Complacent jetsetters slugged at the airport when exchanging money

AUSTRALIAN travellers opting for convenience are costing themselves hundreds of dollars, a News Corp investigation has revealed.

EXCLUSIVE

UNAWARE travellers opting for convenience are losing hundreds of dollars by exchanging money at the airport just before they jet off.

Transferring money moments before boarding an international flight is costing some naive travellers up to 23 per cent more in fees and charges.

For the cost-conscious traveller new analysis commissioned by News Corp from currency conversion site The Currency Shop unveiled some alarming findings by examining currency wholesale rates, conversion rates and fees at Sydney and Melbourne airports and CBD currency exchanges.

It revealed on $2000 Australian dollars travellers can lose as much as $350 by exchanging cash at the airport.

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Jetsetters can get stung at the airport if they exchange money. Picture: Getty Images

At Sydney’s international airport there was a huge loss calculated when converting money to

British Pounds — the exchange rate for $1 Australian dollar was 47 pence versus at a CBD exchange with a rate of 55 pence.

The jetsetter with the exchange rate of 47 pence was $346 worse off by exchanging cash at the airport, receiving just 912 pounds.

Had they exchanged at the rate of 55 pence, they would have delivered 1100 pounds.

Fees were built into the transfer. Most airport exchanges above $400 attract a charge of three per cent.

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The Currency Shop’s director Justin Rampono said “it can be make a massive difference” by leaving money exchange just before you head off overseas.

The Currency Shop’s director Justin Rampono said customers should be organised with currency because it can give them better exchange rates. Picture: Supplied

“You can lose somewhere between $200 and $400 (on a $2000 transaction) depending on what the currency exchange is,’’ he said.

“It’s a massive whack to your spending money when you get to your destination.”

But Mr Rampono said customers can easily save by changing their cash earlier at non-airport outlets or by ordering their money through their bank or post office.

“Even if you ordered money online from the same company a day earlier and picked it up at the airport you can save massive amounts,’’ he said.

You can save money just by exchanging your currency before you get to the airport. Picture: Getty Images

Travelex — one of the world’s biggest foreign exchange businesses — operates at locations including airports and managing director Dion Jensen said, “Airport rates often reflect the convenience of selecting from a range of 60 currencies at the last minute.

“The natural consequence of this means airport stores simply can’t offer the same rates as online or as CBD/shopping centres due to higher overheads such as rent costs.”

Citi’s head of banking and wealth management distribution David Zammit said thinking about foreign currency at the last minute is one of the worst things travellers can do.

“There’s very few providers that would be more expensive than the providers at the airport,’’ he said.

“Foreign currency whether you are travelling for work or for pleasure — it’s usually one of the last things on your mind in terms of banking.”

“A lot of businesses will trade off the fact that convenience can be very costly.”

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CURRENCY RATES

Wholesale rate	Melbourne Airport	What $2000 will buy	Melbourne CBD	What $2000 will buy	Difference in Australian dollars
AUD/US	0.699	US $1357	0.7475	US $1495	$A181
AUD/EUR	0.591	Euro 1147	0.63	Euro 1260	$A173
AUD/GBP	0.518	GBP 1005	0.55	GBP 1100	$A165
AUD/NZD	0.993	NZ $1928	1.065	NZ $2130	$A186
AUD/IDR	8980	IDR 17436893	IDR 9800	IDR 19600000	$A204

Wholesale rate	Sydney Airport	What $2000 will buy	Sydney CBD	What $2000 will buy	Difference in Australian dollars
AUD/US	0.68	US $1320	0.7365	US $1473	$A201
AUD/EUR	0.54	Euro 1048	0.6298	Euro 1259	$A325
AUD/GBP	0.47	GBP 912	0.5551	GBP 1110	$A346
AUD/NZD	0.9	NZ $1747	1.0516	NZ $2103	$A328
AUD/IDR	8481	IDR 16467961	9938	IDR 19876000	$321

Source: Currency Shop, exchanges include applicable fees and charges from prices sourced in the past month, with like-for-like comparisons carried out on the same day.