Sending money cheaply/through bank

babygirl says on Feb 9, 2005, 19:45:

I email money all the time and it's almost instant. The other person just needs to be set up for internet banking though and have an email address. It costs me like $1.25 per transfer. Hope that helps.

cheers - babygirl

cheers

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Chevere33 says on Feb 9, 2005, 19:53:

Babygirl, that does help, but... could you tell me how she can do the internet banking? The last time I checked Paypal wasn't available in Colombia and I don't know what other means to use.

Or could I get an account to Bancolombia or somewhere from here?

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babygirl says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:01:

Well this is the thing. I do all of my banking here at home on my computer, eg: pay bills, order cheques etc.. But I don't know what the banks are like in Colombia though, if they even offer that option for banking services. She would have to ask her bank to see if they offer online banking services and they could tell her how to get set up. Prior to being able to send email money transfers I had an account set up that I could put money in to buy my sister had the bank card for it so we could transfer money that way. I'm really sorry I don't know more about their banking(Colombia) systems, I just thought it might be a good thing for you to find out about. Good luck.

cheers - babygirl

cheers

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babygirl says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:03:

oh by the way... It has nothing to do with Paypal. You don't even need any personal information about the person you're sending money too except their email address. They then deposit the money in to their account with the link that's provided in the email you send from your bank account. It's brilliant!

cheers - babygirl

cheers

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silviat says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:14:

Dont recommend paypal I've been living in Argentina for the last 2 years and I used to get paid throught paypal.

Anyway a while after I quit there was some weird issue between my old bosses and paypal so they (paypal) frozen all of my money and now want me to pay 2500 usd, even thought I've sent them every type of information and papers trying to show that I was just an employeee and that I did quit a long time ago.

A cousin of my fiance (lawyer) did come to visit and I told him about my issue with paypal and he refered me to a url www.nopaypal.com and told me they are used to go over peoples rights and have very bad reputation in the legal system of the US.

All of this to tell you, please if you use paypal becareful, I know its a pretty useful system but if the do think you are related to someone who owe them money, no matter if they are right or not they will take all of your money and you will never see it back (they took my 1400 usd in savings)

not very useful email but had to warn you

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Lionheart says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:34:

no more paypal for me I have had several disputes with paypay due to ebay purchases and auctions, it takes forever to get anything accomplished and not all losses were recovered. Enabling credit card payments make the situation even worse. Another situation was correcting errors on ebay; ebay was fast on charging me, but it took ebay forever to reimburse paypay, and paypal reimburse me. I have returned to money order only.

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silviat says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:53:

thats the point if paypal screws you even if you can prove it was their fault they will take for ever to correct it (if they do)

I dont recommend paypal... totally agains it... (they took my money :( :( :( )

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miamimike says on Feb 9, 2005, 22:06:

LionHart--maybe thats why Ebay is Tanking... Don't know if you follow eBay but its stock has really taken a Dive recently-like 28%. I buy and sell a few things on eBay but never use Paypal due to all the security problems I had heard about. Now the latest deal with eBay is they are raising their fees on the online stores 60% here in a week or so and other fees are going up-with no justification as to why-only that THEY could. A person mentioned eBay in colombia and paypal. I think that is an eBay clone-not really a bonified eBay affiliate and this is why-pull up eBay on the US website and you will not see eBay listed at the bottom-in other countries like Chile, Brazil, Mexico are listed. In all these countries, they actually have a physicak prescence in each country(a eBay country office) Also the "B" is capitalized in the Logo on the US Website or any of its foreign affiliates--look at Mercado Libre--a colombian affiliate and the "b" is not capitalized--also the Logo colors are different in the lettering--not a SMALL thing as far as eBay is concerned.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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dragonhf says on Feb 9, 2005, 22:07:

Other way to send money cheap Hi,
I used to send money from Sweden to Colombia. But I don´t use banktransfers. I usually use the services from Money Express, they are cheap,fast and reliable. It only take a few hours for the money to reach the person and it cost around 8dollars here in Sweden. They have offices around the whole world. Don´t use western union they are very expensive. I have the email to the office here in Sweden, maybe they can help you to find an office in US money-express at imt-monex.com Good luck.
Saludo Fai

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babygirl says on Feb 10, 2005, 06:08:

But does anybody know if these banks are equipped for online banking? Just really curious now.

cheers - babygirl

cheers

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Miamigo says on Feb 10, 2005, 06:31:

iKobo You probably want to look into iKobo, http://www.ikobo.com. You set up an account for the person in Colombia, and he or she receives an ATM card. You can then recharge that card with money whenever you want via your own U.S. bank account or credit card. There's a tranasction fee each time you fund the card, but it's a hell of a lot less than Western Union. I think there's also the usual $1.25 transaction fee per ATM withdrawal, too.

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Chevere33 says on Feb 10, 2005, 08:13:

ikobo...now that sounds like a good idea. Headed to their website right now.

Thanks for all the good tips, and looking forward to more.

Constancia

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lpdiver says on Feb 10, 2005, 10:29:

Ikobo vsWestern Union Sending $200.00 using Western Union cost $9.99

Sending $200.00 using Ikobo $5.00 plus 3% equals $11.00

"cook some rice!"

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Miamigo says on Feb 10, 2005, 11:08:

Sorry, you're wrong, lpdiver or you work for Western Union and are trying to scam people.

This is what it costs to send $200 to Colombia via Western Union:



And this is what it costs via iKobo:



Let's see, with Western Union, you pay $11 more for the transaction fee, and the exchange rate is the worst you'll find anywhere.

OWNED!!!!

