I must say, I was very very impressed with these guys.
Even though they had nothing to gain financially from assisting me (they didn't have what I needed), they went out of their way to help how they could.
So I was looking for Indian rupees. I called every single bank I could think of. Answers ranged from "Eh, I'm not sure - check our website?" (Bank of Ireland), to "No. We don't have them. I don't know where you'd get them. Can I put you on hold? Hi I'm back, what did you want? No, I don't think we have that. I have no idea." (AIB) to "Ehmm, I'll take your number and get someone to call you back that'll know (beeeeeppppp)" (Ulster)
So it turns out that Indian rupees are a restricted currency, meaning you can't actually buy them outside of India. You can if you order them quite far in advance, but generally speaking, the advice is to take cash with you to change and your ATM card to withdraw money once you're there.
The dude also directed me to O2 where you can get a money card which is useable all over the world.
All in all, extremely helpful, in fact way above and beyond. And very very much appreciated. read more