1

But why bother? ATMs abound, usually work, and there's even a sidewalk from place to place.

What's a moneychanger?

2

Most people stopped using travelers checks a few years ago. They are often refused and simply not worth the effort.

ATM's are the way to go.

3

I imagine banks still take checks just like they still take cash. I only entrust my pitiful resources to banks and especially the one where my people are known. The few times I have gone near the others the hair on my neck started to curl, instinct..

4

I never had any trouble cashing travellers' cheques anywhere in India.
If you travel for a couple of months it adds up in bank fees using ATMs, as
you can can only withdraw a limited amount per day...

5

I love travellers checks but must admit the last time I was in India, 2011. It was a huge pain to cash them. We had to go to a particular bank on Linking Rd. in Mumbai - not even Citibank would do it. (My family is Indian and has lived in Mumbai for years so it's not as if I was misinformed)

I went to a little roadside ATM and I actually could check my bank balance in any account there- it is ridiculous how efficient the electronic banking system is these days. I could take several hundred dollars out.

So in the future, I'll probably take some checks as backup/emergency funds and primarily use ATM's.

If your bank has high ATM fees, I suggest asking if they have any specials that waive them. My bank waives all those extra ATM fees for me since I have a certain type of account. There might be a minimum you need in there, but it's worth it.

The exchange rate was about the same for ATM or Travellers Checks.

Another option, what a lot of Indian nationals do, is to open an ICICI or HSBC bank account here- and then you can get it out there.

6

" hundreds of thousands of moneychangers" ?? TCs arent useful anymore. They used to the best option for India, all State Bank of India branches used to change them, if you lose them/ they are stolen , you could get your money back,,but there usefulness is no more. As said ,there are ATMs everywhere, no need to carry wads of cash/cheques anymore. I think thatb goes for other countries as well. I once spent a whole day in Jakarta trying to find a bank that would change them.

7

I never had any refused, as long as the bank in question was licensed for foreign exchange. That's the difficulty, especially off the tourist trail. The average bank office doesn't do foreign exchange.

Moneychangers in tourist areas typically gave better exchange rates for t-cheques rather than for cash. They actually preferred t-cheques to cash. On the other hand, when did anyone ever carry lots of cash around? The whole point of t-cheques was to avoid the risk of irreplaceable loss.

But then, with my way of thinking, the concept of back-ups and alternatives is much more important than an issue like "What's the best way?". The question only creates a false dilemma.

8

the convenience of ATM's i guess was the end of travellers cheques, but often i stay in one place for 80% of my trip and know where to cash the TT's so that's not a problem---to spend $3600 through ATM's in India my bank in Aust charges me $190. last time i bought TT's to India was 2001 and was charged 1% on purchase in Aust and could cash them in India for no further charge. How much do travellers cheques cost these days ? If it is still 1 or 2% then that's worth up to 2 weeks accommodation costs for me.

9

Some banks will provide them free as well..

10

I travelled India in early 2012 and had no problems with cashing travelers cheques. It is a little bit tougher off the tourist trail, so just plan ahead and cash enough when you are in a bigger city and bring an atm card for backup. As stated before, I opt for them because they are insured. My wallet was stolen in Bangkok and I was lucky that I wasn't relying on my ATM card. The other reasons I prefer cheques are to avoid hefty ATM and foreign exchange fees as well as that ATM's give you 1,000 rupee notes which are extremely hard to use. Anyone who's spent time in India is familiar with the game of trying to cash big bills and holding onto small change. At a moneychanger or bank you can usually convince them to give you some small notes at least.