Originally Posted by
mbgg
Why get into an argument over this ? Just change some dollars in the airport or withdraw some shekels from the ATM ! Would you fly into JFK and try to pay a cab driver in Euros or another currency?
The shekel has been steady against the dollar for the last 15 years and Israelis do not generally invest in foreign currency based securities any more. I sincerely doubt that any cab driver is interested in "speculating" with your $15 !
AFAIK there is no argument going on
As for paying in a Currency other then the Countrys.It can be done in many Countrys. As for JFK since most people travel with USD no need, but its very possible that if a driver travels to Europe (back home for them, they might accept Euros depending on the direction of the Euro and when they plan to fly over there).
Many Israelis do travel several times a yr so if they plan on visiting the US, they just might want the USD to save them their on FOREX fees. And I do remember a couple of times when the drivers wanted me to pay in USD but since I was based over there I had my fair share of sheks and it was cheaper for me to pay in sheks then USD.They werent too happy as they were hoping to get a nice supply of USD for their trip w/o having to exchange their sheks for it. Othertimes they were asking for Euros
As witha lmost every Country , if you change your currency for theirs at the airport exchange booths you will be taking a very nice bath, ATMs are much better. 1 place in the baggage hall it was slightly more then a 10% haircut