On my first day in Lima, I went to the nearest bank to change some American Express traveler checks. While walking to the bank, I was stunned by all people on the street approaching me for changing money. Many of them were congregating on the street corners and near the banks. Can you believe that? It was only later that that I found out that people are licensed to change monies on the streets in Peru. It is completely legit! The yellow and black vest that they all wear identifies them as licensed moneychangers. Believe it or not, they can also change traveler’s checks and exchange rates are comparable to the bank. Of course, they check your passport first. Exercise caution when exchanging monies on the street though - make sure you get the proper exchange and count your monies, and by all means make sure you get your passport back.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 25th, 2007 at 8:56 am and is filed under Peru, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.