I am traveling to Ecuador this week, and I just read that they do not accept the US$50 and US$100 bills in most stores. My bills are all $100 bills and from the years 1996, 2003 and 2006, so I think I may have a problem. Is it possible to change $100 bills to smaller denominations in Spain? Or can I do it somewhere in Guayaquil or Cuenca, Ecuador, which is my first destination?
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2USD 50 and 100 bills are definitely accepted by any bank or exchange office. In Spain as well as in Ecuador.– JohnnyjankoJul 25 at 14:35
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2Where did you read that?– Nicolas FormichellaJul 25 at 15:43
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@njzk2 because the asker is in Spain and is asking if the USD can be exchanged in Spain– MidavaloJul 25 at 17:20
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@PeterM The proper way of writing it should be either "USD 100" or "US$100".– JohnnyjankoJul 25 at 19:00
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3@Johnnyjanko The official currency of Ecuador is the US dollar, so there is no local currency for the banks to change to!– lambshaanxyJul 25 at 20:57
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1 Answer
Trying to break those bills in Spain probably isn’t a good idea: since it’s not legal tender there, the only people who hold USD are those who make a living out of exchanging USD for other currencies (taking a margin in the process), and it’s unlikely they would just break your bills. You could of course convert USD to EUR and then back to USD, but it’s probably going to cost you a few percent of the amount (and since in the process you will get non-round numbers and they usually only accept bills, you will definitely get a lot less USD than you started from).
You can still try to ask at currency exchange counters if they would be willing to break your bills for free, but I don’t expect a positive response unless you stumble onto Simone who that would help. Likewise, you could ask your own bank, but I would be surprised if they did it.
It’s probably best to perform the operation in Ecuador, where USD is legal tender. And then it’s exactly like if you had a big Euro note: try to find places which are more likely to accept them (while smaller shops will have a problem with big notes, some other places will just shrug).
The first place I would try is your hotel’s reception. If they can’t do it themselves, they may be able to point you in the right direction. This won’t work if tou are staying in a cheap hostel, but any hotel where you are likely to end up with a bill of over $100 should be able to do it.
The next two options are:
- Banks, though in many places banks just won’t deal with cash anymore, or will do so only for their own customers — no idea if that is the case in Ecuador;
- Places which are more likely to accept larger bills. Fancy/luxury shops, bars, restaurants drawing a clientele more likely to use such bills. You may have to buy a token item, and you are likely to be able to break only one bill at a time this way, but I’ve broken numerous larger banknotes this way.
The usual difficulty is if you need to get a cab out of the airport, in which case you need to have acceptable bills before you get to your hotel. Either use an ATM to get the required amount, or try telle shops in the airport. Again, you may have to buy something and probably need to pick the place carefully, but you are quite likely to find a place there.
