i would like to share this story (and perhaps to give a warning) about my experience with a certain 20 US dollar note that
accompanied me through my recent south east asian escapade. now, to start off, this particular note was of the old-style
design (i.e. a 2001 series note i believe and not the current greener 2004/2006 series notes). it has been sitting folded
in a corner of my wallet for well over a year since i acquired it when i was in the States. didn't get to use it so it just
remained untouched in my wallet. it isn't in the best condition - there is a slight tear on the top left edge of the note and
it is no longer crisp and 'hard' like new notes are, also, it has a deep fold down the middle which has left an almost
permanent fold-line which doesn't look like it can be smoothened out.

so thats the note in question. the first incident occured when i was brought up to the thai/cambodian border
by a local buddy of mine who wanted to expose me to the wonders of the bordertown casinos. i was told that
in cambodia, the US dollar is the de facto national currency and i was advised to bring enough of it if i fancied
a run. so i exchanged some Thai Baht in Bangkok before i left (about 200 USD worth of 20s/10s and 5s). so fastforward
to when i found myself on the casino floor of one of the larger establishments, having the urge to put 20 down on
a game of blackjack, i extracted half of my USD stash from my jeans pocket and randomly put a 20 note down on
the wager circle (it happened to be the oldie note). the dealer took a look, looked at me, and said something to
the effect of: "not acceptable". i tried to decipher what the problem was so i removed the offending bill and put down
two brand new 10 dollar notes. and the games commenced (which i drew a 19 and he hit on soft 16 and i was 20 USD up).

still this being a casino and all, maybe they were a little picky about the condition of bills coming through. so i didn't think
much of it. later in the day, before we headed back to the thai side, my buddy and i decided to have a meal and drink.
later when it was pay-up time, i handed over the oldie to settle the bill. again, it was rejected! so i paid with a
brand new 2006 series 20 note instead. now at this stage, i was looking hard at this old crumpled thing...did these folk
have an in-built counterfeiting detector in their eyes? my buddy came back from the toilet and saw me trying to figure
Mr. Andrew Jackson version 2001 out. he then enlightened me that only new and good conditioned USDs were accepted
in cambodia. he didn't provide a reason and i accepted it as that, not really wanting to pore over the issue.

second incident: when i was flying out of bangkok to singapore, i was at the airport and was darn hungry. had a wild last
night in bangkok and got up late, checked out and rushed to the airport. so i had about 20 minutes to boarding and i
decided to get a burger and fries. i was alittle short on thai baht and the only other note left was the oldie USD.
what the heck, i went to the bank money changer and slotted the note over the counter. this time, they pointed to a
little print out that was displayed on the front of the booth: "DO NOT ACCEPT OLD SERIES 20 USD".
i know the cambodia had issues with the condition of the notes, but in thailand, they have issues with the series of the
notes! is the USD no longer considered good currency i pondered? i asked the lady why not and she said that this
was a counterfeiting issue...they even tend to take a closer look at the new 20s sometimes. ok fine, i solved this
little problem by somehow managing to extract 30 RMB from some forgotten nook in my laptop bag.

landing in singapore, i could take it no more: i had to find a new home for the oldie 20. the first money changer i came
across when i collected my luggage accepted it without a blink of an eye! finally some love for the once mighty dollar!

it was all alittle surreal but i conclude the following for the benefit of those relying on USDs for travelling or are from
the states:

1. Ensure that all your notes are the current series and are as far as possible, with as little physical damage to them.

2. In cambodia, forget the 50/100 notes. no love for them there. 20s/10s/5s/1s will work for you. In thailand however,
    the 50/100s yield a higher exchange rate than the lower denominations (all the thai banks have two different USD
    rates: one of the 50/100s and the other for 20s and lesser).

[ Last edited by  DutchDoubles at 7-10-2009 23:07 ]

wow that's pretty wild.  I always just use my credit card and ATM nowadays.  The only time I needed to use a Jackson was when I was out of RMB in Beijing and the foot massage girl at my hotel wanted $800 RMB for some special services.  I forked over $200HKD in notes, $300RMB in notes and 2 Jacksons and conned her into "credit" for the $300RMB (a Jackson at the time converted to around $135 RMB).

