Cheapest Currency Exchange

[jamesmarx24]

My wife and I are moving overseas and need to complete a two-week quarantine when we land. The total cost will be 3000$ for the quarantine and we need to fly with the cash over ready for payment on arrival.

What is the best/cheapest places in Cape Town/ Northern Subburs to exchange ZAR for USD?

TIA

 

[RandomGeek]

My wife and I are moving overseas and need to complete a two-week quarantine when we land. The total cost will be 3000$ for the quarantine and we need to fly with the cash over ready for payment on arrival.

What is the best/cheapest places in Cape Town/ Northern Subburs to exchange ZAR for USD?

TIA

Wont the place accept a credit card? $3000 is a significant amount of cash? And why does it have to be USD is this the USA? (asking because if you go to quarantine immediately you wont have the chance to convert the usd to local currency)

 

[Barbarian Conan]

This sounds slightly suspect...
Have you confirmed with emigration groups for the same country that paying cash on arrival is indeed how it's done?

 

[saor]

Where are you flying to?

 

[cr@zydude]

My wife and I are moving overseas and need to complete a two-week quarantine when we land. The total cost will be 3000$ for the quarantine and we need to fly with the cash over ready for payment on arrival.

What is the best/cheapest places in Cape Town/ Northern Subburs to exchange ZAR for USD?

TIA

This sounds really dodgy. Where are you going?

 

[jamesmarx24]

Merry Christmas to everyone.

My wife and I are flying to South Korea to start teaching at a University there. Don't worry, it is all legit. We pay in USD because there are a few Americans joining as well and it is easier for the hotel that we are going to quarantine in to just transfer the dollars to Korean won.

The reason I can't do it there is that they fear there won't be enough dollars at the exchange at the airport.

 

[cr@zydude]

Merry Christmas to everyone.

My wife and I are flying to South Korea to start teaching at a University there. Don't worry, it is all legit. We pay in USD because there are a few Americans joining as well and it is easier for the hotel that we are going to quarantine in to just transfer the dollars to Korean won.

The reason I can't do it there is that they fear there won't be enough dollars at the exchange at the airport.

Why doesn't this hotel accept credit cards? I would advise extreme caution.

 

[sandwitch]

Hotels should accept credit cards. Capitec is your friend. The airport will have boatloads of USD.
Unlike SA, people zip in and out of Incheon Airport all the time so you should be able to exchange there. So I'd exchange half here, rely on a credit card (not Standard Bank or Absa), and exchange the rest at Incheon Airport.

SA = exchange rate = hellishly expensive wherever you go

SK = Incheon Airport is much better than anywhere in SA. When you're living there: just outside an Itaewon station exit (3, I think?)

You can also post in the South Africans in South Korea fb page in case someone here has won and do a direct exchange (keep it secret) but with Covid I don't know how good your chances will be.

Edited to add: Ask questions, because in Korea it's often what they not say that's important: do you have to go through the hotel because you're not allowed to exchange money at the airport?
Or do you have to go through the hotel because they'll make a lot of money out of this, and save on banking fees, and they're quietly diverting you.