European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Travel Europe 1992 changing your moneymaking sense of the Dollar Exchange game by Chuck Roberts staff writer someone going on vacation would t wait until the Day of departure to buy an airline ticket yet Many people will wait until reaching their destination to Exchange Money. And if that someone arrives in Paris on a saturday valuable vacation time will be spent searching for an open Bank instead of the perfect pastry. Not Only is it More convenient to change Money before leaving it also can be More profitable said Shane Parkinson Branch manager for merchants National Bank in Kirch Gons Germany. If a Soldier from Kirch Gons is going to Paris and changes dollars into French francs at merchants Bank he or she is charged a fee of about 2.5 percent for the transaction. Hut if the same Soldier goes to a Bank in the local German Community there is one transaction fee for converting dollars into German Marks and another fee for changing Marks into francs Parkinson said. Also a higher transaction rate usually is charged at Banks in other countries he said although the difference1 May be minimal. At merchants Bank which operates under a contract with the military customers can change up to $200 on the spot for in demand currencies such As austrian shillings dutch guilders English pounds and French and Swiss francs. For less common currencies such As turkish lira or for amounts More than $200, orders must be placed at least three working Days ahead of time. The time of at the French German Border at Kehl Germany a Bank Teller changes a Man s German Marks into French francs. A amps Dave Casey the request can effect when the Money will be available Parkinson said. For example if an order for $500 in dutch guilders is placed on monday before 10 30 a.m., the Money will be available on wednesday. If the order is placed after 10 30 a.m., the guilders will not be available until thursday Parkinson said. Orders for foreign currency can be placed at merchants up to two weeks in Advance by filling out a foreign Money order form Parkinson said. No Deposit is required when using the form so if your trip to London Falls through you re won t be stuck with a ton of British pounds. Travellers checks also can be obtained at military Banks although they Are not in much demand Parkinson said. Travellers checks offer More Security than Cash because the checks can be replaced if stolen or lost. There is a 1 percent service charge when buying traveler s checks at merchants Bank Parkinson said. Unfortunately Many people decide at the last moment to take a trip and thus arrive at the departure Point without the necessary foreign currency said Mario Colantonio advertising director for tops amps Dave Casey travellers always should ask what fee is being charged to Exchange currency. Tours in Kaiserslautern Germany. Quot we do a lot of last minute bookings and they Are not prepared Quot Colantonio said. Upon arrival at the destination these people risk getting a poor Exchange rate or even getting cheated. In the Commonwealth of Independent states and Many countries in Eastern Europe waiters taxi Drivers and people on the Street will offer to Exchange Money at rates significantly higher than those offered by Banks or official Exchange agencies. But if you Exchange Money with the Guy on the Street among the stack of russian rubles might be worthless yugoslavian dinars or newspaper strips Cut into rectangles. In Prague there is a risk of receiving counterfeit Money from the Black Market Money changers. Quot it s always safer to go with an official Bank there than the Black Market and taking a Chance to get ripped off Quot Colantonio said. Quot if you change Money at a legitimate place you will not get ripped  if you arrive at your vacation destination without any of the local currency you should be Able to Purchase some at your hotel. Hotels usually offer poor Exchange rates but they Are not a bad place to buy a Small amount of Money for getting by until you find a Bank or a Money Exchange shop offering a decent rate Colantonio said. In some countries a Spain and in the Mideast for example a there Are numerous Small private Money Exchange shops. These shops offer different rates so Colantonio said it s Best to shop around. 24 travel Europe May 13, 1992