Friendliest U.S. Bank for Colombian Travelers

ColombiaBoard says on Jul 13, 2005, 08:25:

ATMs fees They´ll always charge you high fees if you use your debit card in Colombia and elsewhere. They even charge fees if you use your card at an ATM from a different Bank. Colombian banks do the same, if you used your card in their ATMs they don´t charge a fee, if you use it at another´s Bank ATM they charge fees, same thing if you use the card abroad.
If you plan to live in Colombia why don´t you open an account with a colombian bank or better yet, an account with an american bank with offices in Colombia, for example, Citibank?

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tlop says on Jul 13, 2005, 08:33:

ATM Fees I'm sorry, but I believe you are incorrect. There are banks which allow free international withdrawals (minus what the host Colombian bank charges). U.S. Bank is one, but unfortunately, I do not live in a state in which they have a presence.

As far as why I don't just open an account with a Colombian Bank, I plan to. However, as you may know, first you need a visa...and even then, it can take some convincing of the local branch manager. So that may take a while to get up and running

As far as Citibank, thanks for the suggestion, and I will look into it.

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xochistar says on Jul 13, 2005, 09:00:

banks I've had a similar difficulty, as i've used Bank of America in the past. I ended up opening an account at a credit union (a university credit union, in my case). The credit union charges me 80 cents per international atm transaction, which is much less than many other banks charge. No Colombian bank has ever charged me a fee when i've used their atms -- which may just be luck. I've also used a Pay pal account to transfer funds between bank accounts (I have two) so that I'll always have money in the credit union account. Another option -- I've often used the cash advance feature on my American Express card. There usually isn't a transaction fee, but you're transaction is based on the exchange rate the particular office you use offers. I then pay my account balance online to avoid fees. Any, just few thoughts.

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tigredelnorte says on Jul 13, 2005, 09:01:

credit union The only fee that I get at an ATM in Colombia is the fee charged by the Colombian bank that owns the ATM. The fee is fixed, so you should withdraw the maximum allowed to receive the smallest bite from Col. bank. My bank (credit union) charges me no fee. Generally the account drawn from need to be a checking account for international transactions.

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Dan says on Jul 13, 2005, 09:42:

Bank I use SunTrust Bank. I have not noticed any odd/extra fees from my bank for withdraws. I get charged the normal $2 for ATM's other than theirs. I have heard of banks charging a $3 international charge or a percentage of the withdraw but I havn't seen anything to this effect with SunTrust.

God Bless America!

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expatriate says on Jul 13, 2005, 10:02:

Paypal A Paypal debit card is the way to go. It's only $1 for ATM transaction fees, the card is free, but you have to wait 60 days after registering at paypal.com to get the card. You can also use it to transfer money between your bank accounts.

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.

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Bruce V. Shrader says on Jul 13, 2005, 10:09:

suntrust I have been using Suntrust for several years when I go
to Colombia. I only get charged the $2.00 fee and get
a pretty good exchange rate. I also use their Internet banking
and can transfer funds from my "Big" account to the checking
account with my computer. This is (I believe) an extra layer of
security since one can only draw what is in the checking account
with the Card.

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Crazy4Cali says on Jul 13, 2005, 10:11:

Ditto on the credit union I have a credit union account and I can't recall seeing any additional fees over and above whatever el cajero automatico charges. The net exchange rate (inclusive of all ATM fees) on a withdrawl of $300,000COP made last week worked out to be about $2,338COP/USD. Considering today's posted rate is 2,325, I'd say that was a pretty good deal.

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Neonovo says on Jul 13, 2005, 12:00:

Compass Bank is what I use... I opened the acc State-Side, and gave her the ATM card; so far I haven't noticed any usurious charges...

Paz
Neonovo

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meteoro says on Jul 13, 2005, 13:00:

Try Commerce Bank in Florida. $1 per withdrawal.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 13, 2005, 15:11:

Etrade eTrade has no fees for using other banks' atms. That includes internationally.

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bufalo says on Jul 13, 2005, 16:01:

I guess I got everyone beat. I have a checking account at Sterling National Bank in New York City. I´ve withdrawn in Spain, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil....I think that´s it. I NEVER, never got charged any ATM fee by my bank, nor by the bank I used in the foreign country. We lived in Spain for almost a year, ATMing all the way. This is our third time living in Colombia and All we have/currently use is my ATM for cash. It is in the CIRRUS/STAR network.
I believe I saw someone else say they never got charged by using a STAR network card in Spain as well.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 14, 2005, 05:47:

Gator says on Jul 14, 2005, 06:32:

My Personal Experience... I use a small INDEPENDENT BANK (one that is not one of the biggies)in central Florida where I have several direct deposits made to my checking/savings accounts. I use the DEBIT card to make withdrawals from a cajero automatico (ATM). The bank charges me nothing nor does our bank in Colombia which is Conavi. Conavi, since we bank there, allows us to withdraw up to $500.000 pesos.

