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07-11-19 17:08 #5207
Posts: 5496Originally Posted by Arcangel [View Original Post]
Currently, living in a rural area, my best option has 1 branch 40 km away. A better option puts me 100+ km away from an office, in the wrong direction. And I've found that the farther I live from an actual branch the more likely I will need to visit the branch.
Moving to Europe and commuting weekly to work in the US seems like a bad deal to save 4% on 3 transactions a year, but I would rack up the airline miles.
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07-11-19 16:08 #5206
Posts: 127How to beat the system
Originally Posted by JjBee62 [View Original Post]
My bank in europe gives me a Visa credit card with no yearly fee, no foreign transaction charges and no ATM charges at any ATM worldwide. They don't reimburse any charges that the ATM puts on top, but there are enough free ATMs in Coombia: Banco Pichincha (1000 k per withdrawal), Banco Caja Social (700 k), Davivienda (400 k).
I just checked my bank statement and compared the exchange rate I got to the day's interbank rate. It's always almost the same, less than 0. 5% difference. I got 1 EUR = 3605 COP on 7/7/2019.
So I'm happy with the deal I'm getting. You guys need to shop around for a decent bank.
I get the same rate when using the card to pay for purchases which I rarely do to keep my card out of harm's way. Because my card is mission crutical, and it has bern blocked on occasions, I carry another card as backup. A Master Card from a different bank, also free yearly and worldwide with excellent exchange rate.
The best way to transfer money to a Colombian bank account that I've found is xend.com, a new fintec grom UK. They have great rates and low fees. For Colombia you need to send as USD which Bancolombia will convert to pesos minus about 2%.
Western Union makes me sick, taking from the poor to give to the rich.Last edited by Arcangel; 07-11-19 at 16:22. Reason: Added actual exchange rate
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07-11-19 04:14 #5205
Posts: 5496Money Exchange
Before this trip I decided to fully explore the money exchange issue. Which one really is best? YMMV on this. I don't have a Scwab card. My ATM withdrawal was using a card from a major US bank.
The Medellin airport rate was 2400-$1. That's a cost of 25.1% to exchange money at the airport.
Buying pesos directly from my bank. Their rate on that day was 2755-$1 at a cost of 16%.
Now to the methods I actually used.
A few weeks prior to my trip I sent 1 million pesos to my old roommate. This won't work for most, because most don't know anyone they can trust. My reasoning was to have an emergency fund. If I got robbed, lost my card, or had a bank problem, I'd at least have enough to eat.
Sending Western Union rate was 2966.83-$1 at a cost of 8. 5%.
When I reached Medellin I withdrew 1,020,000 from a Davivienda ATM. Rate was 3011.42-$1. Cost was 6%.
Today I exchanged $300 for 918000, rate of 3060, cost of 4. 5%.
The cost value is how much under that day'srate I received.
I didn't check every casa de cambios. Checked 2 and picked the best rate. Based on my experience, with my bank, the casa de cambio is the best bargain.
If you're getting under 4. 5% cost from your bank, you're beating the system.
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07-09-19 08:18 #5204
Posts: 1281Originally Posted by Zeos1 [View Original Post]
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07-06-19 05:01 #5203
Posts: 1124Originally Posted by PirateMorgan [View Original Post]
Also, I doubt you ever get more than the mid market rate in reality. Likely you are comparing the wrong numbers. For example you do a transaction at 2 in the afternoon, but the currency has changed by the end of the day, etc. I have noticed this when I check back. The quoted rates are end of day usually, sometimes average for the day. And your bank may use the rate plus their markup from a specific time.
I don't know how American banks do it. But I believe that in Canada it is my bank that determines the exchange rate. The Colombian bank on the other end gets pesos for pesos in effect. My bank exchanges the Canadian bucks for pesos and sends the pesos to the Colombian bank and its ATM.
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07-05-19 16:08 #5202
Posts: 16063Originally Posted by PilotPete [View Original Post]
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07-05-19 08:45 #5201
Posts: 1281Originally Posted by BKKguru [View Original Post]
Other banks (US, non Schwab) will typically charge a fee OVER AND ABOVE what the ATM's bank charges you. This doesn't show up anywhere, it's incorporated into the rate they give you.
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07-05-19 06:53 #5200
Posts: 39Originally Posted by FunLuvr [View Original Post]
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07-05-19 05:06 #5199
Posts: 1047Originally Posted by PilotPete [View Original Post]
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07-05-19 01:12 #5198
Posts: 172Exchange rate.
People might be getting confused because you have to subtract all the fees to calculate the exchange rate. Your bank potentially has multiple fees. The owner of the ATM usually has fees; those should not be used to calculate the exchange rate:
Respectfully, I disagree. Many times I have received more than the current rate posted on X-rates. Multiple fees or not (my Colombian bank has none charged) I have received different rates on the same day from 2 different banks. But in the end the contra bank has no say so in the transaction. It is determined here in Colombia.
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07-05-19 00:09 #5197
Posts: 898Originally Posted by PirateMorgan [View Original Post]
The exchange rate has been the same between all the ATMs on the same day in every country I've been to and tested. In addition, the exchange rate between my debit card and my visa card is virtually the same; sometimes there is a negligible difference.
People might be getting confused because you have to subtract all the fees to calculate the exchange rate. Your bank potentially has multiple fees. The owner of the ATM usually has fees; those should not be used to calculate the exchange rate.
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07-04-19 04:15 #5196
Posts: 39Originally Posted by PirateMorgan [View Original Post]
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07-03-19 22:15 #5195
Posts: 290Happy 4th
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ".
Happy 4th to all mongers from and in the USA!
BKKguru
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07-02-19 04:47 #5194
Posts: 172Conversion.
Schwab has no interbank conversion. That is not their business. It is not that complicated. You withdraw 500,000 pesos. The bank here decides how much it is going to charge your USA Bank for the 500,000. Period. You are debited the charge. With CapOne within about 2 seconds. It hits the US account before I can walk away from the machine.
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07-02-19 01:24 #5193
Posts: 290Originally Posted by TheTallMan [View Original Post]
Your conversion rate is determined by the InterBank Rate.
This is a "wholesale" rate because it's the rate that banks use when they are trading foreign currencies with *other banks*.
The conversion rate you see online is the InterBank Rate. However, you will NEVER get the InterBank rate.
The Banks have to make money, so they have a mark-up. On average, banks can mark up an exchange rate by 3-6%. This mark-up is not publicized.
InterBank rates fluctuate through out the day. They change based on several factors like Geo-political events, Interest rates, Trade deficit, National elections etc.
Usually Banks use the Interbank rate at the end of the business day to calculate your conversion rate. This is public information. You can ask Schwab about their InterBank rate.
BKKguru