Do you want to exchange currency the right way when you’re in Hong Kong?
What to look out for when exchanging your currency
Whether you are going on a holiday abroad or just need some currency exchanged for whatever reason you need to be careful to where you exchange it. What I mean by this is that sometimes if you exchange money with anywhere other than a bank or post office in Hong Kong, you may be getting ripped off. These people can rip you off by having/adding a sneaky commission fee on each exchange, or they may even have terrible exchange rates in which they are actually taking advantage of you. A place that is infamous for doing these shenanigans is at an airport in Hong Kong or even the world.
This happens because many tourists do not understand the rates exchange system and this can result in them paying more money than they should all because they do not know how the whole system of currency exchange works in Hong Kong. This is why you are best to go to a bank or post office in Hong Kong as they are professionals who will not take advantage of you and will know exactly what money they should be giving you.
What to bring when exchanging currency
This is the part where many people get confused when it comes to swapping different types of money. However, for you to successfully trade your money, you will need to bring some items with you. When you are trading money in Hong Kong, it is important to know when using any type of card for the exchange you must show ID. The Identification must be photographic, and it may be a driver’s licence, a passport or anything else that shows it is you that owns the card. Identification will also be required if you are ordering online as you will need to prove that it is you that made that purchase for that currency exchange transaction. The only time you will not need ID when exchanging money is when you are paying with the good old paper cash.
Exchangers typically with the most competitive rates
There has been a lot of debate within Hong Kong about who has the most competitive prices when it comes to currency exchange. As I noted before try to avoid airports as much as possible as they take advantage of tourists as they may need to have their currency exchanged quickly to get a taxi to the hotel. However, as I mentioned above, the best way to have your currency exchanged is by a bank. This is because when exchanging currency with a bank there is only a fee of 1%-3% or maybe in some cases, there will be no fees at all. Banks are also very convenient for exchanging currency as through your phone you are able to use Google maps to find how close you are to the nearest bank.
If you are nowhere close to a bank in Hong Kong, the second best option by far is the nearest post office. The post office will charge absolutely no fee when it comes to exchanging any form of currency. The reason for why I have put the post office as the second best option is because your nearest post office may be quite far away from you if you need your currency exchanged as soon as possible. A post office could be a good few miles away from you, and they may not have the exact currency you need, unlike a bank. A post office will sometimes demand you to order your currency exchange online to make sure that, that currency is available to be traded. This will often take up to forty-eight hours if the currency is not available at that post office. This means a post office is not the best option as if you need your currency exchanged in a rush it may take forty-eight hours just to receive the money.
The third option which has great rates is a Travelex institution. Travelex is a company that specialises with currency exchange. The reason for why I have put this as the third option is because there can be a lot of hidden fees that come with ordering currency exchange from Travelex. An example of a fee would be that they charge you an administration fee of £1.99 for currency exchange orders under £100. The good thing about Travelex is that they can deliver the traded currency right to your doorstep. This is great as all you have to do is order online, and within forty-eight hours they will deliver you all of the money. This means that if you are not in a real rush to get your currency exchanged and you do not want to leave the house, this is your best option. It is important to know that deliveries over £500 have no delivery fee but if your order is under that amount you will have to pay a fee.
The last option to which I am going to talk about is going to a hotel to get your currency exchanged. Now, let me just stop you here, don’t do this. Ever! The reason why I have included this option is because hotels are infamous for exchanging currencies with high commission fees and awful rates, so consider this a warning. The reason for this is simple; they are taking advantage of tourists who need money exchanged very quickly. Instead of wasting money at a hotel you can save money by finding your nearest ATM or post office for a better currency exchange experience.
The best locations of currency exchangers in Hong Kong
With all this information you are now probably wondering to yourself where location wise is the best place to find these excellent currency exchange rates. Well, what if I told you that if you just landed at the Hong Kong International Airport, there is no need for you to go to get your currency exchanged there because a bank is only a few miles away. The bank closest to the airport is located at,”8 scenic roads, Chek Lap Kok,” which is very close to the airport and you will have better currency exchange rates there. This means that you could get a taxi there from the airport and to pay the driver all you would have to do is go into the bank to get your currency exchanged and then pay the driver.
Instead of going to the post office in the airport and being taken advantage of as a tourist with terrible rates, you should go to the nearest post office other than the one in the airport. The closest post office from the Hong Kong International Airport is called the Discovery Bay Post Office, and it is again only a few miles from the airport. The address of this post office is,”G12a, Discovery Bay Rd,” and by travelling the few extra miles, you will get no fee with exchanging the currency. It is best if you call the post office’s phone number in advance to make sure that they have the currency that you are looking for.
The final location in which I will be discussing will be going to a Travelex in Hong Kong. There are multiple Travelex institutions in Hong Kong, but the most popular one would be the one within the airport. However, remember don’t use terminals for exchanging currency so the closest one to the airport would be located at,” Tung Chung Post Office, 6 Mei Tung St.” This is only a couple of miles from the airport, and it will offer you better rates as it will not be taking advantage of tourists within the airport.
To conclude, when you are exchanging currency with Hong Kong try to avoid tourist heavy areas such as terminals and hotels. This is again because they are taking advantage of people who don’t understand how swapping to a different currency works. The best place to go to is a bank or a post office as they will have professionals who will give you the best rates and won’t charge any hidden fees like a Travelex.