Seattle 101 - A Guide for Travelers and Tourists
In the United States, the US Dollar ($) is the unit of currency and is divided into 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of $100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1.
Banking hours in the United States are generally Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is some variation -- a few banks are also open on Saturday. It is best to call the bank first and make sure.
Use an ATM for pulling money from your bank account in U.S. denominations at the best current exchange rate. At least two banking networks, the Cirrus and the Plus network, offer services at machines in many locations across the U.S. and many other countries. Before leaving home check with your local financial institution to verify if you are able to use your home bank card at some of these machines.
Banks will also exchange money, though they sometimes charge a fee to do so if you are not a customer. Any bank that is also a Credit Union will not charge an extra fee for currency exchange.
There are also currency exchange stores, who specialize in currency exchange and may have a wider range of currencies available for exchange.
If you need to exchange currency at the airport, there are various kiosks there run by different companies.
Credit cards and travellers checks are widely accepted in the United States, however it is best to check before buying to find out what type of payment is required by the store or service.
If you leave or enter the United States with more than $10,000 in monetary instruments of any kind, you must file a report, FinCen Form 105, with U.S. Customs at the time. Failure to comply can result in civil and criminal proceedings.
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