One Response to “(English) Expat Banking Requirements”

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1. milette on Nov 4th, 2009 at %23:%Nov

   Other considerations:

   1. In many countries cheques don’t exist. I haven’t used them at all for about 15 years. Most things can be paid on-line or over the phone or through pre-arranged payments from credit or debit card.

   2. Many banks (either over the counter and/or through ATMs) will charge withdrawl fees for taking out cash from a foreign account and/or in a foreign currency. These typically range from .5% to 2%. My business current account charges 1% for ANY cash withdrawl. My Raffeisenbank account in Russia charges .7% to withdraw from any of the foreign currency accounts. (The solution seems to be to have a local currency account and send the money to that account in that currency.)

   3. With regard to sending money in a different currency — Bank of Monteal USED to give international inter-bank rates for the conversion, but for about the past 5 years or so has been using ‘worst possible retail rates’. (I found when visiting Ottawa, I got a better rate at the airport exchange kiosk than right at the BMO branch!)

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