Tips on Changing Money in India for Foreign Tourists
It's best to change money only at banks and authorized foreign exchange ("forex") agencies. They will give you an encashment certificate to prove that you have changed money legally. You should keep these-along with any ATM receipts-because you may need them from time to time. There are instances where foreigners are expected to pay in foreign currency, but if you have the exchange receipts, you can use rupees. The other reason to, deal with banks and authorized forex agents is that counterfeiting has become fairly common in India. Changing money unofficially is risky. If you somehow do get any counterfeit notes, having sufficient receipts to account for all the rupees in your possession is essential. Changing money at a bank-especially the government-run ones like State Bank of India-can sometimes take as much as an hour or two, so don't rush in right before their lunch break or at closing time. Banknotes are commonly stapled togethe...