do I gotta carry coins from 5 countries to use the toilets in SE, NO, DK, IS and FI?
May 30, 2017, 2:53 pm
#16
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Many (not all!) Iceland pay toilets are "honor boxes" and we asked if they would accept USD $1 instead of 100 ISK and were always told that was fine ($1 > 100ISK by a bit)
May 30, 2017, 11:10 pm
#17
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May 31, 2017, 1:52 am
#18
Join Date: Sep 2012
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I'm told that Arion Bank (with a 24-hour branch at KEF) will happily exchange any ISK notes and coins between denominations without charge, so it should not be a problem to obtain some.
May 31, 2017, 10:14 am
#19
Join Date: Aug 2010
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I meant bills, and I have my wallet with me when I travel and I made sure there were a few $1 bills (and larger bills, too) for this purpose and for tipping tour guides, who are happy to be tipped in USD, GBP, and EUR. As opposed to not getting tipped "because I have no cash".
I doubt any bank is changing currencies without taking their piece of the action. Maybe 'no fees', but not a friendly exchange rate.
I doubt any bank is changing currencies without taking their piece of the action. Maybe 'no fees', but not a friendly exchange rate.
May 31, 2017, 10:22 am
#20
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Join Date: Apr 2017
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I meant bills, and I have my wallet with me when I travel and I made sure there were a few $1 bills (and larger bills, too) for this purpose and for tipping tour guides, who are happy to be tipped in USD, GBP, and EUR. As opposed to not getting tipped "because I have no cash".
I doubt any bank is changing currencies without taking their piece of the action. Maybe 'no fees', but not a friendly exchange rate.
I doubt any bank is changing currencies without taking their piece of the action. Maybe 'no fees', but not a friendly exchange rate.
May 31, 2017, 1:15 pm
#21
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The Nordic countries are increasingly hostile even to their own coins -- and sometimes even to their own currency notes -- so don't expect them to be so warm toward foreign coins.
May 31, 2017, 1:39 pm
#22
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I have not used coins or paper money here in the US for almost a whole year. Not since I got my Galaxy S7 and started using Samsung Pay for everything... (even to get sodas from vending machines) I actually angered a mugger in NYC(two blocks from Times Square) last fall when I opened my empty wallet... the only thing of value was my Galaxy S7, but he refused to accept it because he said "I don't want no stinking Android phone... you got an iPhone in your backpack or something?" Love NY... they have better class of muggers... in the end, he took my watch, which was only worth about $200 new.
May 31, 2017, 1:53 pm
#23
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: DFW
Posts: 675
I went to Iceland, Finland, and Sweden two years ago and the only time I paid to use the toilet was in Iceland at Þingvellir, which is a national park. Usually I would just go to a restaurant or a coffee shop such as Starbucks (none in Iceland though) for free toilet access. I kept a small amount of currency by buying something cheap in each country and paying with a $10 or $20 USD bill and keeping the change as emergency. Everything else was paid by a credit card.
May 31, 2017, 4:04 pm
#24
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By phasing out the use of pre-existing currency notes/coins and making them worthless unless playing the government/central bank's game. Seen this in recent years in Sweden with this being done by way of various notes and coins being demonetized for nearly all transactions.
May 31, 2017, 10:32 pm
#25
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By refusing to accept coins and/or even cash for payment of goods and services. Seen this sometimes even at McDonald's and some coffee shops.
By phasing out the use of pre-existing currency notes/coins and making them worthless unless playing the government/central bank's game. Seen this in recent years in Sweden with this being done by way of various notes and coins being demonetized for nearly all transactions.
By phasing out the use of pre-existing currency notes/coins and making them worthless unless playing the government/central bank's game. Seen this in recent years in Sweden with this being done by way of various notes and coins being demonetized for nearly all transactions.
I'm about 5 hours away from landing in Sweden.
May 31, 2017, 11:11 pm
#26
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Some of the coins issued by Sweden that used to work at toilets and for things like borrowing grocery store carts no longer work like they used to work. The large 5 SEK coin, for example, no longer works at many places today like it worked say even a month ago or last year.
Jun 1, 2017, 2:02 am
#27
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
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By phasing out the use of pre-existing currency notes/coins and making them worthless unless playing the government/central bank's game. Seen this in recent years in Sweden with this being done by way of various notes and coins being demonetized for nearly all transactions.
http://www.riksbank.se/en/Notes--coi...lid-banknotes/
The Riksbank will no longer pay for expired notes when they feel that the redeemer has obtained them with the intention of making a profit.
Fortunately, I got rid of all my old Swedish notes in April, so they have become someone else's problem, but I'm having to make a special trip to Sweden before the end of June in order to spend all my expiring coins and 100kr notes - and I don't know how successful this will be with merchants becoming anti-cash.
Jun 1, 2017, 7:19 am
#28
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Jun 1, 2017, 2:37 pm
#29
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Some of the coins issued by Sweden that used to work at toilets and for things like borrowing grocery store carts no longer work like they used to work. The large 5 SEK coin, for example, no longer works at many places today like it worked say even a month ago or last year.
Jun 1, 2017, 5:34 pm
#30
Join Date: Sep 2012
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Did you get change??? I'd also be pretty happy if you paid me $43 for something that costs $10...