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Questions
answered on this page:
- What is Ireland's
currency?
- What is the best way to
exchange dollars in to Euros?
- What extra fees might
show up on my charge card?.
- When is it best to use
Travel Checks?.
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| The Republic of Ireland is a
member of the European Union (EU) In 2002, the
euro was implemented as the common currency for
most EU member countries. For the traveler, this
means one can move from many EU countries to the
next with out stopping to exchange currency. But,
not all EU countries have adopted the euro as
their currency. In the case of Northern
Ireland, many stores at the border will
accept payment in euros but the official currency
is the pound. Northern Ireland prints its own
pound sterling based on the British pound. One
can use British currency in Northern Ireland but
do not expect the Irish pound to be readily
accepted in Britain. |
| Euro
Money can be found in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100,
200 and 500-euro notes. 
Euro
Coins start with the 1-cent piece and end with
the 2 euro piece.
The denomination sides of euro
coins are the same in all EU currency countries.
The image on the face side of the coin varies
correspondingly to the EU country that released
the coin in to circulation.
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Best way to exchange money:
In the past the best
place to exchange money was a bank ATM
machine but some banks are now adding a 3% fee on to foreign ATM withdrawals. If you plan to use ATMs in Ireland make certain your bankcard is of the
four PIN number type. Most ATMs in Ireland are
compatible with the Cirrus or Plus system; if you
have any doubts about the usability of your ATM
card, contact your bank prior to leaving. You
might also want to ask your bank about their fees for international
exchanges at ATMs.
When arriving
at the airport, Combo/Exchange windows are very
easy to find. As usual we had to look a little
harder to find the Bank ATM machines, which we
eventually found in the lobby area at the
Dublin's International Airport.
Banks are generally the best
place to go to exchange cash
into euros.
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| Credit Cards
are another way to exchange money in Spain, either through
withdrawing cash or by making a purchase. It is a
good idea to check your credit card's bank policy
for international exchanges fees and cash money
withdrawals fees. Even with fees, Credit Card
purchases usually (but not always) provide a
better rate of exchange than a street cambio (exchange)
vendor. Note - there are two levels of
fees, VISA and MASTER card charge a 1%
fee on all transactions but some banks then add
their own 1-3% fee. There are banks that charge
no additional fees for credit cards use over
seas, it is these no additional charge banks you
want to get a credit card from. In Ireland I encountered, for the first
time, restaurants and a car rental company
providing (but not asking first) credit card
bills in US dollars. Usually, it was presented as
saving me the credit card fees associated with a
euro credit card transaction. In fact the
restaurants and rental company made the
conversion to US dollars at such a high exchange,
it cost me money. In the case of the car rental,
it cost me $30 more for the rental than if I had
paid in euros.
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| Travelers Checks - In these days of ATM's and credit cards,
Traveler Checks are not very usefully. If
the Traveler Checks are in the currency of the
country you are visiting, you might find they are
accepted by individual stores, but even this is
become rare. As back up money for emergencies,
Traveler Checks may still have a roll. The best
place to cash or exchange Travelers checks are in
the offices of the company that issued them,
American Express, Thomas Cook, etc. Finding
Branch offices of the issuing Travelers Check is
not always convenient if not at times impossible.
Banks will cash Traveler Checks for an addtional fee. |
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Relationship
Disclosure
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