How much money have you forgotten about?
Money that’s sitting in your drawers, leftover from overseas trips?
Euros, Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Japanese Yen? Maybe you’ve got a couple of Australian gold coins with a kangaroo and emu engraved on them.
Almost every traveler I know returns home with a pocket full of foreign coins. And they either get lost in the washing machine, or go in a draw for ‘when I’ll visit again’.
But have you ever visited again?
Or have you been sitting on hundreds of dollars worth of coins and notes for years on end? (Though it doesn’t need to be hundreds, I’d love to exchange my currency even if it was only worth 10!)
Fortunately now, there’s a cool app where you can sell your coins to others looking to buy them!
It’s called MoneyAtlas (here for iPhone / here on Android), and you can connect with other travelers to exchange your foreign currency, at a price you set! Skip the inflated exchange rates at the airport, and make a deal traveler to traveler!
Connect With Other Travelers to Exchange Your Foreign Currency
Download the Money Atlas App and Make Money!
Search the Neighborhood to Buy / Sell Your Coins
MoneyAtlas is different to other foreign currency exchange services because it connects you with other everyday travelers.
While banks will charge crazy fees (and sometimes not even change your money to begin with), airports will put inflated markups, and foreign exchange stores are hit or miss, what if you had an app (or an Atlas!!) of other travelers wanting to buy or sell you foreign currency?
It’s a great way to convert your leftover coins into real cash you can spend at home, or to pick up coins for a country you’re traveling to soon, and knowing your money goes directly to help out a fellow traveler.
Because that’s the best thing about travel – the comradery between the community of fellow explorers. We help each other out willingly!
How does it work? You sign up to the app, and it helps you scan the neighborhood / region you’re in, for others who you can pair up with for an exchange of currency.
It’s basically like a local classifieds / matching app for travelers wanting to buy / sell their leftover notes and coins. How much have you got to trade?!
How the App Works
You can sign up to MoneyAtlas on Iphone or Android. The person who wants to sell coins puts a trade request on the map. Others can search for them, and if you favor the exchange rate offered, you connect!
Enter how much you’ve got in X currency, and how much you want in return in X currency (154 currencies are available across 174 countries). Ie, I could put up that I want $100 USD in exchange for $130 AUD.
You can set your own foreign currency exchange rate, or chat with the person trading to negotiate a better deal.
We recommend checking xe.com/currencyconverter for the current local currency rates, but the app itself gives you info about the trade condition with a plot map (whether it’s a good trade or not), and you can also compare exchange rates of others in the same neighborhood in a list style, or in a graph.
Once you find a trade you like, you message them privately on the app, and coordinate a time to meet up in person to trade.
The app just connects you, there is no need to send your money in an envelope, no need to visit a currency exchange shop, and no delivery fees. You find each other, connect, and then meet up for a face to face trade!
Cool Things About The MoneyAtlas App
Apart from making money from the leftover currency you have in drawers?
MoneyAtlas is available in 34 languages, and it’s available all over the world – everyone can use it, and if you speak multiple languages you can connect with locals while you’re actually traveling to their destinations.
It’s a great way to make money from the ‘sleeping’ currency you have built up from previous trips, but also a great way to connect with cool like minded travelers in your neighborhood. Maybe when you exchange your coins you share travel stories over a coffee!
The app is brand new, and has recently launched, so by signing up you’re one of the first users for something which is going to become huge (and means as more travelers sign on, your trades will be the ones with the most views!)
So what are you waiting for?!
Download MoneyAtlas onto your phone, go through your drawers, and post a trade with all your leftover currency.
Then wait for another traveler to contact you!
How much money do you think you’ll make? How much have you got to trade?
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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.
Having visited 100+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.
