Currency

A new polymer-plastic £5 banknote went into circulation in the United Kingdom on Sept. 15. The bill is more durable and more secure than traditional cotton-paper currency. Starting May 17, 2017, the old paper £5 notes will no longer be accepted by merchants, though holders always will be able to exchange them for the plastic notes at any Bank of England location. Plastic £10 notes are to appear in summer 2017, with £20 notes by 2020.
Australia released a new, polymer AUD5 note on Sept. 1. The bill has raised dots to assist the blind in determining its value.

Zimbabwe, which has no currency of its own, is set to print “around October” its own versions of US dollar notes, called “bond notes,” to alleviate cash shortages. The bond notes, backed with a loan from the Africa Export-Import Bank, will have the same values as the corresponding denominations of US dollars. 

Zimbabwe ceased printing the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after years of inflation made it nearly valueless. Since then, Zimbabwe has used the US dollar, South African rand, Indian rupee and Chinese yuan as official currencies. 

My wife, Bonnie, and I returned from a trip to Cuba in January 2016. If you are an American planning to visit, take US dollars with you, and the communist government there wants them to be new, clean and pristine.
The official exchange rate was $1 to 0.87 Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUCs). In other words, $100 would buy you CUC87.

During a business trip to Mumbai, India, on Dec. 5, 2015, I took advantage of a free day to shop in the Colaba area of South Mumbai, where the Taj Mahal Palace hotel and the Gateway of India are located. 

Two blocks north of the hotel, I discovered an arts, crafts and jewelry store with marked prices that were fair (a rarity there). I purchased a box and three figurines of carved camel bone, charging them to my MasterCard. 

While traveling in Greece with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773, www.smartours.com) in November 2014, I found that I was always running out of small currency with which to tip the many local guides we had.

One guide told us that the best exchange rate we could get was at post offices. Sure enough, after showing my ID, I was able to exchange dollars for euros at half the fees of hotels and banks I had used.

Also, the fee was the same whether converting $20 or $300, so it paid to convert a larger amount.

L. LUMBERT

I was greatly impressed with David Selley’s letter “Tips on Exchanging Currency” (Feb. ’15, pg. 14). I’ve never read such a clear, easy-to-follow and accurate “summing up” of the subject as this letter.

In the letter “Instead of Heathrow” (Sept. ’14, pg. 14), a subscriber wrote, regarding flying into northwestern England, “And if you choose to get local currency at the airport upon your arrival, be aware that Travelex, the currency-exchange bank, has a monopoly on cash machines in Manchester Airport and offers an outrageous exchange rate.”

Two things to note —

1) Travelex (www.travelex.com) is not a bank. It’s a currency-exchange company.

Those with iPhones, iPads, etc., can determine rates of currency exchange by going to the App Store and downloading “CurrencyGo” for $2. 

For about 158 currencies, this app allows you to see the rates of exchange (as of the close of business the day before) from 18 or 19 different sources, including MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, etc.

BOB MELDMAN

Milwaukee, WI