Rates Are Up! Get Your Dollars Out From Under The Mattress!

[OnMyWay]

So my check cleared a few days ago and I finally have some dollars to exchange.  I've been watching the rates and tomorrow is a holiday, so I figured I better change some.  I went down to BPI about 1330 and checked rates before I left.  XE had about 44.33 and BPI online about 44.13. which I thought was low.

 

Upon arriving I see the desk sign says 44.05 which was too low.  I had to wait a while to see the guy who gets me the best rates.  Some damn foreigner was opening a new account and it took a long time.

 

So finally I see my guy and he says the best they can do right then is 44.20.  That was kind of my threshold when I left the house so I said fine.  We get the paperwork almost done, and he says whoops, the rate went up while we were writing!  So I got 44.25 and I was happy.

 

Until just now.  On XE.com right now the rate is 44.66!  Whoa!  Lots of volatility!

[scott h]

. I went down to BPI

 

OMW are you changing money at a bank? Like I think I read in your post, unless you know somebody there bank rates always suck.

 

I use a guy up the street and his rates (which he gets from his home office each morning at 10am) are consistently 0.1 below what forex is showing online.

 

I have become friendly with him and he told me the exchange business are taking a bit hit right now as their profit margin is only 1 centavos per USA dollar exchanged. so when I change 100 USD he only makes 10 pesos off me.

[OnMyWay]

 

. I went down to BPI

 

OMW are you changing money at a bank? Like I think I read in your post, unless you know somebody there bank rates always suck.

 

I use a guy up the street and his rates (which he gets from his home office each morning at 10am) are consistently 0.1 below what forex is showing online.

 

I have become friendly with him and he told me the exchange business are taking a bit hit right now as their profit margin is only 1 centavos per USA dollar exchanged. so when I change 100 USD he only makes 10 pesos off me.

 

 

I always exchange a fairly large amount so I do it at my BPI branch.  As you know I track the rates closely, and my BPI has always been very fair to me.  I used to go to the manager but now I go to his right hand man, as that is where I would end up anyway.  He contacts the Manila office to see what they can do, and then he has to get two managers to override if he can get me a higher rate.

 

I know a couple of places that would probably be similar to what you mention, but I would have to:

 

A.  Arrange for BPI to have that much USD on hand, a few days beforehand.  

B.  Wait in line to get it.  Shove it all in a bag or something.

C. Take it outside the freeport to a changer in Olongapo City, at great risk to my health.

D. Change it there, then take the pesos back to BPI, at great risk to my health.

E. Wait in line to deposit the pesos.

F.  Wait for them to count it.

 

For instance, if I did that today and got 44.35 instead of 44.25, I would have gotten an extra p1000.  Not worth the risk and time.

 

It might be worth it to see if a changer would meet at my bank, but it would still be a hassle.

[scott h]

I hear ya, what you describe is pretty much what we do. A&B anyway. We just normally take enough dollars for our monthly expenditures. So I am not walking around with wads and wads. Just change a couple of hundred at a time keep the rest in the safe. But since we saw the rates going North. We called, had a substantial amount waiting, change a bit at a time and took it down to the credit union and deposited it there (they have pretty good interest rates in fact)

 

I think the main difference is probably the areas we live in. Where I am everything is very close. 2 minute walk to the money changer and 90 second walk in the other way to the credit union. Businesses line the road I walk on, each has a security guard and I have made it a point over the years to be friendly with all of them, so if I get mugged hopefully they will come to my defense (yeah right!!)

[earthdome]

So my check cleared a few days ago and I finally have some dollars to exchange.  I've been watching the rates and tomorrow is a holiday, so I figured I better change some.  I went down to BPI about 1330 and checked rates before I left.  XE had about 44.33 and BPI online about 44.13. which I thought was low.

 

Upon arriving I see the desk sign says 44.05 which was too low.  I had to wait a while to see the guy who gets me the best rates.  Some damn foreigner was opening a new account and it took a long time.

 

So finally I see my guy and he says the best they can do right then is 44.20.  That was kind of my threshold when I left the house so I said fine.  We get the paperwork almost done, and he says whoops, the rate went up while we were writing!  So I got 44.25 and I was happy.

 

Until just now.  On XE.com right now the rate is 44.66!  Whoa!  Lots of volatility!

 

Wow. I am surprised by this. BPI has always had a very competitive FX rate for USD. Did you check the rate online?

[OnMyWay]

 

So my check cleared a few days ago and I finally have some dollars to exchange.  I've been watching the rates and tomorrow is a holiday, so I figured I better change some.  I went down to BPI about 1330 and checked rates before I left.  XE had about 44.33 and BPI online about 44.13. which I thought was low.

 

Upon arriving I see the desk sign says 44.05 which was too low.  I had to wait a while to see the guy who gets me the best rates.  Some damn foreigner was opening a new account and it took a long time.

 

So finally I see my guy and he says the best they can do right then is 44.20.  That was kind of my threshold when I left the house so I said fine.  We get the paperwork almost done, and he says whoops, the rate went up while we were writing!  So I got 44.25 and I was happy.

 

Until just now.  On XE.com right now the rate is 44.66!  Whoa!  Lots of volatility!

 

Wow. I am surprised by this. BPI has always had a very competitive FX rate for USD. Did you check the rate online?

 

 

They were competitive, at the time I was there.  I realize now that I was not clear.  I was not disappointed with BPI.  I was disappointed that the rate sky rocketed right after I exchanged.

 

Here is a 12 hour chart.  Right before 0600 UTC, right before 1400 my time, when I was at the bank, the rate took off!  If I would have hung out and chatted a while, I could have got more than the extra .05 he gave me at the time.

 

[OnMyWay]

46.85 on XE.com right now!

 

Stock market in the U.S. tanked yesterday.  I've noticed in the past that the rate usually goes up when that happens.

[OnMyWay]

Rates have held above 46.60 all week.  Currently 46.66 on XE.com.

 

Any Kiwis here following the NZ dollar?  It sure has tanked.  It was worth about .85 USD a year ago and now only about .65.  Over 20% drop.  NZ dollar against the peso looks to be about the same drop.  If it stays low, my NZ trip over the holidays should be cheaper.

[OnMyWay]

Ready to break 47?  46.96 on XE right now.  The trend continues!

[frosty (chris)]

I think you will find the US $ will continue to rise, there is talk that the U.S will raise there interest rate before the end of the year and for some unexplainable reason other countries look at the US $ as a safe haven currency so are going hard at buying the US $.