Thailand border-town money exchange: Nong Khai, Mae Sot, Mae Sai, Mukdahan
Rates checked: 2026-09-16
Best rate USD · Nong Khai: 33.18 — Super Money — Nong Khai (Meechai Road) → Details
Thailand’s land borders are poorly covered by travel guides, and the money situation there is genuinely different from Bangkok or Phuket.
The towns
Nong Khai — the crossing to Vientiane, Laos. Exchange shops cluster along Meechai Road. Lao kip is traded here, which is unusual elsewhere in Thailand.
Mukdahan — the second Thai–Lao friendship bridge, opposite Savannakhet. Trade-oriented exchange offices serve cross-border business.
Nakhon Phanom — a third Laos crossing, quieter than the other two.
Mae Sot — the Myanmar border at Myawaddy, in Tak province. Kyat is traded here.
Mae Sai — Thailand’s northernmost point, across from Tachileik, Myanmar. Part of Chiang Rai province.
What to expect
Fewer shops, shorter hours. Border-town exchange offices typically close at 17:00–18:00, and some close on Sundays. Bangkok’s 21:00–22:00 hours do not apply.
Limited currency coverage. US dollars and euros are safe everywhere. Japanese yen, Korean won and Russian roubles may not be handled at all. If you carry one of those, change it before you travel.
Regional currencies are the exception. Lao kip and Myanmar kyat are traded at the relevant borders and almost nowhere else in Thailand. If you need them, the border is the place.
Rates are worse than Bangkok — usually by 1–3%, sometimes more for unusual currencies. There is less competition, and the shops know it.
Practical advice
- Change what you need in Bangkok or Chiang Mai before heading to the border.
- Bring large, clean notes. Small denominations are penalised more heavily in low-competition markets.
- Carry your passport — you will need it at the border anyway, and licensed money changers must record ID.
- Keep a card as backup. Bank ATMs exist in all of these towns; the flat 220-baht fee makes one large withdrawal far better than several small ones.
- Do not rely on changing money on the other side of the border immediately — hours and availability vary.
Live data for these towns
THX tracks exchange shops in Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom, Mae Sot, Mae Sai (Chiang Rai), Udon Thani and Khon Kaen, with opening hours and maps — information that is otherwise very hard to find in any language.