Money Matters

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Introduction

Hong Kong - Assorted 20HKD notes

© All Rights Reserved Gelli

What's the best way to carry my money? How do I get local currency?

This page is not about exchange rates, but rather to illustrate how travellers deal with money matters. If you are looking for current exchange rates, check out these popular currency conversion sites:

• Oanda
• XE

Carrying Money

Some tips for keeping your money safe when travelling:

• Carry money in multiple places to deter thieves. This could include hiding money in your luggage or having a money belt.
• Never access a money belt in public.
• You can carry a false wallet to give to muggers.
• Carry small denominations of local currency in your front pants or shirt pockets for easy access for small purchases.

Getting Local Currency

Exchanging Money

International currency can be exchanged for local currency at a number of places, including banks, exchange bureaus and the "black market." Banks generally give the best exchanges rates. Black market exchanges can have good rates, but the chances of being taken advantage of, either with counterfeit bills or poor exchange rates is high.

Automated Teller Machines

As Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) proliferate around the world, withdrawing money using debit cards is becoming more popular. Using a debit card at an international ATMs often offers better exchange rates than most money exchanges. Unless you have an account or bank plan that explicitly indicates no international banking fees, however, most international withdrawals will have an international ATM network fee assessed.

Travellers should ensure that they have a minimum 4-digit PIN for all cards, as some countries will not accept PIN of less numbers. See individual country entries for information on money for details regarding specific countries.

Money can be withdrawn from ATMs using credit cards, however costs are usually high and interest generally starts accruing immediately.

There are two main interbank ATM networks, PLUS and CIRRUS. PLUS (also known as Visa PLUS) is an interbank network that covers all VISA credit, debit, and prepaid cards, as well as ATM cards issued by various banks worldwide. CIRRUS links MasterCard, Maestro, Diners Club credit, debit and prepaid cards.

Use the following ATM locators to check the availability of ATMs at the places you are travelling to.

• Mastercard/Cirrus ATM locator
• Visa/PLUS ATM locator

Credit and Debit Cards

Credit cards provide an exchange rate better than debit cards, and allows a traveller to delay payment. However, credit cards are not always accepted, especially in smaller locations.

Many banks have a default block on overseas withdrawal and transaction. Before leaving home, travellers should inform their banks of their travel plans to ensure uninterrupted use of the card whilst travelling.

Make a copy of of credit card number, and the contact information for lost and stolen cards, and keep separate from your credit and debit cards.

Money can be withdrawn from ATMs using credit cards, however costs are usually high and interest generally starts accruing immediately.

Prepare a list of telephone numbers (which can be dialled from overseas, not those 0800 or 1800 numbers) of your card issuers in case of emergency. For credit cards, MasterCard and Visa provide local toll-free contact numbers worldwide:

• MasterCard Emergency Numbers
• Visa Lost Card Toll-free Numbers

Traveller's Cheques

A traveller's cheque (also travellers cheque, traveler's cheque, or travelers cheque) is a preprinted, fixed-amount cheque. The two biggest traveller's cheque issuers are American Express and Thomas Cook. In the event that a traveller's cheque is lost or stolen, they can be replaced if the owner still has the receipt, issued together with the purchase of the cheque. Traveller's cheques should be obtained in a variety of small and large denominations.

To make replacement easy, record the numbers of all your cheques. Keep this listing and the purchase receipt separate from your cheques, and keep track of what cheques you have cashed.

On-line Banking

On-line banking on a public computer is fraught with risk. Your login details can easily be intercepted with a keylogger, and also more sophisticated authentication methods (which require a one-time code that you can only generate with your debit card, for instance) can be circumvented.

Having your own laptop with you provides a much greater level of security and is an acceptable way around this.

If you have a phone or an iPod with an internet connection, that would also be vastly preferred over a public computer.

At the most basic level, always ensure that the bank's site is protected by SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology. The browser will show a lock icon in the address bar or in the status bar to indicate whether this is the case. Of course, any bank worth its salt will have this functionality.

And a final note of caution is to always ensure no-one can be looking over your shoulder while you are entering your critical information.

Travel Bank Account

If you travel for a longer time, it may be a good idea to set up a secondary bank account to cover your travel expenses. Besides helping you to keep your financial affairs organised, it has an added security benefit: if you separate your travel expenses from the rest of your money, any card abuse will only affect the former and not the latter.

All you need is someone trustworthy back home, whom you can ask to transfer funds (preferably small portions at a time) from your regular account to your travel account as needed. You don't make any transactions to or from your regular account while travelling, nor take with you any cards relating to the account. That way, you avoid all security hazards connected to public internet places, card theft, etc. And, if something happens you would only lose a small amount of your money, plus you can freeze the entire account without it creating all sorts of practical problems with periodical bills you need to pay back home.