Rome - Exchanging US dollars to Euros
 

Hello Friends,
I can use some HELP.
We will be leaving for Rome in two weeks and need to pay for the apartment we are renting and the car service in cash (euros). Does anyone know if there is a bank in the FCO Airport where we can exchange our money. We have an ATM card but will not be able to get enough money out to cover the cost of the apartment and the car.
Thanks for all the help.
ruthca

I had to do that once, and I asked for a higher ATM withdrawal amount for a limited time from my bank before I left. Worked out great. I got the suggestion from posters on this forum.

If christy's suggestion doesn't work for you, there is a bank at arrivals (more a booth than a real bank) as well as a number of foreign-exchange places (cambios), but they're not going to give you a very good exchange rate and will probably charge a fee as well. You might be better off getting the euros you need from a bank (not an airport exchange booth) in the US before you leave.

You write "we." So check if you can each withdraw the maximum on the same day from your checking account and up the limit, as already mentioned.

Wire the full amount from your bank before you leave and you won't have to worry about it. You'll pay about $20 to do so, and you'll probably have to pay your landlord in cash about 20 euros for the price he has to pay to accept your wire transfer into his bank, but it's a lot easier than worrying about getting that amount of cash.

Capitol 1 Bank just charged me 40 dollars to wire transfer money to Greece today. Thought that was expensive.

Mail the landlord an ATM card and email the PIN. If you don't have a spare account that can handle the transaction, you still have time to set one up.

We actually found decent rates for USD at a money changing place facing the Spanish Steps. In know this is contrary to all advice given here but it worked for my non-ATM-using (yes there are still people like that!!) partner. This was about two years ago, but if all else fails, you can check it out..check the rates and commissions at each of the several shops.

In many countries, US hundred-dollar bills often bring better exchange rates than smaller bills.