Medellin Reports

[Gabacho]

So much discussion here about ATMs which leads me to ask the question -- besides the chicas and maybe street food stalls, are there a lot of things in town that you cannot buy with a credit card? Do taxis and Metro (if buying a card) accept credit cards?

On the subject of ATMs and terminals at the Metro stations. Do these have options to display in English or is it all totally in Spanish?

Colombia is a cash based economy. With the exception of big stores like exito and maybe hotels that cater to gringos, everything is in cash. Want to take the metro or the bus? You need cash. Cheap lunch at a local restaurant, you need cash. Taxi (although I don't condone using them, cash). Basically everything is cash.

There is a digital system they use to transfer money called nequi but as a foreigner you cannot get nequi.

[Exoticspirit]

So much discussion here about ATMs which leads me to ask the question -- besides the chicas and maybe street food stalls, are there a lot of things in town that you cannot buy with a credit card? Do taxis and Metro (if buying a card) accept credit cards?

On the subject of ATMs and terminals at the Metro stations. Do these have options to display in English or is it all totally in Spanish?

[TheDerilious]

What is KBS Lleras?

It's a youtube channel that does hidden camera views in the outdoors of parque Lleras and other places. Kinda gives you a view of what it should look like at night in the park.

[AdamWl]

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23..

The Centro branch has been closed for like a year, there is a shoe store there now or smth. Best to check bank website not google maps which is often outdated.

[LoveItHere69]

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23.

It was across from KFC and Subway. That one is gone. I used it a few times years ago. But my trip last year (2023) it was gone.

[Gabacho]

Maybe the Caja Social problem was an ATM with no cash at the time you tried to withdraw. The next time I need some cash I'm going to check them out. I've heard before that they don't charge fees foor ATM transactions.

I tried 5 different caja social ATMs at 3 different branches and none of them worked. The one under the metro at parque berrio station, the one on Oriental up a cpl blocks from la playa, and the over by the hotel I used to live at back in 2020/21 (a cpl blocks past the San Jose tranvia station and hang a right). And every single time it says the same error message. It will take my card at first and let me hit retirar and corrientes and then show the amounts I can choose from 20 mil to 300 mil and it will let me go thru the whole process and put in my pin number and everything then when it's processing it takes a really long time like way longer than normal and then it gives an error message in Spanish "temporalmente no es posible completar su transaccion".

I have Capital One 360 though not Schwab, so maybe for you it will work. You should go try it and report back what happens.

Gabacho.

[Zeos1]

That's good to here that there is potential to get club girls to give you cheaper end of rates. Sometimes I'll get a 100-200 K cop difference from 2 equally hot girls in CTG or BOG.

Is it viable to just wait outside of Gustos, Black Diamond, parque lleras clubs? Pick off the ones leaving (done for the night or not getting business) or the ones arriving (not busy, maybe fresh). That way there's no getting mixed up with club drink ripoffs or crappy rooms?

I figure there's more leverage since they're not under house rules at that point.

Don't think there are any house rules for them any more than for you. But you still might be right and get a lot better deal, because they are not in a room full of gringos that don't know any better.

[BlueChange]

I tried going back to Caja Social which used to be free and in fact I used to use them alot back in like 2018, their limit is 300 mil also like BBVA but without a fee. But as of December when I tried to use them they no longer work with my card it just keeps saying the transaction is temporarily not possible and I tried at more than one. .

If you have a six digit pin sometimes depending on the bank it won't work and it can only read a 4 digit pin. I had an issue one time with an updated pin. I switched it back and BAM it worked.

[Fun Luvr]

I've heard something about some bank called Banco Pichincha that is supposed to still be free and with a 1 million limit but I can't find it in Medellin and I found one on Cra 10 in Bogota but it didn't have an ATM just a walk in branch.

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23, in Poblado at Cra 43 A #16 Sur - 63, and in Laureles at Circular 73 be #76 - 16. I have used the one in Laureles years ago, but a couple of years ago I tried it two or three times and it would not accept a Schwab card.

There is also Scotiobank Colpatria with branches in Medellin that allow a higher withdrawal amount, I think 900 mil. I don't know how much, but they do charge an ATM fee.

[Mr Enternational]

Just saw a girl I met online on mileroticos / photoprepagos back when I was in Medellin 3 months. I used to invite her over a lot for 350 k cop. Just saw her in a KBS lleras video from 1 month ago. Small world to be honest.

No this is not a small world. There are just actually way less hookers (and probably way less customers) than you thought there to be.

Also it just once again proves what folks have been saying all along; the same girls work in different venues. It is just like how you can walk in to McDonald's and it costs you one price. You can order delivery from McDonald's and it costs you another price. You can order McDonald's delivery through Rappi and it costs you another price. Same cheeseburger; 3 different prices depending how you obtain it.