I was just at the bank today getting cash for my trip, all $100 in good condition.  I ask for extra crispy ones.   The only time Ive been rejected was a $100 bill in Macau, that was in perfect condition and a good series.  Because of the language thing I don't know why it was rejected but it was cashed at the next place.  If you really want to feel rejection take a 500 MOP bill out of Macau and try to cash it.  No one will take that stuff, had to go back 6 months later and spend it.

In response to JeSun's post, I never use my credit card in Asia, the extra charges and the fear of fraud preclude that.  The ATM I try to avoid also due to the extra charges now.  I just carry a pocket full of cash and exchange it as I go along.  Maybe not the safest or smartest way to do it, but it works.

Yup.  Outside US seems to have this obsession with a crisp US dollar. Technically in US, you can exchange a torn US dollar with a new one as long as you have more than 51% of the paper.  Not all banks can do that though.

... when I am in China, all my cousins tell me that they can't spend the 100's that I gave them many years ago because no one accepts them anymore, similar to the red RMB 100's.  I end up coming back to the states with $3000 in old notes.

yes, i agree with that. the ATM extra charges are one thing, the big issue is fraud or error. once in HK, i withdrew 200HKD at a
hang seng bank ATM using my debit card linked to my bank account back home. after keying in my pin and informing me that
my bank may charge a transaction fee for using an international network to access my account or something like that, i keyed
in 200 HKD and waited. my debit card came out, the machine made a sound and the screen appeared with "transaction
cancelled. please contact your card issuer". a receipt was printed out and i kept it. no big deal. i just moved on to a standard
chartered ATM nearby and got my money.

when i got home and looked through my bank statements to ensure that all was good, i noticed that the 200HKD i tried
to get out of the hang seng bank ATM registered in the system although i did not get the cash and was told that the
transaction was cancelled! good thing i kept the receipt printout and made my way to the local branch of my bank the next
day and reported it. after quite a bit of paperwork and 2 weeks, the money was returned to my bank account. it was a
small amount of money and i have successfully withdrawn HKDs from hang seng bank ATMs on my trips to HK all the time
except this once - point is, errors can happen and if you are withdrawing a susbtantially large sum of money from an overseas
ATM, you always run the risk of such an error happening no matter how remote the chances are.

in china, i tend to rely on cash. yeah, carrying a large wad of RMBs ain't exactly fun. i may have found the solution though. i don't
know about the US, but in the UK we have this product called the prepaid debit card. its a visa/mastercard branded card and works
like a normal credit/debit card. you get issued a PIN number as well to access your funds from foreign ATMs. so all you do is to
go down to the post office or some convienence shops, hand over your card and the cash and they top it up for you. funds will
be in your account in a day usually. each time you withdraw cash overseas or sign for a transaction, there is a charge that will be
taken from your balance in the card. may be worth shopping around as there are many of these cards being offered nowadays
and they cater to different user needs (e.g. some have a lower transaction charge for ATM withdrawals but a higher fee for foreign
signed for purchases etc).

[ Last edited by  DutchDoubles at 8-10-2009 10:00 ]

Couple of experiences ...

Once I was going through Immigration at the Austro-Hungarian border, a minivan full of students from Scotland drew up, and I overheard one of them proudly (and loudly) announcing to his friends how he had deliberately left all UK pounds behind, and his entire cash supply was Scottish banknotes.  It's still Pounds Sterling and has the same value, but is technically only legal tender in Scotland.  He was going to insist to use Scottish banknotes everywhere as a statement of nationalistic principle ... and he was still trying when we got through and continued our journey!  

Maybe it was funnier at the time ... but it was hilarious to watch especially if you've met any Scottish Nationalists (don't flame me, I'm partly scots myself!!)

Another experience was with USD when leaving Vietnam.  I'd taken a load of currency, but got really excited by the prices of arts and crafts, and spent the lot by the last day keeping just a few Dong for living expenses.  

