Where to offload dollars that have imperfections and slight rips in Cambodia?
I have a 100$ bill that has slight rip near the band, and no one wants it...
Be it Pounds ripped in half I would just change them at the nearest bank in UK to new ones, but these are not Pounds and I am not in the States...
Is there an institution that accepts bills like that in Cambodia? What do I do?
Best Answer
When the US changed it's design radically to the big head design, the counterfeiters dumped their stashes of old style small head bills in SE Asia and Africa. Now banks in SE Asia are very particular about US currency out of fear of a recurrence.
There is no easy solution other than walking from bank to bank, exchange window to exchange window and hope someone will be willing. Some folks will say that XYZ exchange took theirs, but it is really up to the clerk handling your visit, so not a guaranteed thing.
Pictures about "Where to offload dollars that have imperfections and slight rips in Cambodia?"
Where do you take torn money?
If it is damaged but not mutilated and you do not want to use that currency for any reason, you can exchange that money at your local bank. Money that has been mutilated or extensively damaged beyond repair or use should be submitted to the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing or the US Mint.What banks will exchange damaged money?
Typically, badly soiled, dirty, defaced, disintegrated and torn bills can be exchanged through your local bank if more than half of the original note remains. These notes would be exchanged through your bank and processed by the Federal Reserve Bank.Can you use slightly ripped money?
Currency Procedures Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if: More than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present.How do you fix shredded money?
Our currency representative advises that consumers directly contact the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It offers a step-by-step guide to redeeming mutilated currency, along with how to file a mutilated currency claim. \u201cThe BEP will evaluate the note,\u201d he explains.More answers regarding where to offload dollars that have imperfections and slight rips in Cambodia?
Answer 2
This is a lot easier to do with smaller denominations, of course, but on a few occasions when I had to get rid of a $100 bill with an imperfection (small tear, etc.), I just went to different small changers (in the markets, not the money exchange businesses with their own store fronts) until I found one who didn't look closely. Some people will just take your money (even a $100 bill), throw it in the drawer, and give you your change. However, I speak Khmer and that may have been a (distracting) advantage.
I've also found that breaking hundreds at 'modern' supermarkets works, but again, you may have to try this a few times before you get a clerk who does not check your money. Going during a busy time when the lines are long and the clerks are moving fast could help. Obviously, this technique banks on human error!
It's unlikely, but if for some reason you have several $100 bills, you could try changing them at a bank or money changer; the more bills there are (of any low denomination), the less likely anyone is to check each bill. The higher the denomination, the less true this is. But at places frequented by 'rich' people (e.g. supermarkets, professional money changers, banks), clerks are more likely to give patrons the benefit of the doubt (and it's probably true that they also have less to lose in case a bill is damaged).
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: RODNAE Productions, RODNAE Productions, RODNAE Productions, Karolina Grabowska