in front of me).
Ma'am, there will be a $6.50 charge for shipping the currency here. Will that be OK?
SC: What? I thought since I had an account here it would be for free. My bank (not from our company) in Oklahoma never charges me for that! I mean, how hard is it to just fax me the money? <points to our fax machine> (Note: Oh, man! so many wrong things with those statements, I didn't even know where to begin! Well, for one thing I had a higher balance in my (better) accounts and I worked for the company and I couldn't even get that service for free. Faxing money? Wow! Unless she means sheets of counterfeit money). Anyways, I still need the money. I can't believe it charging me $6.50 for that! And gas is expensive too these days! <Then why are you traveling to Europe?>
Me: Ma'am, it's a standard price and even our district manager has to pay for it too, and even our best account we offer doesn't offer the service for free. Anyways, your total will be $165.00 plus $6.50 for S&H so it will be $171.50 for all.
SC: No, that's not right! I said I wanted €165 worth in U.S. Dollars and the Euro is more expensive than the dollar.
Me: Ma'am, I repeatedly mentioned $165.00 in Euros and didn't correct me once. I heard you saying you wanted that amount at the beginning. You could have easily simply just said that you wanted €165 Euros.
SC: Whatever, just change it to what I said.
Me: OK, I made the changes and it will be here in a few days and we'll call you when we have it. OK?

[JLRodgers]

I've sometimes thought of getting multiple country currency from a bank -- then putting it in a safe deposit box, it just seems so spy-like

But even I, haven never done anything like that, would think nothing of having to either go to a bank in a city to get it, and have up to a month wait on top of it (I figure it could probably arrive in a week... but I'd give them time just in case without thought). But same day? Maybe if you were at an international airport that had some currency exchange, or a really big bank in a large city.

[bunnyboy]

ugh and #2 is why you should be kept in school until you can pass a know your sh!t test. *grumbles* BTW love the avatar picturey thingy,

[sirwired]

Foreign ATM machines FTW. Works every time, and a much better rate than anywhere else for only a 1% fee (at least with my bank.)

However, I wanted some "backup cash" last time I went to Europe, and couldn't find a single local bank that could order me some... I didn't think it was that crazy of a request.

We just ended up bringing a couple hundred $US with us, with the intention of using the highway-robbery airport booths if we were desperate.

SirWired

P.S. I did learn the hard way that travelers checks are a royal PITA to use outside of the US. Even if they are denominated in local currency.

[Tutorgal]

What sirwired said. ATMs take almost all bank cards and you always get the most current exchange rate with what is usually a fairly small penalty by your bank, almost always much less than what is charged by exchange places or by banks that have notes delivered to them for pickup. Sometimes I change a bit at the airport just to make certain I have enough currency for a taxi (some small airport, even international ones, don't have an ATM), but the rates and the charges mean you lose a huge amount in the transaction.

I travel internationally fairly often and this has never failed any place that has the euro for a currency. In some areas of say, Central America, I've needed traveller's cheques, but never for Europe.

[SailorMan]

There are currency exchanges at the airports overseas, and as someone pointed out, ATM machines, too, sometimes even at the airport itself. Though my own bank (yep, the stage coach bank) did charge me a conversion fee for using it.

My ship was just recently in Singapore (we're in a hotter place now, with sand and camels), and I was surprised to learn that money orders of any kind weren't negotiable instruments there. But then, it's illegal to have play money there, too: I guess with all the international travellers they get, somebody must've convinced someone once that their play money was real, foreign currency: "But really! I withdrew this from my bank on the Boardwalk, around the corner from Baltic Avenue, just before I came here to Singapore! Please exchange it for me!"

[Eireann]

I heard about an Irish man who was going on a trip to France, so he went to his bank for money.

He wanted French euros.

He was convinced, and nobody could tell him otherwise, that Irish euros wouldn't be accepted in France.

[OfficeSlug]

Wait.

*head spins*


FAX MONEY?????

*shakes head*

Stupid people shouldn't breed.

[Phone Jockey]

When I went to Spain, I just converted my money at the airport & at an exchange teller in Spain. Also, if you go to an ATM in another country, the money comes out in the local currency. DUH PEOPLE!!!

[Noo_Noo]

Also, if you go to an ATM in another country, the money comes out in the local currency. DUH PEOPLE!!!

This QFT.
Honestly, I don't know what the problem is, or even why 'bureau de change' exists any more.Obviously, in the old days, banks weren't globalized and you had to get the cash that you needed changed. But, nowadays you just jab some buttons at an ATM and viola! foreign monies!. I guess it's something that the older generation need to get used to i spose.

[Soulstealer]

While ATMs work well in most cases I find that for certain countries I have to go inside the bank or a currency exchange to get money. Picture if you will my Visa card. It is a nice card, it has money in the account. However the country it was issued in writes everything from left to right while my family lives in a country where everything is written from right to left. After checking the ATM instructions to make sure I had it the right way I discovered that some ATMs won't take my card because apperantly it is shaped wrong.

[StarsAreFixed]

Ah now here, if you work in a bank, you should know the plural of euro is euro- it has no plural! It may be true you need to get your money before you go to some countries, but not the eurozone.

Although, my local bank (and all of the banks in Dublin) will give dollars and sterling at the very least.