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Lionheart says on Feb 10, 2005, 12:49:

WU has 2 rates I paid $22 for $100-200 in USA, but $11 to South America with WU. I think their online calculator is wrong.

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santiBOG says on Feb 10, 2005, 15:36:

miamimike I can't understand what you're saying about ebay and paypal. You're saying something about the lettering and the colors but it's not clear. Anyway, you seem to imply that eBay is not doing well. I beg to differ.

Regardless of how the stock is doing, it's the uncontested leader in e-commerce, worldwide (except Japan where they were beaten by yahoo).

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Atrevido says on Feb 10, 2005, 17:03:

Hey Miamimigo how'd you do that? Anyway I have a friend here who just got his cedula. I took him over to Conavi Bank to open a savings account and two days later he wired $100,000.00 US to his Conavi account to buy a house. At first they offered him a low exchange rate but he checked four other banks and Conavi matched the lowest (highest?). They gave him $2.350 which is about what I'm getting from ATMs. Pretty good I'd say. How it goes is this: his US bank has to transfer his funds to Conavi's account with Citibank. Citi transfers it to Conavi and he's in the clover. That's not how I did it and my ass is really sore from kicking myself.

I haven't run accross a Colombian bank that offers US style internet bill paying but I can set up automatic debit for all of my monthly energy/phone/cable/health plan bills and transferencias to most other Colombian banks so if I want to send money every month to someone who has an account with Bancolombia or Granahorar for example no problem, I can do it on my computer.

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poco says on Feb 10, 2005, 21:42:

Sending Money Open another bank account. Give the person in Colombia a "check card" good for ATMS. You can put as much or little as you want in the account. They can withdraw funds at a good exchange rate with a $3.00 fee. Not bad for a 400,000 peso withdrawal. Instant,, it does not get more instant and conveniet, especially if your bank has internet access and transfers between accounts w/o a free.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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lpdiver says on Feb 11, 2005, 09:43:

I send my mother-in-law Two hundred dollars in the middle of every month. I did take the two minutes to open an account and get a "frequent flyers" discount. I tell them my telephone number and that I want to send $200.00 US funds to be paid in Colombian funds. They give me the current exchange rate and I pay $209.99. I do this every month for the past three years. The exchange rate is comparable.

I am interested in Ikobo because it will eliminate the middle person in getting the money into Mama's hands. The slightly higher charge for the transfer ( one dollar ) would be well worth it. If it is as you claim.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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poco says on Feb 11, 2005, 14:15:

IKOBO,, Paypal,,, stay away Tried IKOBO two years ago,, worked fine the first couple of times the person used it. Then it wouldn't work,, first they said to use a specific machine at a specific bank (email). No,, that didn't work, then they said the account numbers had been changed, they were going to use another type card,, never sent the new card. Countless emails later,, with no response,, I gave up. They still have about $100 of my money.

Tried Paypal because it was "free" and I do like their payment system on ebay. Never did work overseas,, didn't try to contact them,, just threw it away.

Never had any problems with the standard VISA, Mastercard or check cards.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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YEP says on Feb 12, 2005, 10:51:

at Babygirl ..........

Have you used the way of transferring money you describe to Colombia ??

(I suspect you haven't !!)


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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YEP says on Feb 12, 2005, 10:56:

Some of you mention a Colombian kind of Ebay .....
What's the link for that site ??


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Feb 12, 2005, 11:00:

they have the eBay logo plastered all over their site. The connection might be above board. If you go to the main eBay site (USA), they link to Mercado Libre/Livre Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.



www.mercadolibre.com

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fzrdan says on Mar 3, 2005, 21:37:

Ikobo I just signed up for an Ikobo account on Monday. My novia received the card on Wednesday, in Yumbo! 2 days to Yumbo and they only charged $9.95 to deliver the card. Impressive. So far so good. I just hope I don't start having the problems poco had. I suppose there will always be unlucky folks, even with the most reliable services.

I will take my chances to save the ridiculous WU transaction fees and piss poor exchange rate. I normally experience at least a 100 peso per dollar difference in the going exchange rate versus what Western Union pays.

These are the current fees to add money to the account (from ikobo.com):
To send up to $60.00 the fee is $3.00.
To send $61.00 or more the fee is $5.00 + 3% of the amount you send.
The fee is based on the amount in USD.

To get money with the card:
ATM Withdrawal Fee $1.99
ATM Balance Inquiry Free
Declined ATM Withdrawal $.99
Point of Sale Purchase Free

Those fees work out to around $13 to send $200 (if all money was withdrawn from the ATM at same time).

Currently, Western Union's website charges $22 to send $200, and the exchange rate is only 2265 pesos/dollar. Today, the official exchange rate is 2325.

You will probably get a better exchange rate from the ATM using the Ikobo card and the fees will be less (assuming you don't take out $10 at a time). Also, even Bank of America gave me 2304 pesos/dollar when I used the ATM two weeks ago in Cali.

Western Union charges out the wazoo. I will not use them anymore unless it is an emergency. I will keep this thread alive if I have any problems with iKobo.

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dwmte says on Mar 4, 2005, 12:01:

i've had a bancolombia account... at oviedo for about 15 yrs. back when we did mfg in colombia, i transferred US $$ about twice a month...from $10,000.00 to $50,000.00 and each time it cost about $50.00 for the transfers, regardless the amount. i don't have the records--nor the money--any longer so i can't be really specific. but it was around that.

i had to transfer the funds through citi bank N.Y. and within hours they were in my account in colombia. i don't know if they have advanced the system yet in favor of the account holder...it's always been in favor of the bank. remember, each bank is earning interest for every hour the funds are in their possession.

the system probably still sucks...at least for the acct. holder. now, i just have the account, not the money. pity.

dw

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