Money Changer Forex in Penang

Where do I find a Money Changer / Foreign Exchange booth in Penang?

I have written quite a number of blog entries related to travel, among others Visiting India , precious traveling tips in India, Penang to Phuket and even a marketing analysis on Firefly vs its LCC competitors

So one of the obvious things we need to do is get some foreign currency prior to traveling overseas. It is always a good idea to
1. Carry currency of the country of your destination.
2. Keep some spare local (your home / return country) e.g. for return taxi fair and so on.
3. Keep some commonly accepted foreign currency usually the USD, Pound or Euro. Travellers cheque is also useful and provides some security against lost as it requires you to sign off on the travellers cheque when using it.
4. Internationally accepted credit card, e.g. Visa / Mastercard.

Sometimes we think its ok not to have local currency of the country of destination, however beware as sometime even the airport taxi requires cash and does not accept credit card, e.g. I think the Airport Taxi in Penang is a clear example.

So as you are travelling overseas, the question arises, where do I exchange currency?
Note most banks DO NOT offer foreign exchange except mostly at airports. And even those at airport charge a ransom, i.e are unreasonably cut-throat so that should be a last option.

In Penang, there are a number of outlets which has money changer. Most shopping complexes have a money changer, including

• Queensbay
• Sunshine Square Byn Baru - on ground floor near the Maybank ATM. Go through the entrance next to CIMB Bank.
• Jusco Aeon City Sbrg Prai - on ground floor as well.
• Little India - I would think the best rate are at little India, my logical reasoning is there are a huge number of money changing booths / outlets from various licensed operators. In little India, you can try the many FOREX shops e.g on Chulia Street, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and inside the cove.

One more thing I noticed is you get the best value for your Ringgit Malaysia (RM) in our home country, i.e. Malaysia. So to put simple exchange to foreign currency at a local FOREX booth, rather then when you are overseas.

For a list of Money Changes, check out the federal bank's (Bank Negara) link here website
Ok. Happy traveling.

ps- sometimes when I exchange money, I tend to jot down the serial number of the bank notes for trace-ability.