Buying Japanese Yen - easiest way?

[corundum]

Hi all,

off to Japan for a week and planning to get a few thousand HK$ changed to Yen before I go.

What's the easiest/best value way to do it?

I was planning to just go into HSBC.

Also I have a Smartvantage account and can move money online into a JPY account. If I do this, will I be able to withdraw the Yen from an HSBC branch with no further charges?

[bdw]

Yes this seems to be the best way to go about it. Do it online first and you get the higher TTS and TTB rates rather than just walking into a branch and getting the cash rates.

But there is a daily limit you can withdrawal without charges. So you might need to go to the bank a few times if you want to get the best rates possible.

[caipiroska]

Yes this seems to be the best way to go about it. Do it online first and you get the higher TTS and TTB rates rather than just walking into a branch and getting the cash rates.

But there is a daily limit you can withdrawal without charges. So you might need to go to the bank a few times if you want to get the best rates possible.

I had to pay charges when I got money out of my Euro savings account at the branch. Was exactly the difference between online and cash rate.
To the OP:
But to be honest, if you only need some money for your vacation, why do u care about these few cents?

[Football16]

Check your bank rate against a place like Berlin Exchange where they post daily rates on their HK web site.

You just need to get there during their business hours and if a hot day in the currency market you might have a bit of a wait. They will set an appointment time but only if it is a large sum. Lots of threads here on best places to buy US dollars, yen, etc. Some are as good as Berlin and are not all in Central like Berlin.

Wait times are hit and miss. I went there as the Canadian dollar was rising and folks were standing there waiting for their price to exchange their money. I was happy and did not wait but they may have bigger dollars in play.

http://berlincompanyexchangelimited.blogspot.com/

[bdw]

You can see HSBC rates here:
http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/invest...info/fcy/rates

Note that there are 4 columns. If you transfer online, you get the better Telegraphic Transfer rates. Then you can go to a branch and withdrawal the money, but there is a daily limit that you can withdrawal before they will charge you something extra. I believe it is something like the equivalent of a few thousand USD.

But if you go straight to a branch and withdrawal money without doing online first, then I believe you get the "Banknotes" rate in the other 2 columns.

I agree with the poster above that it might not be a huge difference. But its not much effort to just do online first before visiting a branch. The only hassle comes if you want to take out more than the daily limit and might have to go a few times.

[fth]

Easiest, but not necessarily the cheapest, is the foreign currency ATM under the HSBC main HQ building.

[corundum]

Thanks all. I went to HSBC in the end, after doing an internet transfer. For info, the daily free withdrawal limit at HSBC is 75,000 Yen but after that, the charge is only 0.125% which isn't a big deal.