Exchanging Money in Myanmar
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- grrrltraveler.com/countries/as...
I think one of the hot topics with anyone interested in traveling to Myanmar is money.
"No, sorry" she leaned, sliding my hundred dollar back to me with a polite smile. "It is marked".
I didn't know what she meant. I had tried to get the freshest and newest looking dollars possible. She pointed to a marking on the back of the bill. There it was. Someone had discretely stamped it as some type of authorization, similar to the way American sales people like to hold up a fresh bill to the light to examine it's authenticity before striping it with a highlighter to see if affects counterfeit paint.
Who turns away a hundred dollar bill?
I'm sure it's heartbreaking on both ends.
Myanmar's corrupt currency history
Although I'd heard about U.S. bills being rejected for slight misdemeanors, it still seemed kinda nutty that a developing country would reject a hundred dollar bill. At the time, I didn't know their history with currency.
In earlier days, the government used to mess with the people. They'd change the currency on them. If they felt too many people were getting rich, they'd announce that the currencies of the highest denomination - like the hundred dollar bill-- would be taken out of circulation. Hundred dollar bills lost their value. All that money was lost.
The government would also change their own currency denominations based on whim, like a leader's lucky number. So eventually that the Burmese realized the one currency whose value couldn't easily be changed on whim was the American dollar.
Distrusting of the government and banks, many Burmese withdrew their money and started keeping their American dollars in large books, to keep their dollars pressed, safe and pristine.
Today, many Burmese still prefer to safeguard their money in their homes.
For more, click on the link above.
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Beautiful and informative video.
Thank you for your videos! They are so helpful :)
I remember listening to that on NPR in detail about the currency exchange situation there. as always your informativeness, you pretty much confirmed in better detail what I listened to. I am to an extent amazed how you got around there with myanmars language barrier.
For those who do not know, mutilated or damaged Federal Reserve Notes dollar bills can be replaced for fresh new money for free by sending the damaged or even partially burnt currency to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing of the United States Treasury in Washington, DC. However, the stipulation is that at least half of the bill remains undamaged.
Thank u for uploading this as I am about to travel to Myanmar.
Jerry Ahn Awesome! Enjoy Myanmar. It's a lovely country with a different feeling from the rest of Southeast Asia!
Informative. thank you very much.
Hello Sis, If I give 1000 Indian rupees to the exchange counter in Myanmar how much money they wiil return back..
Thanks Christine for sharing it..I just want to ask when u exchanged USD bills at ADG bank counter at yangon airport, did u receive UNC (uncirculated) kyats or they were just regular kyats in circulation..I am also into collection and i would like to know if u get UNC kyats at any of the money exchange counters..
+Nitesh Singh I don't remember what counter I went to or what type of kyat I got.
Now i m sure i have to watch the bills a little bit more and be careful.thank you
Cambodia was the same way. Thank goodness Vietnam was not so fussy. It has been a good lesson though... Everywhere we travel we take $20 USD bills; they are universally accepted in Asia, South and Central America and Europe. My first overseas trip contained some $100 USD that were just too hard to get rid of. AND to answer the question; lots. We carry enough cash to go totally card-less for the entire trip (one time getting my strips de-magnitized was the lesson I learned). As always - Thank you Christine for the great posts!
+David Walker Having 20's are always good...although, with airport money changers and some outside, the higher you change, the less the commission rate. In Thailand and Malaysia, changing a $20 (vs a $100) was a big commission bite, such that i had to calculate whether an ATM fee (Thailand is roughly $5) and a larger withdrawall would be of better value to me. =(
I'm surprised Cambodia was so picky. Certainly not about crisp bills, right?
+GRRRLTRAVELER | Christine Kaaloa - Bills that were rejected were anything with a nick or tear (and we are taking near microscopic nicks) or ink spot or mark (including that brown pen mark that confirms the bill was not counterfeit). Bills with any crease fade (where it was folded) were also rejected. We had both 'flat money' and folded bills (moneybelt) and after the first couple encounters we would take the money belt money out and make good efforts to flatten it completely. Siem Reap was a bit more casual (and where I got a torn, unusable until I returned to the US $20USD back); they allowed some light crease. Phnom Phen was a bit more fussy. Anywhere else in the body of the country you could count that your money was going to be carefully scrutinized. The simple rule was they did not want to be stuck with a damaged bill - and if they had one, they would make all efforts to pass it back to the tourist. We had some 100's - we could only use one of them; while in Siem Reap. Even when getting our Vietnam Visa from the hotel in PP, they refused the 100USD bills. Having said that, Myanmar still appears more fussy!
Hey there. I will go to Yangon in June or July. (I’m from Turkey btw) So they deny their own currency and just work with USD ? Is it cheap to live in there ? And I’m really scared that I heard it on UA-cam or may have read on google , when you get in to taxi or a supermarket , they will only accept USD not kyat and hardly place found for exchange money 💰.
***** Thank you for sharing that. The challenging history that Myanmar has with money and trading is something I find fascinating.Unique to Myanmar. =) Thanks for sharing the part of laying the bills flat in books. I read that in an NPR article and they do slightly well researched reporting.