Arriving at the airport and heading for passport control I felt an unusually cold cold shower as the realisation hit "Oh shit I forgot something important" ... the airport tax is due, in cash, in USD.  I'd spent it yesterday after spending half an hour trying to remember why I'd set aside a couple of notes as a reserve.  Then a couple of seconds later the warm shower came back on as my "thank God I'm anally retentive" memory cut in: years ago I had stashed a crisp new $50 note in an unused corner in my wallet, and forgotten about it ready just for that moment where I might need it most.  I pulled it out and offered it with a sigh of relief.  

Then the fun really started "no good" - the official pointed to the $20 sign - they were only accepting $20 notes, guess she'd never seen anything bigger and couldn't imagine it even existed.  Hell, I'd probably just pulled a month of her salary out of my pocket in a single crisp banknote.  I'd freak out too if someone did that to me!  

I argued, of course.  She refused, of course.  So I wandered around a bank and an FX place, asking to break the note into smaller denominations, which (of course) they refused.  All's well that ends well (otherwise I'd still be standing there), I had plenty of time to the flight, and after about an hour of patiently standing by the counter she eventually relented and accepted the note giving me change.  

Guess the lesson of both stories is, find out what's going to be acceptable in advance and take only that.  Patience and good humour also goes a long way.  

its quite a laugh isn't it? there is really no reason why the bank of england doesn't simply allow the usage
of the scottish and northern irish pound within the whole UK at least. that way, they wouldn't have to overprint the
standard bank of england notes. not to mention, giving the scots pound legal standing throughout the UK will actually
enhance the notion of union between the home countries.

well good luck to the chap with the scottish notes...it really is quite worthless outside scottish borders. even the
EU countries don't recognise it. its very much like the macau pataca actually.

anyway bro, were they picky about the condition of the USD notes in vietnam? or could you get away with torn notes?

[ Last edited by  DutchDoubles at 8-10-2009 11:11 ]

hey bro sexpert, with reference to your post #5, are you talking about this old series of 100 RMB?



[ Last edited by  DutchDoubles at 8-10-2009 11:44 ]

not that I noticed.  OK my stock wasn't especially travel-worn, but it wasn't new either.  I think they're cool as long as it's in reasonable condition and it's a denomination they recognise.

Clear $50 was way outside their comfort zone though - guess the equivalent would be me seeing an US$25,000 note ... don't even know if it exists, and I certainly wouldn't want to give change for one!

I've definitely run into this experience myself in HK. When I was trying to convert about $1000 USD into HKD the bank would not accept any uncrisp $100s. Kind of annoying but what can you do...

Prepaid debit cards are bullshit for UK only use, they charge you £10 to activate them £1.50 to put money onto them , and £1.50 per transaction.

However overseas is a different kettle of fish altogether as when I stopped in Turkey a shop accidentally took 4K out of my account which made me panic for 24 hours as I had to make some expensive calls to the shop who called their merchant services, who then had to talk to my UK bank who then had to talk to me and only then did they give the money back... cost me £80 in phone calls to resolve this.

Keeping your receipts and watching your online statements is more effective, heh in Korea I had a helluva time drawing out cash due to the lack of international ATMs (there are quite a few in Seoul but not elsewhere), I must have gone to about 30 ATMs before I found an international one.

There's a reason why they don't take anything other than 'crisp' notes. If a note is torn or serverely worn out then they won't take it. This is because the notes have to be reused and given to the next customer that wants the currentcy you just changed for HK$. Now if this customer complains about the note being to worn out/teared then the bank can do nothing but to give him/her a newer note. So to avoid this situation completely, they just don't take in any worn/torn notes...Sad and inconvenient but we are at the mercy of these banks if we want the local currency...

Alot of places in China and Hong Kong only take Cash if you buying small things !, but if you using credit card you get a dirty look. I always pay by Cash it is accepted world wide, if you went to sauna's or KTV most people like to see Cash and don't accept Credit cards. I use my credit card in Hong Kong to buy a camera and a DV camera when i said i pay by credit card they inform me that there is a surcharge around 2.5%, but when i mention i pay by cash they willing to give me a discount !

But never use your credit card or direct debit to take money out from bank machine in China on the 18th May '09 this year i try to take RMB 2,000 that around £200 in UK money and what i got was fake 1,500 RMB and 500 real, YES i got this out of the ATM machine in China, so when i notice this i took the money into the bank and complain, not only they did not wish to understand they said the money is not ours ! How can you argue with that ?.

