Heading to Poland- Take Money Out Here or There

Kintarō Hattori

Hey Folks,

Heading to Poland in the next few days to pay a builder for some work. What's the most streamlined way to take say €1000-1500 and pay them? Is it best to take out 2 ATM payments here and have it changed via a currency exchange there, get it from the foreign exchange in a bank here or take it out of the ATM over there?

Many thanks.

Henry Ford III

I was in Poland last summer - used ATM with no issues. My girlfriend used a bureau de change nearby and actually got a better exchange rate.

boosabum

was there last week, get money from ATM's at airport 250 Zl is about €68

Joeseph Balls

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I was in Poland last summer - used ATM with no issues. My girlfriend used a bureau de change nearby and actually got a better exchange rate.

Yea, we use the small bureau De change shops every year. Better rates than everywhere else.

Kintarō Hattori

Great. I've been many times but was curious what would give the best rate.

Thanks all.

beazee

To check the average rate go to National Polish Bank - www.nbp.pl
Top, on the right - it shows: 4.325
So: €1000 = 4325.00 zł

Using ATM abroad:
AIB, sells at 4.2591 (link)
So: €1000 = 4259.10 zł
but deduct 2.5% for withdrawal, you're left with: 4152.62 zł (-172.38 zł)

Using local bureau de change (kantor):
Used the rates of the one I'm using in Poznań (link): 4.32
So: €1000 gives 4320.00 zł (-5.00 zł)
But they state for changes over €1000 they negotiate = they WILL offer you a better rate

172.38 zł is a significant amount there (up to 25 pints in a pub)
I would bring €€ and convert it there.

CiniO

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hey Folks,

Heading to Poland in the next few days to pay a builder for some work. What's the most streamlined way to take say €1000-1500 and pay them? Is it best to take out 2 ATM payments here and have it changed via a currency exchange there, get it from the foreign exchange in a bank here or take it out of the ATM over there?

Many thanks.

If you don't have bank account in Poland, best will be to bring € in cash, and change in some currency exchange place (kantor).
Shop around as some offer better rates than others.
Also beware of places cheating as there are also ones like that.
F.e. they average € purchase price is 4.32 but you might find places offering to change for 4.034.
Usually 0 is written in very little font, so this is purely to deceive customers who thing they are actually getting a better rate as they don't see the zero.

Using ATM in Poland with Irish issued bank card, you are getting very bad rate. Don't recommend doing it.

Kintarō Hattori

CiniO wrote: »

Using ATM in Poland with Irish issued bank card, you are getting very bad rate. Don't recommend doing it.

Thanks CiniO, that's what I had always done in the past but usually it was only ever for small amounts. Kantor it is!

CiniO

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Thanks CiniO, that's what I had always done in the past but usually it was only ever for small amounts. Kantor it is!

Also if you do it quite often, you might consider opening a bank account in Poland.
Then you could use the likes of Transferwise or Currencyfair to get even better exchange rate - you simply transfer money from your Irish account to Transferwise or Currencyfair, do exchange online with them, and they transfer PLN to your Polish account.
It would give a slightly better exchange rate than doing it with cash in currency exchange facility in Poland, but there might be a maintenance charge on your Polish account so it might not be worth it for you.

Also you might consider Polish services similar to those mentioned above, like Walutomat or Cinkciarz.
They provide even better exchange rate. But possibly you might need two Polish accounts to use them (one in PLN, one in EUR).
Using the above, is probably the cheapest way to exchange EUR to PLN.

Kintarō Hattori

Certainly food for thought CiniO. I haven't had much cause to send a lot to Poland in the last few years or take a lot out while there but it's good to have a few options should I need it in the future.
You were absolutely right about the Kantor. We took most of what we needed but had to take some from an ATM- the difference in exchange rate was certainly substantial