Get Some Cash Abroad

We go to live in another country and, as usual, we can't get money from any cash machine. Well, it's not impossible, but the commission one has to pay usually is so big that it's not worth it. I take 20 euros but I have to pay a commission of 8, mmm... No way! Obviously our credit cards are from banks of our own country and they normally don't have an office in other countries and in case they do have an office it doesn't work anyway.

At this point we start to consider our options:

-“I'll bring cash with me like there is no tomorrow”. For a short trip, yes, to live for a while, no. Where are you going carrying 5000€? Euros or dollars or whatever it is. To carry some cash is always a good idea to begin with, but that's only a solution in the short run.

-“I'll get money there and I'll pay the commission, what else can I do!”. Ruin, totally unfeasible.

-“I'll open a bank account as soon as I get there”. If you are going to work there great, but if you don't, for what do you want an empty account? You would have to transfer money from your country and that can be really expensive. Careful: in some countries is really easy to open a new bank account but in others they'll ask you even for your dog's pawprints. If it's not strictly necessary I wouldn't open an account.

Some banks have agreements with other countries and you can find interesting offers to transfer money. When I was about to go to Florianopolis, for example, I found a Spanish bank that let me transfer until 3000€ to a Brazilian account and I had to pay a commission of 6€. Not bad. You just have to investigate before going anywhere, that's all.

Buuuut, there is a good, pretty, cheap option. The day I discovered it I saved myself a lot of headaches. Some banks have a special credit card that you can use everywhere, all around the world. You can get money from every cash machine and for free. No commissions. I have one from a Spanish bank and I used it in Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Romania, Poland, etc. It works perfectly well, indeed. I don't know names of banks from other countries which use this kind of credit cards, so I can't recommend a specific one, but I know there is a lot of them, cause I met people who used them. You just need to research it a little bit.

Although, no matter what happens, I can't help wondering: one minute waiting in the line at the bank, how much time is it in real life?

Spanish Post