Foreign exchange - don't get diddled

Back in the dark days of communism, tourists from the West could change their deutschmarks, dollars, francs and pounds from shady men standing outside hotels whispering czyndżmani czydżmani ('change money change money'). The rates were good. In August 1976, I remember the official exchange rate for the pound was 68 złotys (you had to change a given number of pounds for every day's stay in Poland in order to get your visa), but the black market offered 200. This made a holiday in Poland laughably cheap - were there any consumer goods to be had. Beer? "Nie było, nie ma, nie będzie." ('There wasn't any, there isn't any, there won't be any'). Even so, every now and then, you'd find something that zlotys could buy and have a reasonably good time (sadly at the expense of Polish citizens, who had to endure the privations of day-to-day life under communism).

As communism collapsed and the free market took over, currency exchange shops began popping up across Poland, and the cinkciarze (money-changers) moved off the pavements into actual premises. Below: a currency exchange on the Polish-German border, August 1989. These became known as kantory (plural - the singular being kantor). By the early 1990s, even the smallest Polish towns had several. Warsaw had kantory every 200m, it seemed at the time.

In today's world of mobile banking, smartphone apps and FinTech, is there still a place for the traditional bureau de change? Companies like OneMoneyMail (trading as SamiSwoi) and TransferWise have revolutionised money transfer, by undercutting the commission fees and high spreads that traditional operators such as Western Union or high-street banks would charge. But for holidaymaking, the long-distance electronic transfer of money into a difference currency makes little sense.

Ever since the fall in the value of the pound caused by the outcome of the Brexit referendum, the British media has been full of stories of tourists paying more than one pound for one euro at airport bureaux de change. Anyone who changes money at the rates offered at airports is a prime dupe. I pass these bureaux de change at airports and there's never, ever, anyone in front of them actually changing money. "POLISH ZLOTY: We sell at 4.09 to the pound, we buy at 5.59 to the pound." Seeing a spread as laughably massive as that causes anyone with an ounce of sense to walk briskly by. The current rate for the euro is €1.13 to the pound, so to be getting less than a euro for a pound, the bureau de change must be charging at least a 15% fee. Stuff 'em. In fact, why do they bother? Why does IFC pay sky-high rent on prime airport retail space just for its staff to watch thousands of passengers walk briskly by every hour?

If you are travelling to Poland, keep your money with you until you get into town. Avoid the kantory at railway stations (spreads of 10 to 15 grosze either way, far less than airports, but still steep) and look for those in less obvious places. Google Maps is useful. Be fully aware of the exact spot rate for the zloty (for your dollars, euros or pounds), which you can check in real time on stooq.com.

As I write these words, the pound buys 4.84 zlotys. A good kantor should offer you a three-grosz spread - that is it will sell you 4.81 złotys for your pound, and will buy your złotys at 4.87 for a pound. My local kantor (Tavex on ul. Świętokrzyska) is very competitive, transparent and technologically cutting-edge. I recently changed £220 there at a rate of 4.823, when the spot rate was 4.845, so a 2.2gr spread. Word gets round, this particular kantor is popular and sometimes there will be queues, but then low-margin, high-volume businesses make more profit than the high-margin, low-volume businesses we see at airports. Another kantor offering good rates is Redar, in the subway passage under Rondo Dmowskiego (on the east side), below. You can see two good signs - one, a queue of people outside, and two, a digital price list showing a two-grosz spread either way on the euro (and two-and-half grosz spread on the pound).

Changing your money wisely means you can make your holiday money go further in Poland; avoid the airport bureaux de change and the kantory at the main railway stations, use your smartphone to locate a good kantor (with a four- or five-star user rating). Most taxis and buses in Warsaw (at least) will take credit or debit cards; the Uber and MyTaxi apps work here - head into town and buy your zlotys at a good rate. Remember that your British (or American/Canadian/Australian) bank will tend to overcharge you on exchange rates on credit/debit card transactions, so it's better to change cash into cash and use złotys for your purchases in Poland for the best outcome.

As I come to the end of writing this post, the zloty has fallen to 4.83 to the pound... If you're travelling abroad this summer, keep watching the money markets!

Any other recommendations? Where to change money, which places to avoid?

This time three years ago:
Defining my Sublime Aesthetic

This time five years ago:
Porth Ceiriad on the Llyn Peninsula

This time seven years ago:
Jeziorki sunset, late July

This time ten years ago:
Jeziorki sunset, after the storm

This time 11 years ago:
Rural suburbias - the ideal place to live?