Im going abroad (Tunisia) rather unexpectedly and i dont have time to order travellers cheques.?

Question

Does anybody know if i can "buy them over the counter" instead of going through the ordering process?
Thanks

Answer 1

You should be able to buy travelers checks at your local bank without pre-ordering them. However, I do not recommend bringing travelers checks.

Travelers’ checks and credit cards are accepted at some establishments in Tunisia, mainly in urban or tourist areas. The Tunisian dinar is not yet a fully convertible currency and Tunisian law prohibits the export or import of Tunisian bank notes or coins. Tunisian law permits the export of foreign currency that was declared when entering Tunisia. Tourists are expected to make foreign exchange transactions at authorized banks or dealers and to retain receipts for dinars obtained. Under foreign currency regulations, a tourist can reconvert to foreign currency 30 percent of what has been exchanged into dinars, up to a maximum of 100 dollars. Declaring foreign currency on entering Tunisia and obtaining a receipt for dinars purchased thereafter will facilitate reconverting dinars to your original currency. Keep all receipts of monetary transactions for presentation when leaving the country.

Now that the government part is over, there are cash points (ATMs) all over Tunisia, mainly in touristicy areas, and at banks. I personally wouldn't bring travelers checkes as it will take a long time for them to process it when you check out because not many people use them. Really the only place that they are valuable at is a bank.

And because Tunisia is still a developing country, most places aren't set up to accept credit cards or debit cards. You'll find that only you're major stores, such as Carefour (in Tunis), and Monoprix, and Magasin General, plus a few major resteraunts are equipped to handle them. Most major hotels can handle them as well, but not your smaller local ones.

My best suggestion to you is to bring the amount of money you want to have and change it little by little when you are in Tunisia. Tunisia is one of the few places in the world where you will get a better exchange rate at most hotels than the bank. Or bring a credit/debit card and use it at the ATM's when you need money. There is a fee for using the ATM's though, and that varies from bank to bank. Mostly the fee is between 1,500 dinars and 2 dinars. Remember though, you also get charged a fee from your bank for having to convert your normal currency into local currency. You will have to check with your bank/credit card provider to find out how much that fee would be. Which ever way you go, keep only the necessary cash on you, and the rest in your hotel room.

Answer 2

I was in Tunisia in both August and November and I took traveler's checks with me both times and I found them the easiest way to exchange money. I bought them from my bank -if you go to the bank, which you hold an account at, you should either have no charge or a small charge, 1.00 for a 100.00 travelers check. At the airport there are several places where you can exchange them and it took only a few minutes. The fee is small and as I stated, I did not have any problem. The Tunis airport is not that large, if this is the airport you are flying into and you will find the cash exchanging places on the 2nd floor (up the steps) near the cafe. There are a few downstairs, but I did not use them. Also I know that you can cash your traveler's checks at a lot of hotels. I stayed at Hotel Africa on Ave. Habib Bourgoubia and they also cashed some of my checks. I don't know what country you are traveling from, but also at the airport, I exchaged American currency and Euros for Tunisian dinar. But as another poster stated, if you are going to be leaving the "touristy " areas or the city of Tunis, I suggest that you make your money transactions ahead of time. I spent a lot of time in the town of Jendouba, and there were banks there to exchange money, but the hours are strange, usually only a half day and it can be somewhat of a hassle for you. Change your money before you venture out, whether at the airport or your hotel. Have a great time - beautiful country with awesome people!

Answer 3

Yes you can, just about any bank will let you do that but why are you going with travellers' checks, don't you have a bank card? There are ATMs all over Tunisia and you're insurance with VISA is better than that with Travellers checks. Many places will refuse to take Travellers checks, most places will take VISA, Mastercard or AmEx in Tunisia and of course everyone likes cash... plus you pay less commission on cash withdrawals than on travellers' checks. Travellers checks are a thing of the past when travelling to modern coutries - Tunisia isn't the Congo, you know, their city infrastructure is pretty much the same as that of a town in the South of France.

Answer 4

You should be able to buy traveller's cheques at your local bank branch. Banks nearly always have a supply on hand.

They will either be free or cost 1% of face value, depending your bank's policies.

Answer 5

You should just wait and trade your money when you get there. You can find small kiosks in the city where the exchange rate is much higher than if you just took travelers checks with you.