The exchange rate usually used by the bank is the daily rate posted in the "Wall Street Journal." Most US Credit Card Companies also use this rate for converting pesos to dollars for charges on Visa or MasterCard PLUS 3%. The bank can set any charge it wishes for the use of its card-I have heard horror stories as high as $5 USD. ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL.

You really need to make some telephone calls to determine what is best for YOU

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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flaleo says on Jul 14, 2005, 17:47:

There are three types of fees to discuss:
1. Fee charged by your bank for using another company ATM
2. Fee charged by the ATM-owner company for using their equipment
3. FX/int'l fee (for example, VISA last month instituted a 1% fee, and thus this is applied to all Plus and maybe other network usage as VISA owns those network's processing work).

1. There are plenty of US-based banks that will waive nor charge no fees when using another company's ATM machines (many are listed above). A $1 or $2 fee is not a good deal (versus $0), nor is BofA's $5 fee. BofA will waive the $5 fee if you maintain a specific customer/deposit level across accounts ($15k?) - there is a name for this status level.

2. Not many banks will waive the fees charged by the ATM owner, expect some very small independent banks. Lukcily, unlike inside the U.S. where nearly all ATM owners charge a fee for non-members (e.g. Wachovia charging you to use your BofA debit card in their machine), nearly no ATMs charge for this outside the U.S.

3. VISA is now charging 1% (not totally implemented as of yet) on all networks they manage (e.g. Plus, maybe STAR).


Thus, for ATM use, find a bank that has $0 fee for #1, only use banks that have no fee for non-member usage as in #2 (which is easy in Colombia), and watch out for the last, or #3 fee.

As an example, my BofA ATM card would charge me $5 for every overseas ATM usage, plus whatever the local bank charges me. They waive the $5 fee due to my status/deposit level, I only use Colombian banks that don't charge me for their ATMs (BanColombia or BanCafe or others), and only this month has the 1% VISA fee hit me on 2/3 of my transactions.

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BAQ says on Jul 15, 2005, 01:12:

News for all of you OK, if you are looking for an AMERICAN bank here, your choices are Citi Bank and Citi Bank. Everything else here is Colombian. One other little point of interest, Colombian banks WILL NOT allow you to open ANY TYPE of account with them until you have been here at least 6 months and even then you will be LIMITED to transfering 5k per month. The ONLY exception to this rule is having LOTS of documents showing EXACTLY HOW you obtained your money and I mean OBTAINED it, not a bank statement showing your balance is 50K. Reason being DRUG MONEY, DRUG MONEY DRUG MONEY. When I first moved here, I obtained a certificate from the U.S. EMBASSY showing my money was to be direct deposit from the Federal Reserve (Federal Pension) and the banks still told me NO. So, bring 10K in CASH to exchange as you need it and plan on having someone in the states send you a specific amount each month via western union, and even the, western union places a limit on the amount that can be sent to you. Also, it won;t do any good trying to send it to a colombian friend, Colombian citizens are limited to receiving I believe 15k a year from out of country. I know it sucks, but there is nothing you are going to be able to do about it.

Semper Fidelis !

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 15, 2005, 05:31:

2retirensa says on Jul 15, 2005, 06:05:

There goes my freebies!! Regions ATM card is Visa, I last used it in May and had no transaction fee. Now I will- another 1% gone! It now matches the 1% transaction fee of Citi Bank (mastercard logo). I need to start searching all over again for no transaction fees. This sucks!! (STRONG language for me!)
You need to keep abreast of these things before you go, as these fees change quickly, and I find it more difficult to find no fee transactions every time I look. Regions has not notified me of the transaction fee yet- you will learn more, and more quickly, here on PBH than waiting for your bank to tell you.
Maureen

PS BOA free atm withdrawals are for Advantage customers. Combined total invested can include mortgage, money market, IRA etc. All banks I found had a level of free withdrawals if you meet their minimun requirements. Problem is, most people can't meet minimum requirements in to many banks at once!

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rjstuff says on Jul 15, 2005, 13:39:

My bank beats your bank! I got the best deal like crazy - my bank gave me approx. 2300 rate for all my ATM withdrawals and no charge for using ATMs (as long as I stayed with the minibank or plus system - which were everywhere.) I made about a dozen withdrawals and got great rates and no charges through the ATM - I also cashed some dollars at a bank and got screwed royally! They gave me a rate of 2000 - basically charging me 15% - almost a highway robbery! From now on ATMs only and nothing but ATMs for me. (I had better experience in Costa Rica and Europe where I got no charge for ATMS and great rates from banks for converting dollars as well as travellers checks (I didn't even try traveller checks in Colombia after seeing the banks rip off.)

