Thai Baht Exchange: Flexible App for Checking Currency Rates
AMITIAE - Tuesday 7 February 2012
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Thai Baht Exchange: Flexible App for Checking Currency Rates |
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By Graham K. Rogers
I just had the pleasure of the company of my mother here in Bangkok. She is now sitting on a beach in Phuket but the few days she was here were a touch stressed (of course) but she had managed to add to this by losing credit cards 5 days before she left the UK: way too short a period for replacements to be delivered. As a result it was cash, travellers checks and other sources. There was an acute awareness that the usual flow had been lost (along with the credit cards) and care was being taken over exchange transactions.
Thai Baht ExchangeI only saw this after she had left my care, but released a few days ago was a Thai currency exchange app. This was developed by Innova Software, who have little information about them online apart from a Facebook page put up for the purpose of support.While I have the exchange rates easily accessible via the Calculator on my Macs which I use when I am online shopping or when Apple releases new products, I did not have an app for anything but rough calculations of currency on the iPhone: living here and being paid in Baht, I do not usually need this. Thai Baht Exchange not only provides access to the rates, but also to the different rates that are provided by eight major banks here. The app has a number of other useful functions, making this rather useful, especially considering that this is a free app. The icon is a 10 baht coin, of a type I have not seen for a while, over the Thai flag. We may select a specific bank from those listed and then examine the rates available for each of the 34 currencies provided for. The US has three entries as buying or selling notes of higher values (e.g $5 - 20, $50 - 100) will produce a fractionally different price. This may not matter to the average tourist, except as a psychological value, but as a guide for those trading in large amounts of international currencies, there could be a significance. The app opens with a lovely clean interface. There are five nicely designed icons: Exchange Rates, Compare rates, Currency Converter, Bank Locator and Settings & Others.
Exchange RatesThe Default bank shown for display of exchange rates was Bank of Ayutthaya. Alphabetically, using the bank's code (BAY) this was first. A blue arrow to the right accessed a scroll wheel with the other 7 banks used in the app (BBL, KBANK, KTB, SCB, TBANK, TMB and UOB -- these are listed below). Alongside the currencies (with three US options at the top of the list) are Buying (in green) and Selling (in red) rates. Each currency is named with a 3-character code (e.g. EUR, GBP, AED) and a national flag icon displayed. Not all were showing rates at the time I first examined the app.
Compare RatesThis useful section gives a user direct comparisons between the eight banks. At the top of the panel is the currency selected. This may be changed by use of the scroll wheel. Not all banks will exchange all of the currencies shown. Only two, for example (KTB and BBL) show results for the Russian Ruble, with only five banks offering rates for the South African Rand. There are two options for display: buying, with the currency figures shown in green; and selling with figures in red.
Currency ConverterThe converter is a delight. With Thai Baht at the top and the selected currency below there are two arrows. By tapping on these we either select the Sell or Buy transaction. The currency amount is entered in one of the blank panels, depending on the currency and number the user is working with. Tapping on this part of the panel brings up a number-pad. As the amount is being entered, so the result is displayed: fast.The Thai Baht panel is fixed, but the target currency may be changed with the scroll wheel, accessed via the blue arrow. Likewise, the specific bank can be selected. This shows only those banks that will work with the selected currency, but the scroll wheel also shows a "Best Rate Bank" setting for quick access, making it easy to settle on the bank of the day, perhaps.
Bank LocatorThe Search facility available here has other uses: not just looking for Exchange locations. The default is Any Bank or Branch type, within a range of 10 Kms and a search limit of 10. As I expected, when I pressed the green Search button I was asked if the app could use my current location. It gave me 10 results half of which were within 0.4 Kms (I can see The Mall, Tha Phra from my apartment). Tapping the list item, brought up a Google Map with the specific bank's location marked with a red pin and my location shown with a blue marker (that moved ever so slightly with the varying signals).Changing the radius of the search was via a scroll wheel. A scroll wheel would also change the number of results (with a maximum of 20). I also limited the search to Bangkok Bank only. The Type of branch could be Any, Branch Office or Exchange Booth. It took 4 seconds for the 20 branches to be listed with the furthest 4.2 Kms away. I cannot say if the app will work outside the Bangkok area as I am unable to test this at the moment.
SettingsSettings gave me two ways to alter the ways data was accessed. The default time for checking the Exchange Rate was 30 minutes, but this could be changed to times between 5 minutes and 2 hours. A second setting for the Nearest Bank showed a default of 1 minute, with options from 30 seconds up to 10 minutes plus Never. This section of the app also had a disclaimer. A button was available for the user to Rate or Review the App.
CommentsAlthough currency exchange and the organisations that control it, are somewhat complex, this app is one of the easiest to use, despite the many answers that it can provide a user. Ten minutes with the app before going to a bank might save a lot of fretting as the paperwork is completed, especially for those not familiar with the language or local banking practises. The developer has made good use of the scroll wheel in each section so that choices made by the user are highly tunable. The app is not optimised for the iPad so displays in the x1 and x2 formats on that device.The app needs access to the Internet for most data, particularly the location search. I put the iPhone into Airplane Mode and still had access to rates, even to those I had not looked at before, so some data is stored within the app: it will of course not be updated. Despite the complex nature of what the calculation of rates may entail, this cuts through a lot of that and gives the consumer clear answers with not much effort. The bank locator gives those of us who may not need to exchange foreign currency an extra feature. It is not always easy to find a bank. While the bank one visits will give the definitive answer as to what the specific rate is -- there and then -- the app is a useful way in to the process. Most certainly recommended.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. |
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