Conclusion: I will take more money then i can use 1. many people in China prefer Cash !. 2. I advise to change the currence in H.K. 3. Check into a hotel and place the money in a safe. 4. Check your change when paying in big notes, there are fake one out there !.

in general, in asia, older bills or bills that have some rips or writing on it, many establishments wont take this.  main reasons are:
1. fake bills.
2. banks won't take these deposits...and underground money changers won't take them as well.

in cambodia, they don't like the big bills b/c things there are usually not that expensive so it's hard for them to use the 50 or 100 bills.

the best way is if you have friends from the states, exchange w/ them when they come to visit asia or when you go back to the states.

i think foreign banks get charged by other banks or the cost for them to ship the bad notes to the states is higher then they like...so they reject the unwanted bills....

Heh you think thats bad? , you should have a look at Ecuador and Peru , 75% of the currency that comes out of the ATMs there (everywhere) is fake.

it is no secret that the RMB is one of the most highly counterfeited currencies in circulation.
i've had experiences with dodgy RMBs before but nothing like what you experienced. but yes,
that provides another reason why i am not keen on using my debit card at China ATMs to
withdraw money (especially large sums).

my experience was after a particular trip to CP, i arrived in HK with quite a load of unused
RMB. so i headed down to one of the many moneychangers and exchanged the RMBs for
HKDs. all the 100 RMB notes (and a couple of 50 RMB notes) passed the machine sorting
test. then the guy started to count the smaller notes (some 20s and 10s). he just slotted
them into the machine as well but not really paying much attention as he did for the larger
notes. thats when the machine beeped and he slotted them in again...beeped again. what
followed was a process of elimination note by note through the machine until it was clear
that a certain 20 RMB was suspect. he took it out, touched it, looked at it, ran it through
the machine again and beep it went. it was a small note and he knew i wasn't trying to
pass fakes to him so he just smiled and gave me back the 20 with a look which translated to:
"tough luck but it ain't a big deal".

i have no idea how that 20 RMB came into my possession. could have been at a convienence
shop or a cha chan teng in CP i suppose.

anyway bro, when did you exactly realise that the 1500 RMB you had were fake? were they
rejected when you tried to use it or did you realise this at the ATM? from what i know,
some of the fake 100 RMBs are almost like the real thing and almost impossible to detect
without some help from a machine.

Interesting quotes from a trivia website:

"... in the U.S., the $20 is the most counterfeited, followed by the $100 note, the $10 note,
the $50 note, the $1 note, and the $5 note?  The $100 is the note that is most counterfeited
in foreign countries.

That in 1997, a total of $136,205,241 in counterfeit U.S.currency was discovered worldwide?"

Even outside of Asia it can be hard to get rid of USD100's. I've been to a major high street bank in Australia where they wouldn't change a Franklin. Thinking back it was probably an older series, and I haven't been back for several years, so maybe the newer one's have better security features.

i'm not entirely sure what is the latest series of 100USD notes...2003 or 2004 maybe?
there isn't a 'new' series that i have heard or seen materialising yet though. the 100USDs are
basically of the same basic colour design as the 1USD notes. the 5s/10s/20s/50s have all gone
through a revamp in the last 5 years with more shades of colour added to them (purple/orange/green/light purple respectively).

oh but they love the 100s in bangkok. better exchange rates. saw a tourist at a bank offloading
a nice stack of crisp 100s, although he was asked to take a seat while 2 of the bank guys
checked each note thouroughly...1 of them even used a magnifying glass randomly on some
of the notes!

i know how you feel...its the same in china. they prefer it new too and pristine condition. altho i think they weren't looking at counterfeit notes but just want new notes.

i was running out of time to exchange from hkd to rmb. so i had to keep it on me for the time being. i'm paranoid about security esp. when i had a wad of $500hkd on me, so i kept my wallet in a zippered pocket. aussie notes are smaller hence a smaller wallet. the $500hkd note would stick out a bit. i once did up the zipper and went thru the notes causing a 2mm tear, yes thats right 2mm. that was enough to deem it unacceptable. so i had to carry couple thousand of dollars for a month b4 i went back to hk

i was in paranoia overload