[Knowledge]

Maybe the Caja Social problem was an ATM with no cash at the time you tried to withdraw. The next time I need some cash I'm going to check them out. I've heard before that they don't charge fees foor ATM transactions.

BBVA is even worse. For CapitalOne account holders it always used to be free up until March or April of 2023. The they started charging 18 mil fee with a limit of only 300 mil per transaction. Now it's over 20 mil fee still for only 300 mil so I completely stopped using BBVA and only use Davivienda then in December Davivienda started this 15 mil shit. I tried going back to Caja Social which used to be free and in fact I used to use them alot back in like 2018, their limit is 300 mil also like BBVA but without a fee. But as of December when I tried to use them they no longer work with my card it just keeps saying the transaction is temporarily not possible and I tried at more than one. So that leaves Davivienda as the only reasonable one left. I've heard something about some bank called Banco Pichincha that is supposed to still be free and with a 1 million limit but I can't find it in Medellin and I found one on Cra 10 in Bogota but it didn't have an ATM just a walk in branch.

[Knowledge]

What is KBS Lleras?

Just saw a girl I met online on mileroticos / photoprepagos back when I was in Medellin 3 months. I used to invite her over a lot for 350 k cop.

Just saw her in a KBS lleras video from 1 month ago.

Small world to be honest. Got to remember that this is a martlet and with every market there is supply and demand. There's always new girls entering the market and new girls leaving the market. Question is what is the quality and quantity of the girls leaving and what is the quantity and quality of girls entering.

I think everything is balanced as of right now maybe slightly negative but I don't think the future looks good for various reasons which I won't get into in this post. Maybe next time if someone is interested.

[Haxagonus]

Just saw a girl I met online on mileroticos / photoprepagos back when I was in Medellin 3 months. I used to invite her over a lot for 350 k cop.

Just saw her in a KBS lleras video from 1 month ago.

Small world to be honest. Got to remember that this is a martlet and with every market there is supply and demand. There's always new girls entering the market and new girls leaving the market. Question is what is the quality and quantity of the girls leaving and what is the quantity and quality of girls entering.

I think everything is balanced as of right now maybe slightly negative but I don't think the future looks good for various reasons which I won't get into in this post. Maybe next time if someone is interested.

[Gabacho]

Bancolombia by comparison only allows 600,000 per transaction and charges up to 25,000 per transaction depending on the card issuer. You would have to pay more than 75,000 pesos to get 2 million out of their machines.

BBVA is even worse. For CapitalOne account holders it always used to be free up until March or April of 2023. The they started charging 18 mil fee with a limit of only 300 mil per transaction. Now it's over 20 mil fee still for only 300 mil so I completely stopped using BBVA and only use Davivienda then in December Davivienda started this 15 mil shit. I tried going back to Caja Social which used to be free and in fact I used to use them alot back in like 2018, their limit is 300 mil also like BBVA but without a fee. But as of December when I tried to use them they no longer work with my card it just keeps saying the transaction is temporarily not possible and I tried at more than one. So that leaves Davivienda as the only reasonable one left. I've heard something about some bank called Banco Pichincha that is supposed to still be free and with a 1 million limit but I can't find it in Medellin and I found one on Cra 10 in Bogota but it didn't have an ATM just a walk in branch.

[El Mechanico]

Davivienda is still charging the 15 mil ATM fee. I think ElMechanio is confused. He said he received an exchange rate of 3836:1 at a Davivienda ATM. That was during the last week of January. The Visa exchange rate hasn't been below 3900 this year. Then he said every ATM asked him to accept the transaction fee. Those of us who have used the Davivienda ATM's know that is not the case. He had a lot of good points about his trip, but his use of ATM's wasn't one of those good points..

Ok, so I went back over a WA thread I have with a friend and here are the 3 rates I reported to him from 3 different banks.

ServiBanco at the airport 3825:1, BanColombia 3836:1 in Poblado on CL 10 I believe and then 3876:1 from Davienda in the Tesero (I think that's what it is named) Mall. So what I do is wait a few
Minutes then check my Schwab acct and divide the number of pesos dispensed by the number of USD Schwab has deducted from my account. That's where I come up with the rates like I just posted.
Usually a week or so after I get back, Schwab will credit a lump sum for the transaction fees. So I can assume that the lump sum divided by the number of trips to the ATM converted back to pesos
then added to the total withdrawn would give me the higher conversion rate (I know it will not be 100% accurate due to different banks, different days and different withdrawal amounts but should be closer to the actual number). Whew! I got confused just typing that sentence. Jajaja.

I know not to accept their conversion rate so I always decline that. Next trip I will take a foto of the ATM asking me if I am ok with the transaction fee. It may not be Davienda but I know I

Have seen this numerous times.

El Mechanico