Why does Eurochange ask where I am going?

Or like an employee of ours coming over from Liverpool to Belfast and changing all of his GBP into euro. Poor fella lost out twice on the exchange rate having to convert it back to gbp

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fredwhoisflatulent@reddit

Because you would be surprised how many people rock up in Denmark not realising that they don’t use the Euro for example, so have the wrong cash

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budgiebirdman@reddit

I nearly bought Swedish Krone instead of Danish when I went to Copenhagen - I was just having a brain fart and looking for Krone and wasn't thinking.

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Panceltic@reddit

Getting physical cash for Sweden/Denmark is pretty pointless anyway.

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supomice@reddit

My partner collects foreign coins so we got some cash out in Copenhagen recently and pissed off every shopkeeper we gave it to 😬

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Agreed. What I actually did was just got some cash out of an ATM when I was there just so I had some cash, for no reason other than I wanted a bit of local cash as part of the holiday experience. It definitely wasn't necessary.

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audigex@reddit

It's mostly to make sure you're buying the right currency - you'd be surprised how many people will go to Sweden, Switzerland, Norway etc and not realise they don't use the Euro

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tfm992@reddit

It's likely an AML question as much as a correct currency question.

We ordered some Euro for collection when moving back abroad. We took some Sterling with us when going back for short periods but knew that no bank would accept £16000 in Sterling (we're slowly drip feeding the money into our local accounts from the UK, only being able to send £1200 between us per month without huge fees doesn't help but it's probably better in the UK).

We had a call asking where we are going, briefly explained the circumstances, were promptly told the country doesn't accept Euro and acknowledged this, a payslip each showing our earnings to date e-mailed over later and we were told the money would be ready for collection the following morning. The same payslips and the receipt were used when paying the money into the bank at the other end.

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JBB2002902@reddit

As well as making sure you have the correct currency, there’s also restrictions on some countries about how much you can take in cash. They can also offer recommendations about denominations/using cards etc.

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DonovanGaines@reddit

Primarily because Americans rock up thinking the whole world accepts the dollar.

There's tens of thousands of stories about how they visit Europe, go to hand over a $20 bill only to be told that it isn't accepted and they have tantrums a lot of the time

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Pristine_Speech4719@reddit

Primarily because Americans rock up thinking the whole world accepts the dollar.

That makes absolutely no sense as to why a UK bureau de change was asking someone who was buying foreign currency

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Adventurous-Fun8547@reddit

I can imagine that people might mistakenly get Euros when travelling to EU countries that haven't adopted it, such as Denmark, Sweden or Poland. Also not everybody is clear what's in the EU and what isn't, so might buy Euros when travelling to, e.g., Norway or Switzerland. I suppose the tiny inconvenience of being asked the question is better than buying an unusable currency.

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Hard_Dave@reddit

Exactly, I tried to get euros when going to Poland and they thankfully corrected me

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TheCarrot007@reddit

I just used my credit card like anywhere. Currency, what backwards places are people trqaveling to. Icland was the best with that though, random street seller, or course cards are accepted.

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tykeoldboy@reddit

Not every country in Europe uses the Euro

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Liquor_D_Spliff@reddit

So you dont get the wrong currency.

As per your post, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Sweden dont use the euro.

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Budget-Tap-4326@reddit

And you yourself have made a mistake as Bulgaria use the euro now as of January this year.

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DoctorRaulDuke@reddit

or Norway and Switzerland

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Forward_Opposite_789@reddit

You still change money up? Just get money out on your card with you get these if you need cash or just use your card. There are hundreds of 0% foreign transactions cards now days. Normally cheaper than changing up before you go.

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fickle_tartan@reddit

The last couple of times I've been on holiday with someone else they've got cash exchanged but struggled to actually use it because a lot of places we went wouldn't take cash.

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ScaryButt@reddit

Germany is still very cash based

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Sir_Madfly@reddit

They’re saying it’s cheaper to get cash out of a cash machine when you arrive than to get the foreign currency before you leave.

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Defiant_Practice5260@reddit

Exchange rates still apply and you may not be getting a good one

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Sir_Madfly@reddit

If you’re using a 0% card then you’ll just be charged the Visa or Mastercard exchange rate which is the best you’ll get anywhere.

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lildogeggs@reddit

I’ve not got cash out in years apart from if going Asia get a small amount for when landing etc, but you can use most cards these days minimal exchange rate… Revolut etc

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RaidersGuy85@reddit

This. I just use my Revolut card. Don't need to convert funds and the rate they give has always been better than the exchanges when I've used it.

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Time-Invite3655@reddit

I wondered the same thing when I got my holiday money earlier this month. Though, the lady behind the counter hadn't heard of where I am going, so I'm not sure how useful the conversation was regardless of the intentions behind it.

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opinionated7onion@reddit

Also more to the point why are you using Eurochange, when you can just get a starling account and use your card like you normally would, or draw cash out from the cash point in the country your going to. They dont charge fees and the exchange rate is about the same or better.

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bondinchas@reddit

Standard to make sure you're ordering the correct currency. Especially if the currency is one where.

There is often confusion.... US dollars v Australian dollars. Australian currency v Austrian currency .. yes plenty of people really don't know much about where they're going!

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indigomm@reddit

That's easy. The Australian Dollars are printed up-side-down.

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Glittering_Spring465@reddit

Think it’s to check that the current is right.
I asked for polish zloty and was asked what country.

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secretlondon@reddit

Maybe they are checking you are not going to somewhere like Syria

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neilm1000@reddit

In case you're Jihadi John or Shamima Begum?

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captainslow84@reddit

It's part of anti-money laundering regulation/ process. You ask questions on a friendly but targeted manner and you can legitimately refuse the transaction based on their responses.

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Firthy2002@reddit

Probably just making sure you're getting the right currency.

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Hard_Dave@reddit

To check you're not stupid. Like me. I'm glad they asked me where I was going when I asked for euros before going to Poland (they still use zloty)

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ryanwithbeardtkd@reddit

Just to check if people know what currency they need. Admittedly if you are changing your money at eurochange, that's not the brightest idea. They are known for apsolutely predatory exchange rates.

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Anxious-Salamander49@reddit

The bigger question is why you’re still using them

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CatsChat@reddit

Maybe checking you really were going to Australia and not Austria?
Great song about these countries get mixed up on last night’s Eurovision

https://youtu.be/NTZYHDNvmps?si=42RVykTy4gOJk_u4

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opinionated7onion@reddit

So you don't get the wrong currency and then have a go at them for your own mistake.

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EyeAware3519@reddit

Because people are stupid enough to order the wrong currency, also some countries don't let you take currency into the country and prefer you to spend USD or Euro Cambodia for instance.

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Odd-Area-5148@reddit

They might record it in a database to see where people are going and hold an end of year review

In 2025 (insert number here) to the Netherlands

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

Possibly checking you're actually getting the right stuff: like people bringing Euros into Switzerland and then going "oh, what?"

Or just stats/market research.

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TheMasalaKnight@reddit

Maybe just being chatty? I get asked this nearly every time I’ve exchanged currency, it’s nice to share an anecdote or get a suggestion from the teller has been to the same place. Never had a bad experience.

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