How to Handle Bank Account/ Debit Card while Long Term Cruising... Need Insight

[model 10]

I lost 2 of our cash (atm) cards in MX and we could not get new ones sent to us in MX. You can not get a card forwarded from your home address in the US. The US bank we used would not send a new atm card Fed X, DHL or anything to MX. We could not get an account at a bank in MX because we were not citizens...
Have a spare or 2.

[zeehag]

beware hsbc, as they have been some of the problem atms here, and cashola. scotia bank is good in mexico.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by zeehag

paypal is also good to have-- get the credit.debit card..is a card backed with money you have on account.

Hey Zee am curious how you get cash from Paypal?

I have both US and Singapore PayPal linked directly to my CC.

I did not know I could get cash somehow with PayPal.

Originally Posted by tbodine88

While I lived in Antigua, I maintained my main money in my credit unions in Austin, but opened an account at a local bank so I could get money from their ATM with out fees and write checks to the locals.

Same drill. I have been a credit union member for 34 years. They still have real people that know my name, we periodically exchange email and I do a monthly wire transfer (more complex post 9/11). I also drop in to see "the ladies" with trinkets from the orient when I visit town - goes a frickin' long way when something goes wrong.

[belizesailor]

Re cash from PayPal: get a PayPal debit card.

[zeehag]

hay , ex!! they sent mme a unsolicited credit card i am spozed to be able to use when i have dire emergency.. dont know how to get cash yet but i will learn and pass along..they calli t a business cardd, and it is backed by your own money, soit iis all good until someone befouls ye, far as i can see--i dont want to have to use it, but i have been stuck here for 5 months when usbank decided to cancell all cards when someone frauded us stores --- just after it took a month to get my usbank debit card renewed.. so, first 1 month , then within 6 months of that renewal, m]the fraud alret, and i wasnt aware of this... and so imagine my surprise when my debit card didnt work for stuff..like renta in marina...rodl.. was such a lot of fun. before i leave here i will open a scotia bank account so i can have more safety and freedom, in some ways.. and not have to be screwed again by someone in usa making fraud on cards for bank. i was advised it was a kmart or target purchase situation... i had to call bank and beg for my card to be released for 4 hours at a time.. like a prisoner in pair a dice..lol which is what we can essentially become.. isnt a bad thing, but it doesnt aid travel much. it took 2 months to get my card to me.

i have noticed the atms are selective to whom they refuse service here---- there is a chip canadian cards contain, and often these cards are not accepted in the atm until ye place a clear tape on that chip. go figger.. that allowed the ones with chips in their cards to gain their money from the machines.

[nimbex1970]

I use Ally bank, it's an internet bank that has minimal deposit requirements. In the US all ATM fees are paid back to me monthly. For international ATM use the rule is:

Will I pay a fee for using an ATM in a foreign country?

If you use an ATM in a foreign country, you may be charged a fee of up to 1% of the transaction amount for the currency conversion and/or cross border transaction. Ally only reimburses ATM fees charged by other banks if the ATM is in the US.

My primary "home" address is through a family member that can expediently next day air out a new card if lost or becomes inactive. When traveling, Ally allows me to have a "seasonal address" for six months where they will send replacement cards... so the family member back up address, is simply a back up address.

As with all banks, I alert them in advance to my travels.

Ally has regulations on the max withdrawl per day, but If I need to tap greater than that at a bank or ATM, I simply call them and the funds are released in the same business day if I call before noon, next day after that.

No fees and great customer service.

I have used them since I became a travel nurse, and am never in the same place more than 13 weeks.. no issues... aside from the 1% international fee.

carol

[Tingum]

Capital One! Pay the bill online from any account. Use direct deposit for incoming funds to US checking, then transfer online. Only fee is what local bank May chart for cash advance. AVOID First Caribbean, they are pirates!!!

[jeremiason]

When were cruising Mexico and Central America we found many major credit card companies charge International Transaction Fees, including to my dismay, American Express!

My wife is a financial guru and decided we would use Capital One, which has no international transaction fees for credit cards.

We used our Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) for checking, savings and ATM. They had no international fees for ATM withdrawals. They also have a great 24 hour phone center and internet access.

Every time we had internet access, my wife would review the Bank transactions to ensure they were accurate.

The one warning I will give you is only use your ATM Card at real banks.

Stand alone ATM machines in convenience stores and malls may be taking your card information.

This happened numerous times to other cruisers while we were in Mexico and Central America, especially in Mexico and Panama.