• Profile picture of Roy Scarbrough

    Roy Scarbrough posted an update 1 year, 3 months ago

    Some day I might understand the ins and outs of currency exchange. I went to one of those “cambio” Kiosks in Florence on a weekend night when the banks were closed. Friends were getting an okay exchange on their Visa debit cards. The lady there is always friendly and chatty. I show her a hundred dollar bill. I ask her how many Euros I will get for it. She keys the numbers on her calculator, then says “Fifty.” Fifty and some change, actually. I couldn’t believe I heard her right. I have her repeat it. I said I think I can get 70. I vaguely remember geting 70, but it had been a while and I was not sure where or when that was. “Who!” She says it like she’s shocked, shocked. She does this so convincingly that I’m half persuaded into thinking that you can’t do better than paying $2 a Euro when you’re exchanging real currency.

    The next morning i go to another kiosk that was down a not-very-picturesque alley. They guy is is grumpy with decidedly take-it-or-leave it attitude. He won’t take my debit card, so I pull out the hundred bill again. He gives me 71 Euros. I’m not getting the $1.31 rate, but I like him.

    • Profile picture of Kimberly Kradel
      Kimberly Kradel replied 1 year, 3 months ago

      Oh, Florence. It’s been way too long since I have been there. I hope she is loving you :)

      Using the Debit Card in a bank ATM is the best way to go … Cambios are really exploitive (they have to pay people to actually sit there all day) and I often wonder why or how they still exist, but it sounds like the grumpy guy gave you an ok rate, all things considered.