Cajeros: Help on ATM transactions

expatriate says on Nov 9, 2005, 08:52:

Use a different bank Try BanColombia for a limit of 400,000 or Davivienda for a limit of 500,000. Also, you can probably just stand at your usual ATM and use it twice or three times in a row.

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CaryGrant says on Nov 9, 2005, 08:55:

My experience too. Just do multiple withdrawals if you don't want to go into the bank. And be careful about making regular withdrawals from the same ATM each time - people may be watching.

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nicvel says on Nov 9, 2005, 09:04:

Dont use a ATM! Go to the bak atendants I live in Bogotá and i've never been able to withdraw more than 400'000 pesos at once in a single ATM transactions.
What I do to get more money is to ask the Bank atendants for a Cash advance (Avance en efectivo). I usually do this at Conavi banks, where i also have a Savings Account in pesos, wich helps a lot to make things faster.

You need your Bank of America card, your Cedula de extranjería or passport, a fotocopy of the later and a phone number where someone can tell the bank that he knows you. The atendant will call to this number in front of you and will tell to whoever answers that he may not expect another call from them, that this is the only call they'll receive from the Bank. They don't need to give adress or any other info, just that they know you and that you may be contacted personally in that phone number. This call will only be made for the fisrt time you use the service at any given bank office.

One more thing, your ATM card must be VISA or MasterCard.

I hope it helps you.

Colombia doesn't really rocks, and if you think so because of colombain drugs, i hope you have a most unpleasant death.

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spigrimace says on Nov 9, 2005, 09:13:

I think he´s referring to his displeasure with $5 Bofa fee Is what they charge on my BOFA account, which is why I use Wachovia here at $1.50.

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expatriate says on Nov 9, 2005, 12:44:

Lower your ATM fees Open an account by mail with Affinity Bank - www.affinitybank.com which charges you no ATM fees, or get a Paypal debit card which charges you $1.00 ATM use fee. It's best to get both, since with a Paypal account you can move money around between your bank accounts, no charge. Paypal has a 60 wait for applying for a debit card, is for U.S. and Canadian citizens only.

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dioi says on Nov 9, 2005, 13:51:

ex-pat do you find that both debit cards you're using, the ones you mentioned, work fine - I was a little concerned about the comment that only Visa and Mastercard debit cards work in Colombian ATMs.

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expatriate says on Nov 9, 2005, 16:15:

Dioi, I live in Cali and use both cards often. The Affinity Bank card does have a Visa logo on it. Paypal works almost all the time. The Affinity Bank only works in certain ATMs, like Servibanca and Davivienda.

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Happy_Rotter says on Nov 9, 2005, 18:27:

Thanks The reason I needed to know of a better way is because my boss is sending me greater amounts with each new month and that's going to sky rocket in the years to come. As you may imagine, that means a big slice for BofA in terms of ATM usage rates.

Expat, your tip on Paypal is great, but I'm afraid it won't be possible as I am not american nor canadian citizen. Getting a visa card from another issuer is an option, but that's my boss's call. Your tip on Davivienda is a very good solution for now, but I tried one of their ATMs today and didn't work.

Now Nicvel, I tried doing a cash advance in Conavi once, but the rates were huge. They didn't proceed as you described so I'm going to have to ask them about that.

Thanks for your answers so far, if you got any other ideas please let me know them.

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