I'm rarely organised enough to know the current exchange rates for a country I7m visiting in advance of landing (and invariably just go to the nearest cash point on arrival). You can go for the 'choose the third from highest amount' option, which is normally safe, but I'd prefer it if they could list the rough 'known' currency in brackets if they can detect the card's country. e.g.
whenever I use my Australian ATM card the display says options like;
£20 (50 AUD)
£50 (150 AUD)
£100 (250 AUD)

easier for everyone.
-- neilp, Mar 01 2005

http://www.xe.com [calum, Mar 01 2005]

Yes, simple and effective, had the same problem. But, and I don't want to put a damper on things here but I will anyway, I do not for a second believe that 20 pounds is worth 50 AUD. I'm sure it's close but the bank has to be accurate or they can be seud,( sued, sweud sewered, pretty peggied, whatever damn I seem dislectick in english sometimes).

"Here you are sir, <insert amount> <insert foreign currency> for your <insert good old homegrown currency>."

"Hey, outside it said I would get <insert higher amount>"

"That was just an indication sir"

"Indication my <insert body part> I want to see the manager!"
-- zeno, Mar 01 2005


//I do not for a second believe that 20 pounds is worth 50 AUD.//
Spot price yesterday was Aus$2.43 = £1 Sterling.
-- angel, Mar 01 2005


This should be easy enough. A lot of cashpoints start with eight options for what language you would like to use, it can't be that hard to implement this idea with whatever currency goes with the language you have selected. Obviously it would be disabled if you're using the language of the country you're in. Unless you're an Aussie in the UK or US, or a Brit in... Ok, not *that* simple then.
-- wagster, Mar 01 2005


You just need an option to select the currency that you're familiar with, and the main menu then adds an approximation of the withdrawal amounts in that currency. If it's made clear that it *is* only an approximation, there should be no trouble about being skewered (or whatever [zeno]'s concern is). The machine could even download the latest exchange rate figures from the net, or some central banking system.
-- angel, Mar 01 2005


I think that I'm against this in a surprisingly vehement way. I seem to be against most things of late.

Sorry neilp but if you can't be arsed to find out a few basic facts when you go visiting someone else's country then you deserve to get thoroughly ripped off and I've no sympathy for you.

<starting to go red in the face now> Next you'll be wanting all signs displayed in English and demanding chips and gravy with your sushi. You're kind really make me sick...yadda yadda (continue ad infinitum).
-- DrBob, Mar 01 2005


Somewhere, a recently promoted midmanager sits in a deadend job thinking, "All I said was 'If I had a 5¢ for every time I had to debate 5¢ difference between stated and actual rates you could put me on salary.' and they dropped this contract in my lap. Weird."
-- reensure, Mar 01 2005


DrBob: Yes, you are being just a bit too negative. When that happens to me, I try to get off the HB, as I remember that it's really just a flippantly playful area, not a design review.

It would be a nice convenience to have the rough exchange rate listed discretely on the ATM, and it wouldn't hurt the local culture unless they were all looking over your shoulder and being oversensitive.
-- sophocles, Mar 01 2005


We accidentally took out £200 instead of £20 in Slovenian tolar. I'd appreciate this system.
-- david_scothern, Mar 01 2005


You just let it all out drbob!
-- zeno, Mar 01 2005


Eh. I am with the Dr of Bobbyness, though perhaps less vehemently, on the basis of lack of necessity. You can find out exchange rates with stunning ease at just about any stage before or on your journey to and during your stay in a new country.
-- calum, Mar 01 2005


[+] Yes, you can find out exchange rates, but when you're at the ATM, and you're immersed in a new language, culture, scents, sounds, etc, the last thing you should be thinking about is math. You should be using your senses & brain to take great mental photos and experience the different country, not be stuck doing math problems!
-- sophocles, Mar 01 2005


I too am with Robert the Titled, though in a gentler manner. For the same reason, I hate the bloody Euro. Half the fun of going abroad is that it's not *real* money, because the mean little calculator in your subconscious shuts down when it doesn't recognize the currency. In fact, I think that electronic banking should simplify currency conversions to the extent where every town can have its own coins and notes. Wouldn't that make life interesting?
-- Basepair, Mar 01 2005


<pre-emptive response to the following annotations> Yes, I know that. And I'd thought of that too. But it'd still be fun.
-- Basepair, Mar 01 2005


How would you do this in places with high inflation rates?
-- RayfordSteele, Mar 01 2005


[DrBob] I'm as keen to learn about local culture as the next person (probably more so) - was in not me only a couple of days ago that suggested deidicating 12 hours of my life to learning another language (quite a lot for a 5 hour stopover), but I don't think the exchange rate really counts as local culture.

[zeno], yeah, sorry that was (hopefully) obviously only an illustration.

to reiterate, I want to know the approx rate (+- 2%), and I'd rather this was automatic.
-- neilp, Mar 02 2005



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