As for my experiences~ I had fun making that part of the video of kissing my kyaat. ha ha.. India has something very similar with torn rupees , so your currency culture shares a funny similarity. All adds to the challenge of travel in general and the challenges and differences of a country, adds a sense of adventure and ensures I have exciting stories to tell. =)
Main Important money good information and video👍💯😍💖
How much ¥2,600 is Burma currency?
Thanks Steve!=)
Couldn't you go to a bank in Myanmar to exchange funky money/Kyat?
@Liszeify: ha ha... I actually edited out a comment I made about it being similar to India's torn rupee. But India isn't specific about the type of dollars they take from you.
Thanks for sharing important information so the message is picky is picky do
+Roland Lowhorn Very picky.
thank so much:-P :-P :-P
In Myanmar, most of people deny to accept the foreign currency because Burma didn't have any official money exchange markets for foreign currency until last 2 years I suppose. People who trades foreign currency (if you doesn't have own business) , it assumes as illegal. So people have to sell within arm length transactions and under cover selling business of foreign currency. Most of buyer deny to buy the foreign currency with marks as they main reason they buy the foreign currency as investment and they have intent to sell in future with higher exchange rates to get better profit. They are not reusing that foreign currency in Foreign countries. They just doing the business as money market broker so they didn't have knowledge and interest about that dollars which are absolutely fine to use in foreign countries. But their only interest is that foreign currency can be resell straight away without any complaints about the money image conditions. I'm very sorry to hear about your experiences. Anyway, Burma/ Myanmar is developing country which tries to improve and change their images. Now many banks setup authorized money exchange markets so I think it should be fine in future.
Great info. - thanks for sharing!!!
Hello i from myanmar
Things have changed since this clip was made. I noticed it was in 2013 that you showed this clip. Now it's 2019 but still U S $ still must be in crisp condition or the money exchangers will give you the rate less than usual. Nowadays, most money changers and banks do accept This Baht,Singapore $,Chinese Yuan, EU currency, Japanese Yens etc.
At present Myanmar esp Yangon has been growing within the past few years. Everywhere you go you see new constructions ate being built. It's not uncommon right now that you will see shopping complexes throughout the city. Hotels, condos are every street.
It's a place that you should visit.
Ms. Kaaloa's post is funny but accurate. Burmese ask for crisp and clean dollar bills because of the US sanctions. They can make money transactions only with Singapore banks which bully demanding crisp and clean bills. Now sanctions are gone and Burmese won't be picky any more as they can make money transactions anywhere in the world. Regarding torn bills -- usually they are 50, 100, 200 and 500 kyat bills -- everybody should be careful. A Burmese American, I also got trouble. Once I bought something at a shop in the street where I am now temporarily residing and got a torn 500 kyat bill. A couple of hours later I went there again to buy food and gave the shopkeeper the torn bill but she refused to accept it. Luckily I successfully convinced her that it was the bill she gave me a couple of hours earlier.
But don't the banks in Burma at least take torn local currency?!
@@shawnchong Central Bank of Myanmar take it, can exchange for new. Other banks don't .
@@AD-30000 yea only that bank. Kinda annoying since you can only go there in order to get new ones. Worse if you live far away
5000kyat in 2009, 10000kyat in 2012. Before that, Myanmar had 1000 kyat as the biggest bill, was troublesome to count all checked if any torn bills from stacks of 1000 kyat banknotes, you get many bills even just changed USD 200.
USD 200 a month was a good salary in 2010. Now not sure
can't you just change torn bills at the bank?
Me a Burmese person: haha no
5 years ago, 1USD = ~ 1000 Kyat. Now , 1USD = ~1600 , I am missing old days T_T
Wow they are SUPER picky about money, I didn't think the 100 was worn out at all.
Yeah, I was just surprised that a developing country would turn a $100 bill away.
pictures of burmese money now is just crap. more lion heads....what happened to
sayar san?
bo aung kyaw?
general aung san
bandu la
and the rest of the heroes? all gone! replaced by more lion heads.
Zylo Thecat the Stupid Government changed anything about Money -_-
Zylo Thecat those lions are heroes too pls 😂😂 they guard temples ya know ahaha
Are you burmar???
Great tips!
That crisp money issue is such a problem in so many places. Sooooooo, damn annoying.
What other countries did you require crisp money, Michael?
I have 1000 how much
I am myanmar
Ohhhh Im sowie
so picky i live in myanmar but i dont know that and i am myanmar
I love 🌹 you
ငါတုိ႔ႏုိင္ငံရဲ႕စည္းကမ္းပါ
Stupid
Great Vid , but sadly Myanmar has been corrupted country for 60+ years. But there are still a few more ppl who are generous and ready to help you out esp in rural places.
Say yes or no !
what race are u
Hey. Is no Myanmar money
aya sweet home burma my mother lands where i shall no longer pay bills in my home in the usa wait hold up in burma if you own a house do you need to pay bills.
This is not unique to Myanmar. You'll have the same problem in INDIA !!