In the rare event there are problems with ATMs or Credit Cards, I bring a couple of hundred USD for backup use. I've been reading that banks in Europe are now very leery changing USD bills larger than 20s due to counterfeiting fears. Anyone have any personal experiences in this regard?

yup - a few years ago I was given a $50 bill by an uncle who had come over to Ireland from the States for a visit. I tried to change it in the bank but they wouldn't let me unless I lodged it into my account - in case it was counterfeit. Why don't you take travellers cheques for backup instead?

I haven't tried to change any but I did have a desk clerk , who had received 2 -100's as a cash deposit , ask me to look at them and tell him if they were eal.

Like I'd know

I wouldn't carry that kind of cash around. It's just asking for a disaster. If you keep it on you and get mugged...gone if you "hide" it in your suitcase...could disappear. Not all places have safes. Take a small number of traveller checks and cash at the bank or Bureau de Change.

Are these recent experiences? With the new coloring on $100 bills, I cannot imagine that you wi encounter diifculty, especially if you go into an actual bank.

I do not think that the traveler's check sugeston is veryworthwhile. Met with much greater rejection than almost anything else.

Doesn't seem like a very bg deal to take two hundreds and ten twenties, if you believe that you will encouner this kind of problem.

After all, it's just your backup plan, right? An ATM will likely save you $5 for every hundred you think you need to change.

Best wishes,

Rex

I am surprised people have difficulty changing US$ in Europe. Yes - in an out of the way town in rural Wales (assuming you can find a bank) they may be a bit shocked and they may have to get the manager out to show the staff how to do a currency conversion - you may encounter some problems. But in cities like Paris, Milan, London and Munich you should have no problems.

I would recommend bring some US dollars but why not change them into lower dnominations. I always carry a few hundred Euros on me but live in London. One never knows when one might run out of cash in the UK and not be able to find an atm, go to Europe on impulse at the last minute etc. Also some shops in London accept Euros now. In Asia, Africa and Latin America I always bring a wad of ones,twos and five dollar bills. They are great for persuading someone to help you just a little nmore than they would otherwise...

Yes, I have had large bills rejected, and on a couple of occasions have stood in line for quite awhile at a bank while they checked U.S. $20 bills against a large book that I believe contained pictures of counterfeits.

There was also a period in France, at least, right after our new American $20 bills were introduced, during which banks would not accept them.

It's been at least two years since I've exchanged any American cash, though, so I don't know if any of this is still relevant.

It was a few years ago that it happened to me...but it wasn't in a small country or town - it was in the Bank of Ireland Head Office Branch in Dublin.

re my travellers cheques recommendation - it was just a suggestion!! I never use them myself as have never had any problems with either ATMs or credit cards - so I find that the combination of both of those is always enough for me so I never take anything as "back up". I think perhaps rather than taking a few hundred dollars in cash, why not change it before you leave into Euro, so you have that as back up instead?

A few years ago at a bank in Italy, we had the opposite problem. They would accept 100s for exchange, but only "Big Bens," the new versions with the larger image.

Speaking of counterfeiting fears....

I know this is an extremely rare thing to happen, but just wanted to give a word of warning.

When you get money from your US bank or credit union before you travel, make sure YOU check it, personally, BEFORE you leave the bank, to see if it's counterfeit or not. My best friend had a bizarre and very upsetting experience about a week ago, when she withdrew some money from her credit union and was told at a store just a block away that the money she had JUST gotten from the CU was counterfeit. To make a (very) long story short, my friend luckily had some contacts (she was very fortunate in that regard), who made some phone calls, and in a few hours it was in the hands of the authorities. She's not in trouble in any way, but the CU and its employees are being investigated.

What was so awful is that the CU told her SHE should have known it was counterfeit, and they tried to say that once she left the premises with the money, the responsibility was HERS and not theirs and they told her to suck it up. It got very nasty.

I've never seen one, but someone told my friend she should get a counterfeit pen (?) that somehow checks the paper the bills are printed on, and verifies if the money is legit or not, all in a relatively short amount of time.

Again, I know this is a very very isolated incident. But now that it has happened to my friend, I can't help but be more leery myself, and I thought I'd pass it on to all of you. It would REALLY suck if someone withdrew money to take on a trip, and only discovered it was counterfeit when they were thousands of miles away from home.

Maybe someone else here has used one of those pens, or has more information related to this topic?

That's a disturbing story, Birmham!

It reminds me of how a lot of Europeans hold up bills to check the watermark in the light as a safeguard against counterfeits. I always wondered what they would see on a counterfeit bill's watermark that woudl be different (or don't counterfeit bills have watermarks?). Obviously, I know nothing about counterfeiting!

It is extremely disturbing, StCirq. My friend was flabbergasted that she got counterfeit bills from her credit union. Now, she is going to be a witness in a court case. I do NOT envy her in the slightest.

One funny note....

My friend got so upset at the credit union, when they told her SHE should have known the money was counterfeit and that they weren't responsible once she left the premises with the money, that she marched straight down to the police station to report the incident. Once she got the ball rolling on that, she called her husband and told him what was going on. Knowing her temper, her husband misunderstood and thought the credit union had had her arrested when she threw a fit in the lobby, LOL. He raced down to the police station to bail her out (or so he thought) but was very relieved when he got there and found out she had gone to the police station of her own volition, to report the credit union and the counterfeit money.

Having had her as my best friend for over 30 years now (and also being well acquainted with her temper), I laughed and laughed when she told me that.

Maybe someone else here has used one of those pens, or has more information related to this topic?

BrinhamRocks,
Counterfeit pens are available at office supplies stores. The ink is clear on real money; brown on counterfeit. Widely used by stores all over USA.

The pens are really sort of useless. They do find some types of counterfeits but miss even more types. There was a feature about them on a local newscast a couple of weeks ago - basically that they cause a false sense of security for the merchant and are a waste of money . . . .

Kellyms, those pens are used by every cashier in every store in San Francisco to check large bills, they look like markers, and sold to everybody in stores like Office Depot, Staples, etc... Here is the Office Depot URL, they sell "counterfeit money detector pens" for $7 a set of 3 pens.

http://shopping.msn.com/eshopframe.a...fficedepot.com

Or go to a website and search for "specialty pens"

I repeat, ad nauseam, that it is usually very easy to go inside the bank with a debit card and get currency at those times when the ATM is out of order or cash. Do not do this when the bank is closed.

Thanks for the info on the pens. Living in the UK for the last several years, I haven't seen those or really even heard of them before. I guess if I were back home in the States, I'd know more.

I'm assuming those pens only work for US dollars, and not for other currencies?

jsmith, I'm confused....

Don't do what, when the bank is closed?

Actually the ink is brown on real money and black on counterfeit. Most stores use these pens on bills over $20. Check your 50's and 100's and you will notice the marks on some of them.

I may be in the minority here, but I think the tactic of getting some back-up travelers checks in the currency of the country you're visiting, before you leave home, is a valid one. I've bought TC (and cash) in British pounds every time I've gone to Britain and never had trouble cashing them or using them to pay for purchases or hotel rooms. You may be asked to show your passport as ID, and of course don't plan to use them at small shops or street markets - though I did use one with no problems at Covent Garden. It would be foolish to rely on just one method of funding, be it TC, credit cards or ATM cards. Plus I bring some US $ - though maybe not big bills like 100's - mainly to have cash in the airport on the way in or out. It's called CYA!