Carrying money.

[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I think the question still remains..

... What do you do in a 3rd world emergency, when you need immediate cash assistance and you may be incapacitated or stuck in a remote location, where assistance requires a large amount of cash?

This is where I find using a large multinational bank like HSBC on a Premier level will give me immediate access to emergency funds (USD 2k) and/or transfer of larger amounts, with just a direct phone call or email to my personal banker. 24/7

USAA ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA ) here in the US is probably the best all-around financial services firm you'll find.
Many fee-free services, fair, excellent service; and they're used to "multinational/global", serving a military customer base. I have other bank and credit union accounts, but USAA is 'premier' .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by pickpaul

Not super relevant currently but for the long term cruising kitty, a bitcoin isn't a bad idea. International digital cash will become a hit with cruisers down the road IMHO and they'll be much more expensive then than now.

Great idea, you will either get rich or go broke.

So far outside criminal transaction, no one has yet to provide a good use case for bitcoin.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I think the question still remains..

... What do you do in a 3rd world emergency, when you need immediate cash assistance and you may be incapacitated or stuck in a remote location, where assistance requires a large amount of cash?

This is where I find using a large multinational bank like HSBC on a Premier level will give me immediate access to emergency funds (USD 2k) and/or transfer of larger amounts, with just a direct phone call or email to my personal banker. 24/7

I can't think of a situation where I have ever need more than a couple hundred where I couldn't wait a day or two.

What do you do in NYC if you need a large amount of cash (assuming you don't have a NYC based bank)?

Either they have internet/phone access and you can sort it out or if they are really that remote, they are used to things taking time to sort out.

[undercutter]

Indonesia is a pain when it comes to withdrawing money from ATM's. The max transaction is 2mm rupiah (200us) and the daily limit is 500 US, Of course there is a fee for every withdrawal. We always carry some cash with us.

Remember the declarable limits for currency would be multiplied by the number of persons on board so 2 people = 20,000, 3 = 30000. In Canada they do not seize the funds they only fine you a paltry amount unless they can prove there is criminal activity involved. I once tried to declare 20k leaving Canada only to be told after an hour at Pearson Airport that there was no one on duty that could complete the paperwork so never mind.

You don't have to declare gold in any country except India that i am aware of so this may be an option although you might have a hard time selling it for full value in some parts of the world.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by undercutter

Indonesia is a pain when it comes to withdrawing money from ATM's. The max transaction is 2mm rupiah (200us) and the daily limit is 500 US, Of course there is a fee for every withdrawal. We always carry some cash with us.

Remember the declarable limits for currency would be multiplied by the number of persons on board so 2 people = 20,000, 3 = 30000. In Canada they do not seize the funds they only fine you a paltry amount unless they can prove there is criminal activity involved. I once tried to declare 20k leaving Canada only to be told after an hour at Pearson Airport that there was no one on duty that could complete the paperwork so never mind.

You don't have to declare gold in any country except India that i am aware of so this may be an option although you might have a hard time selling it for full value in some parts of the world.

In most countries, it's only $200-300 USD (or equivilent) from ATMs so Indonesia isn't much different.

Technically, you are correct that it is $10k/person but if a family of 4 shows up with $40k cash, they may decide to hang onto it for you while the verify that someone doesn't actually own $10,001. There is also a principal of "structured" transactions in banking where they consider you in violation if you purposely circumvent the intent. Unfortunately, they often take the guilty until proven innocent approach and hold the money while they sort it out.

As far as taking gold:
- If it's a couple rings and a necklace, they likely won't take issue if it seems reasonable (ie: if you have rappers chain made of links you could run thru the anchor windlass, that might not fly).
- If you are trying to sneak it across the border, it's probably a bit easier as $10k in gold only weighs around a pound (pending the latest rates).
- If you are trying to legitimately bring it in, you either have it in coin form and it's a negotiable monitary instrument and covered the same as cash or you run afoul of comodity export reporting requirements. I think they come into play at around $2500 for the USA. I assume there are similar catches for other countries.
- If it were that easy, all the criminals would simply launder thier money by moving bullion across boarders.

