zombietooth

I am wondering if there are any private exchanges in Israel like the Berlin Company in Hong Kong or SuperRich in Thailand that will give you rates much better than the banks. For instance, SuperRich in Bangkok has only about a .25% buy to sell spread and is usually at London Spot, so you can usually save 2-3% over a bank or airport exchange or an ATM debit.

Thanks for the help!

mbgg

There are licenced currency exchanges all over Tel-Aviv that charge no commission. The Post Office also charges no commission, but has longer lines and shorter hours than the private stores. However, for comparison purposes you can always check the Post Office current rates online:

http://tinyurl.com/nh6mcrl

You can also withdraw shekels from an ATM at a good rate, but you have to check the fees involved with your bank or credit card company (it is generally considered the best method if the fees are low). Never change money at one of the commercial banks.

zombietooth

^Thanks so much for the quick answer!

joshwex90

Agree that the cheapest is to withdraw from an ATM. Bank ATMs (as opposed to standalone ATMs) don't charge any fee to use AND give you Visa/MC's rate, more or less.

zombietooth

My experience is confined to Asia, but VISA/MC (with no foreign transaction fees) never give you the London Interbank rate, nor have any ATM debit cards from any US banks that I know of, they usually give 2 % less. In addition, Thailand charges a fee on foreigners using ATMs, resulting in an even worse deal.

joshwex90

Israel is in Asia, so your stats will need to change

I've done a bunch of tests on this. The rates are never the exact same. But, the rate is as close as you'll get to the Bank of Israel official exchange rate. Truth is, sometimes the rate you get is actually a bit better. Assuming your card charges no fee (neither a percentage for FTF nor a set, non-bank ATM) and you're using a bank ATM (which doesn't charge a fee to use for non-customers), you're in the best shape already.

Having withdrawn thousands of ILS at a time, I've seen the difference between what the BOI rate should've given me and what I've actually gotten to be within maybe a shekel or 2 (at most, usually less).

zombietooth

Well, tell that to the Forex brokers, they never seem to list the Shekel in the Asian section.

Thanks for the advice, I'll run a test and give it a try.

awayIgo

The rate of exchange paid at an ATM has to do with YOUR bank, not the Israeli bank. Same as the rate of exchange offered by credit cards. I have used two different cards, in rapid succession and gotten two different rates. Especially when cards do the transaction for "no fee" --the "fee" is the difference between the commercial rate and what they are paying you.

zombietooth

Well, that was kind of the point I was making from my experience.
I have had accounts at Bank of Tokyo (now BOTM), Citibank, B of A and JPM Chase over the last 25 years, and have never gotten an exchange rate as good as I have gotten at the discount currency brokers in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and especially Thailand, where the spread is very thin. So thin that you can do a double conversion (e.g. Yen to Baht to AUD) and still beat the best debit ATM rate by at least two points.

joshwex90

You're welcome to try that in Israel, but I challenge to find an exchange place that will give you such a good rate and/or a bank ATM that will be that bad.

I have used multiple (American) banks withdrawing in Israel (State Farm, Charles Schwabb, Ally, TD, Bank of America, Capital One, etc.) and have always gotten the best possible rate at bank ATMs, and they're always within agurot of each other.

zombietooth

Since I know nothing about how things work in Israel, I am going to try your way by comparing the exchange rate at the ATM with the best simultaneous street rates. I'll let you know my results after my trip.

awayIgo

Looking at Josh's list of banks, I have found TD to be the best. No fee ( if you keep over $2500 in the a/c) and they pay almost commercial rate.

:D!

This is not completely correct. The exchange rate when using an ATM in a different currency to your card is set by the network (Visa, MC, Amex, etc) and at least for the main 2 networks, is published on their website every working day.

Any deviation from the Visa/MC exchange rate is due to a fee or additional spread charged by the card issuer. Of course the ATM may charge a fee as well.

Using my UK credit card which charges no cash withdrawal fees and no forex commission, I frequently obtain rates better than the xe.com average rate for the day - as long as the local ATM does not charge a fee and I pay off the balance ASAP so I don't get charged interest.

I only use Berlin/Superrich etc if I need to change a large amount that would take weeks to withdraw by ATM, or I need to guarantee a rate. And these places will never give you better than spot, unlike some places in London - though I am not entirely certain of the legality of those...

Thumper

I agree that the ATM is the way to go.

You really are within an agora or two (an agora equals about 1/3 of a cent)

I would also suggest two other things not mentioned:
1. notify your bank of what countries you will be in on what days
2. find out if your bank offers a credit card with the info chip.

Exchange locations are plentiful. Usually the bigger the lettering that screams, "NO FEE", the lower the exchange rate. The bigger the sign "Official Exchange Rate", the bigger the fee.

Caveat Emptor, or as said locally "Deir Ballack"!

mbgg

ALL of the exchange stores and the Post Office charge NO FEE and have virtually identical rates. The differences are usually so small that it is not worth walking around to find the best rate. Only the commercial banks charge a fee but they aren't interested in small transactions.