Real vs Dollar and other currency issues

[Esperma]

Casa Behar near Pres. Vargas and Ave Rio Branco always has good rates.

I learned a hard lesson on the last trip, never expect to find an open cambio after 5pm on a holiday or weekend. Even the Marriot in Copa would not change money.

[Amerioca]

my business got butt-raped by a supposedly good cambio on nossa senhora (near the odeon) giving us 1. 85 to buy usd, when the xe and central bank rates were 1. 70. 1.75. would have been better to use our bank. and that was with changing r$7000.

is your business new? do you not have a steady cambio for exchange purposes?

when moving above average amounts, i have always found the cambios in centro with better rates vs. zona sul.

[Eric Cartman]

the exchange rate went below 1. 70 today and oil dropped but is still over $106 which will result in higher airfares.

my business got butt-raped by a supposedly good cambio on nossa senhora (near the odeon) giving us 1. 85 to buy usd, when the xe and central bank rates were 1. 70. 1.75. would have been better to use our bank. and that was with changing r$7000.

[Exec Talent]

The exchange rate went below 1. 70 today and oil dropped but is still over $106 which will result in higher airfares.

[Erectus Indicus]

Anyone can up their daily withdrawl limit simply by calling their bank. Most banks set the default rate small, like $500 per day, but a simple call can get that doubled to $1000. If you really need more cash, just get 2 cards with $1000 each, that will get you close to R$3500 per day, should be enough for even the heaviest Terma user!

If you want to move a lot of cash into Brazil and don't want to go through the ATM's or the cental bank (expensive) , then setup a relationship with a local cambio. Cambios operate in the grey economy. They assist people in moving large amounts of money in and out of the country.

As an aside, when there is a large economic crisis in Brazil or other Latin America countries, how do you think the money leaves the country despite tight FX controls by the Cental Banks? The answer Cambios. They have bank accounts in the US and in Europe. People deposit funds into those offshore bank accounts and then pick up the Reals in Brazil, to get money into the country. Likewise when you want to get money out of the country you give them Reals, in cash and they wire you the funds from their offshore banks accounts. The Cambios move Billions of dollars per year in and out of the country.

I would not do this with any cambio, you need to know the owner and have a relationship with him to be sure both sides of the transactions will be completed.

Thanks Bubba Boy. My needs are rather normal, max 1000 Reais a days is good enough for me. I did some work for a FX company a few years back and the rule is the customer always get the a certain percentage lower than the prevailing interbank rate. Your explanation and the term 'grey economy' explained why a business would operate this way. Works for me!

[Bubba Boy]

Anyone can up their daily withdrawl limit simply by calling their bank. Most banks set the default rate small, like $500 per day, but a simple call can get that doubled to $1000. If you really need more cash, just get 2 cards with $1000 each, that will get you close to R$3500 per day, should be enough for even the heaviest Terma user!

If you want to move a lot of cash into Brazil and don't want to go through the ATM's or the cental bank (expensive) , then setup a relationship with a local cambio. Cambios operate in the grey economy. They assist people in moving large amounts of money in and out of the country.

As an aside, when there is a large economic crisis in Brazil or other Latin America countries, how do you think the money leaves the country despite tight FX controls by the Cental Banks? The answer Cambios. They have bank accounts in the US and in Europe. People deposit funds into those offshore bank accounts and then pick up the Reals in Brazil, to get money into the country. Likewise when you want to get money out of the country you give them Reals, in cash and they wire you the funds from their offshore banks accounts. The Cambios move Billions of dollars per year in and out of the country.

I would not do this with any cambio, you need to know the owner and have a relationship with him to be sure both sides of the transactions will be completed.

[Erectus Indicus]

Managed to get 2. 85 BRL / GBP when XE. Com mid-market prices were 2. 80 yesterday afternoon in Copa. In comparison, my bank gave 2. 76.

Though the current rate is 2. 85, I wonder how they could offer that yesterday. Let's see how much they offer in the coming days.

[Erectus Indicus]

To get the current and up-to-date exchange rates use xe. Com. It's always accurate and will give you the exchange rates from any country for any other country. Not sure what bank you use but many banks have partnerships with other banks around the world. For example, I have my account at Bank of America. I travel and live in China part of the year and also go to Central / South America and Asia for work. BofA's partner bank in China is China Construction Bank, in Central America / South America they partner with ScotiaBank, and in Europe they partner with Paribas BNP. I can use any of those banks with no international fees whatsoever. Like I said, not sure what bank you have but you might want to contact them and ask. Most have that information on their websites also. It saves a ton of money for exchange fees and you don't have to carry a lot of money on you.

Thanks Vielendank for the quick reply (many thanks.) I use XE / Oanda as well. I use the Brazilian arm of the bank I bank with at home and still get hit with charges, it depends on the bank I guess. And yes, the charges are supposed to be levied. However the ATMs have a limit of 500R$ per transaction and I have a daily limit of 300 GBP and so I have to do multiple transactions and hence multiple charges. Not to mention an over-active anti-fraud system, so it was go-to-ATM- card blocked- E. T. Call home- Card unblocked process every single fucking time for the last trip.

Most of the posts here are about changing USDs and usually Pounds / Euros would also be accepted at the cambios. Just wanted to get the current exchange rate at the cambios to weigh the benefits against the risk of carrying lot of money.

[Erectus Indicus]

A rather silly question but would anyone know and be able to post the going rate for GBP in the cambios in Rio? With the current interbank rate hovering at 2. 79 and me pissed off with the bank charges incurred due to daily limit, transaction limit etc, I want to avoid/reduce using ATMs this time. Any info would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

[Member #4156]

Hitting 1. 86, can we see 2. 0? If the Euro Governments can't get their shit together quickly! First time in a long time I am happy holding the US peso!

Don't worry, its coming:

http://www.brasileconomico.com.br/no...lj_109626.html

[Bubba Boy]

Hitting 1. 86, can we see 2. 0? If the Euro Governments can't get their shit together quickly! First time in a long time I am happy holding the US peso!

[Oralover]

The temporary spike lasted only a week, per xe:

1. 00 USD = 1. 80500 BRL

1. 805 is still up from where it was a month ago.

But today XE is posting 1. 892

[Java Man]

The temporary spike lasted only a week, per xe:

1. 00 USD = 1. 80500 BRL

[Eric Cartman]

If it makes you feel any better, I moved USD$30K back from Brazil to the USA mid week last week and the best rate I could get from HSBC (my bank, my company's bank) was R$1. 87 (including fees). That was only after calling the exchange desk for commercial exchange (not tourist) and bitching out the guy who has helped our company with big capital inflows.

I think the actual PTAX rate that day (Brazil central bank) was around 1. 83.

[Azn Safado]

What are the Termas giving? I usually get a decent deal by exchanging currency at the Rio Termasas. This is better than the airport and there are no fes like the ATMs. The one exception was Cafe Show in Joinville that was giving 1. 2!

Damn it. Lookks like I misstimed my trip by 1 month.

I've never used US cash in a Terma before. Only used my credit card at Luomo and 4x4 where you can pay all fees (entrada+cabine+girl) on a credit card. From some of my past credit card statements, it seems they give ok rates but not better than ATM.