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 15, 2005, 15:43:

rjstuff says on Jul 15, 2005, 17:20:

tomtom is right but thats just technically right - the fact is because of my banks charge structures and their agreements with other banks and banking systems etc that's the rate I received in the end - 2300. So whether it was because of the thiefs ... er Colombian banks or the plus system or my bank - I got the better deal regardless of who sets the rates ... at the other end of the same coin when I walked into the Colombian bank and gave them the dollar bills the thiefs gave me a lower rate! Why would a dollar in the hand of the bank be valued lower than a dollar in an ATM transaction? There's something intrinsically suspicious about the workings of Colombian banks.

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silviat says on Jul 15, 2005, 23:05:

avoid paypal! I had a very bad experience with paypal where they frozen 1500 usd from my account because some of my co-workers had a big debt so they related the accounts. I heard they dont respect the credit card holders rigths or something like it.

After that I found www.paypalsucks.com and saw how many other personas have get screwed by this company.

Yes it charges you low rates but I dont really think it worths the risk

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DonkeyDust says on Jul 15, 2005, 23:43:

Atm is electroic and doesnt take much work or any. As I see it Using dollar bills in another country means they have to handel them, store them and eventually convert them back to pesos.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Life is too short for Trainspotting!

Latitudes attitudes & platitudes.

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rjstuff says on Jul 16, 2005, 08:09:

That's interesting You may be right Donkey but I think the surety of having currency in hand as opposed to a possible fraudulent electronic transaction through the ATM should count for something - at a minimum it should be considered the same as they do in Europe and some other countries. And what about when you buy Dollars from the banks - I am sure that they don't give you a dollar for 2000 pesos - probably more like they will charge you 2500 or 2600 pesos knowing what big thieves they are. ( I will try and find out how much they charge for buying dollars from them.) Also, what about the costs of storing, securing and distributing pesos??? Doesn't that cost them similar amounts also - I find the arguement weak even if it may be true.

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terco panzone says on Jul 16, 2005, 12:36:

Atm's are pretty reliable, at least in my experience...

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terco panzone says on Jul 16, 2005, 12:38:

and "currency in hand" isn't necessarily secure...

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rjstuff says on Jul 17, 2005, 12:45:

Huh! What do you think is secure then? A bank receiving a dollar or a peso - they should be both pretty good (or secure in my mind) as opposed to a possible fraudulent transaction through the ATM. How do you define one more secure than the other unless you think they are all insecure becuase fraud can happen with everything? And then we all become subject to statistics of one against the other! jejeje

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 17, 2005, 13:42:

I'll explain RJstuff, what they mean is it's safer to take out relatively small amounts as needed from ATMs than it is to roll into Colombia with a fat wad US cash assuming nobody will steal it from you.

Also, the exchange rates are much better electronically and you don't have to deal with the monotony of people inspecting EVERY bill you give them because Colombia is the global capital of counterfeiting.

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Gator says on Jul 17, 2005, 13:48:

What the Hell... if you don't want to take advice and think you will be ripped off off just stuff it in your pocket and take out as needed.

Otherwise an ATM

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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rjstuff says on Jul 17, 2005, 18:06:

Mr. Hollywood and Gator That's exactly what I have said here and in other posts. In addition I have raised the point that the banks are unreasonable for charging extra to convert cash because techinically the bank receiving the money (dollars) has it in hand while the ATM transaction may end up being fraudulent. That was my point. I have been preaching the use of ATM because of the unequal treatment given to cash by Colombian banks.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 17, 2005, 18:14:

oops, got confused RJstuff, Sorry, I mixed you up with the guy saying he wanted to bring cash $$ because it was more safe.

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bogota says on Jul 17, 2005, 20:25:

CitiBank Part with $1.50 per transaction and use CitiBank, they are world wide (but independant) and you will receive a good exchange rate, excellent online banking and great customer service. Tie a Citibank AA Advantage credit card to make all your purchases with and receive AA miles, then make a online money tranfer to pay your credit card.

If paying a small fee for a service offends anyone, you can open up an account at E* Trade Bank and not pay any ATM fees, however the customer service, posting, and online banking system is not as good as CitiBank.

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flaleo says on Jul 19, 2005, 06:22:

How can you say Citi charges a good FX rate? The bury fees in their FX rate. I haven't done a hands-on study in Colombia, but I've read a very scientifically performed study that showed Citi not only charges hidden fees but also transaction fees for ATM use (in their ATMs and in others') in other countries (like Brasil) where Citi operates.

And paying a 'small' fee (like $1.50) isn't small when you pay it 10 times/week. Even a dollar 10 times/week is over $500/yr.

Do you have experience with E*Trade offering a money market with ATM that caries no fees and doesn't put a hidden fee in their FX?

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