[northoceanbeach]

Here is noonsite for Micronesia, which is what got me thinking about it, and I read the same on a guy's blog that went there.

Cash is required for most transactions here. Only in Chuuk is it possible to obtain money using a credit card.

[Cottontop]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Most machines in Central America have a reader that will handle both.

The USA has been glacially slow in adopting chip technology. I first worked on projects using smart cards in the 1980's, but just this past year started receiving new USA cards with chips. About half of my USA cards have converted. My foreign account cards had chips much earlier.

I got a chip-and-pin card a couple of years ago for travel in Europe. Wasn't easy to find in the States. It works most places in Europe, but France is a crap shoot. For France, you really need a chip-and-pin card issued by a French bank.

The new chip cards that are showing up in the States are mostly chip-and-signature cards. Not the same thing as chip-and-pin. Won't work at unattended kiosks, like ticket machines in train stations.

Anyway, here's an article that says chip-and-pin may not be with us long:

"However, Stephanie Ericksen, Visa's vice president of risk products, recently said there's a movement away from PINs in both Canada and Europe.

Johnson agreed that the "PIN has been an effective historical mechanism" but added that changes in the payment industry and patterns of fraud make it incumbent on the industry to back investments in newer technologies that dynamically identify fraudsters, both online and in stores. In addition to chip technology, he said banks and some merchants are backing tokenization for use with transactions as well as end-to-end encryption."

FBI takes down alert on chip credit cards after bankers complain | Computerworld

[jamhass]

A few things I didn't see mentioned earlier or missed:

Depends a lot on where you go and what you are planning to do.

In Mexico at least if you use a credit card, the merchant adds a fee (usually about 3%) to cover his CC costs. Thus paying with cash can save money, and ATMs are readily available -- just make SURE you use on in a bank. Those in stores, etc are notorious for being hacked.

Also in Mexico at least it is normal for marinas to charge dockage (and often fuel) in dollars, then convert it to pesos at a rate advantageous to them. Then if you use a credit card, the fee is added, it gets charged in Pesos, then the CC company converts it to US dollars and charges you another fee. So the bottom line is that it is often cheapest to pay in US cash.

Many local services (mechanics, boat minders, boat yard, etc) will also quote in dollars and you will often find the work is less expensive if you pay in dollars than in pesos. Common "non-boater" services and goods are paid in Pesos of course.

Thus, at least here in Mexico, having enough US cash on hand can be advantageous.

Note that US dollars are available at a very few ATMs, but it is comparatively expensive.

Note that when using ATMs, if will be to your advantage to use a debit card tied to a checking account rather than a credit card. Moreover, if you shop around, there are several cards that charge no foreign transaction fees, and a few that rebate the ATM fees. Over time, these charges add up.

Finally, note that the $10,000 "limit" is per person, not that we ever need near that amount of cash in a normal 6 month season. We find that in Mexico the most we spend in US cash might be $1000/month if we are staying in a marina. Much less of course when anchored out.

Remember -- much of what I have said pertains to Mexico, but some is universal. So pay attention to local customs and regulations. And don't forget to keep some cash (preferably both US and local) stashed away for emergencies such as wallet lost or stolen etc.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by zeehag

mexico is not off the beaten path of folks cruising west coast of this hemisphere. it might be a little far from med, but east coast mexico is a huge tourist attractionever hear of cancun????, as also is the southwest coast of mexico , aka costalegre , or costa dorado. have you ever heard of zihuatenejo or acapulco?? how about mazatlan???
many cruisers leave from mexico to sail to the south pacific, and when you consider the nation is over 2500 miles in length, and it runs from usa to central america, it is kinda difficult to consider mexico to be off the beaten path.

Zeehag -- relax a bit-- it was a tongue in cheek joke. We have also sailed the east coast of Mexico and laughed at the OP for the saying Mexico is off the beaten path -- We just go a good chuckle out of it.

As info we did sail the east coast of mexico and continued all the way to Colombia.