I’ve heard about a movement about keeping cash alive. However, am I allowed to exchange or keep “foreign” cash in Australia despite it being worth more? For example, I hoard cash via the following currencies: USD, BBD, OMR, KWD, PLN, GBP, EUR & AED to name a few and most are higher value than Australian Dollar.
I mean, will stores (in touristy parts of Sydney) accept the following in cash (mentioned above) directly for transactions. Like for instance: this item costs A$50 but gave them a 200€ (A$330) bill as payment, will they take that at face value due to that being worth more despite it being the second most traded currency globally?
You’re allowed to keep it and you’re allowed to try and use it to buy stuff but you won’t have much luck doing so.
Turning up with foreign cash would be effectively the same as trying to buy stuff with precious metals, jewellery, or rare Pokemon cards - while there’s value in the item it’s not immediately verifiable, it doesn’t fit with the usual workflow of the shop, and they’re under no obligation to even consider this as a payment option.
You’d have more luck using foreign cash for person to person sales where bartering and swaps are more of an accepted payment option. Even then expect dubiousness and to lose a lot of the nominal value when it comes to purchasing power.