We've
all seen it: you receive cash either from a bank or from change after
purchasing something and one of the bills of you get has some sort of
marking, writing or doodle on it. No big deal, right? The next
place you spend it will take your money, no questions asked. Cash is
king and as the most liquid item on the planet, no one is going to
turn it down.
 |
| The 20 dollar bill not up to Filipino standards. The marking on the right got it rejected. |
Well
as it turns out, foreign currency is scrutinized a lot more intensely
than the local one. Case and point: Nathalie and I, while we were
in Camiguin, had to convert some of our US dollar reserves into
Filipino Peso as the one ATM on the island wasn't taking our cards.
We had around 140 USD in cash and wanted to convert the whole lot to
cover the rest of our expenses.
We
went to the local bank as they had the best exchange rate and didn't
charge a conversion fee. Part of the process was having the bills
examined by the branch manager. After inspection, the teller came
back to us saying that they weren't going to accept one of our
20-dollar bills because there was a small pen swirl on one side of
it (see image below).
The
bank is under no obligation to accept our foreign currency and as
such, they rejected much needed funds based on someones desire to
test their pen on a twenty. So
in conclusion: Don't Write On Your Money! You never know when
someone will need that cash and there's nothing more frustrating than
having cash become only as valuable as the paper its printed on.
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