Where can you exchange Dollars for Euros ?

SusanC10

My Mum's elderly Cousin is visiting her at the moment from the States. She wanted to change Dollars (Cash) into Euros but when she went into the local Bank and Post Office, they would not do it for her saying that she needed to have an Account in the Bank and the Post Office won't do it at all. They have suggested that she needs to go to Cork (nearest City).

Have the Rules changed on this? Bank saying it is GDPR issue.

silent_spark

Just have your mom exchange them in her own branch.

SusanC10

silent_spark wrote: »

Just have your mom exchange them in her own branch.

My Mum was with her in the Bank. It wasn't a huge amount $250 approx.

silent_spark

SusanC10 wrote: »

My Mum was with her in the Bank. It wasn't a huge amount $250 approx.

Yes, but they have told you only customers can avail of that facility, your mother needs to do it herself. A non-customer doesn’t become a customer because a customer is standing next to them.

ROVER

SusanC10 wrote: »

My Mum was with her in the Bank. It wasn't a huge amount $250 approx.

Normally the Eur equivalent will have to be lodged into an account. Pretend it is your mum's dollars. She will have to withdraw the euro out of the Atm or over counter and hand it to her friend.

SusanC10

I will tell Mum to go into the Bank on her own.
I just found it odd. My Mum's Cousin comes over approx every second year for many years and this has never been a problem before. She has used both that Bank and the Post Office to exchange previously.

Did all this change with GDPR?
And where can you exchange Dollars ? If you were just a Tourist without family here for example ?

Rulmeq

SusanC10 wrote: »

Did all this change with GDPR?
And where can you exchange Dollars ? If you were just a Tourist without family here for example ?

The things GDPR gets the blame for Far more likely to be AML rules (although you also can't ignore that banks just don't want to deal with cash or people or anything anymore)

.red.

It's supposedly down to money laundering. If they hand cash over the counter there's no trace of who made the exchange.
By lodging it into an account there's a proper paper trail.
They should have left your mum lodge it and withdraw it but maybe they couldn't suggest it to her?

SusanC10

Apparently when they went into the Bank, they were met by a lady with an IPad who asked them why they were queuing (which always happens according to Mum). When they explained, they were told that the Cousin had to have an Account for GDPR reasons. My Mum suggested lodging it to her own Account but the lady said No as it wasn't her own money and that she would be asked where the money came from.

Wheety

GDPR? Companies just using this as an excuse. most still don't have a clue what it means.

Wheety

Maybe they don't want to mention the words 'money laundering' to people so have decided blaming it on GDPR is more palatable.

theguzman

What a total pain in the arse for Tourists who come here, I normally take Euros with me abroad and change to local currency no bother, sometimes I may have to provide passport details depending on the country, but of course in Ireland they will make everything so painful and a bureaucratic nightmare.

Sheep Shagger

Any of the FX changing places in town will do it. College Green, beside the GPO etc.

As for a retail bank not doing it because of GDPR - laughable.

skippy2

tell her to apply for a Revolut card for future visits. Or get your mum to get one or yourself even

joeguevara

If it's a small amount like 250 dollars any FC or bureau de change will change it. AML rules allow for an occasional transaction up to 10k but most have internal policies to request customer due diligence over 500. As previous posters said absolutely nothing to do with Gdpr but staff will be trained never to mention aml in case of tipping off.

However a lot of banks and credit unions require membership now so don't allow people just to come in off the street. Fix places on O'Connell street will do it and most tourist places will have a booth but rates vary.

Try the post office.