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Getting funds outside the US

  • February 04, 2011 12:11 PM
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    Message # 515891
    Anonymous member

    I'm thinking of filling up a sailbag with cash before leaving the States, then I'll only get ripped off on currency exchange rates and fees. My credit cards don't seem very ATM friendly, huge fees for cash withdrawal. Does anyone know the best represented bank around the world with the kindest fees.

     

    scott  S/V Marianne
  • February 23, 2011 11:55 AM
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    Reply # 531647 on 515891
    Anonymous member

    I'm guessing not much response due to the website transition. Hopefully someone will share their knowledge of international banking.

     

    scott  S/V Marianne
  • February 23, 2011 12:46 PM
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    Reply # 531687 on 531647
    Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Harry Caskey wrote:

    I'm guessing not much response due to the website transition. Hopefully someone will share their knowledge of international banking.

     

    scott  S/V Marianne


    Harry: go to the top of the Cruising Destinations forum by clicking on the menu item Cruising Destinations. Note the link to the pdf at the top of the page ... open it up and use the search box on the right side of the pdf viewer and search for "cash".  Just tested and numerous answers were found.

    Jay
  • March 28, 2011 4:25 AM
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    Reply # 555847 on 515891
    Anonymous member
    Hi Harry,
    I don't know if this is much use to you since we use a NZ bank (BNZ) and work by charging largish purchases to our credit card (Visa) which incurs no fees but the exchange rate is not too good sometimes, depending on when the charges go through, and by getting occasional large sums of cash as a cash advance using ATMs. We manage our accounts by using online banking.

    We have been doing this for 5 years now, with no problems, but I do know some UK cruisers have problems with their bank stopping their credit cards each time they go to a new country, so it would pay to check your bank's policy on this.

    Cheers,
    Jill
    K32 Daemon
  • March 28, 2011 8:37 AM
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    Reply # 556090 on 515891
    Deleted user
    Harry,
    I don't know about the "best bank with the lowest fees" but we have our money in Wells Fargo back home.  Here in Mexico, I can get cash from anyone's ATM although WF does hit me with a $5.00 fee every time I do.  I just get as much as I can and then operate with cash, which the merchants prefer.  I have heard that some US banks have reciprocity agreements with some banks in other countries.  So, if the transaction fee is a worry to you, you might want to start asking around while you're still in a place to open a new account.  Once you're away from home it's difficult to open a new account in a new bank.

    -Steve
  • March 28, 2011 11:08 AM
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    Reply # 556235 on 515891
    Deleted user

    We cruised Mexico were Steve is for two years and would withdraw the maximum amount on our ATM card each time.  We bank with Bank of America which has an affiliation with a bank from Canada that's in Mexico and didn’t charge fees for cash withdrawal. But our Visa card had large fees, $18 and $5 for each withdrawal, at least the one time we used it.

    We wouldn’t carry large amounts of cash for the obvious reasons, but usually hid some backup dollars in the boat.  I also read in Latitude 38 that the banks in Mexico will only exchange small amount of American dollars due to the Narco laws.  I don’t remember the amount, but Steve will know more about it than we do.

    Lastly, running out of pesos is not fun, which we did on the Baja Bash (return trip home), it’s too long of a story for here but we had an article in Latitude 38 about our misadventure which I’ll try to get in the next Windblown.

    Jim

     
  • September 13, 2015 1:16 AM
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    Reply # 3522816 on 515891
    Deleted user

    Why not check out the Seven Seas Cruising Association newsletter. The members there post all sorts of interesting ( and clean information) about their experiences in locations around the world. It might be worth the effort !

    Fair winds and a full bank account, and also protect your I.D.!

    MZ W32 #550