How many times have you found yourself with unused local currency after a trip? When it happens (it happens to all of us), your options are usually to:
- Change the currency back to USD or your home currency at an airport exchange desk
- Gift the currency to someone you know traveling to the same place
- Keep the currency/do nothing and absorb the loss
Well, now there’s another option. CashSwap is a free app for Android that connects travelers at the same airport looking to exchange money before or after a trip. Instead of relying on a bank exchange rate, which is usually not a great deal, CashSwap users can match with users looking for the currency that you’re getting rid of. Because CashSwap is not a bank, the exchange rate available on its peer-to-peer platform is generally better than what you’ll find at a traditional airport desk. The app charges only a flat $3.99 fee per transaction. And CashSwap estimates that its service saves users an average of nearly 30% per transaction.
Here’s how it works, once you’ve registered (for free):
- Open the app and let the app determine the airport you’re in
- Enter the currency you want to exchange and the currency you want to get back
- Enter how much you want to exchange
- Pay the flat $3.99 fee
- Select an offer to exchange local currency and arrange to message with your match to find a place at the airport to meet (the app will offer suggestions for safety)
There’s a limit of $2,000 USD in exchanges per person per day, but it’s hard to imagine that you’d hit that limit often.
Where CashSwap works
CashSwap currently works in 12 U.S. airports:
- Atlanta (ATL)
- Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
- Denver (DEN)
- Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW)
- Houston (IAH)
- Indianapolis (IDN)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- Newark (EWR)
- Orlando (MCO)
- San Francisco (SFO)
How to exchange leftover currency with CashSwap, in video
Here’s more on how easy it is to exchange leftover currency with CashSwap:
