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Banking

$69 in Bank Fees – Refunded?

by Keith on February 18, 2010 · 3 comments

ATM Siagon

When was the last time your bank deposited ATM fees into your account?  If you bank with PNC you probably already know that PNC refunds all ATM fees incurred when withdrawing cash from another bank’s machine.  While this is a nice benefit when I am at home and a PNC ATM is not nearby, it amounted to no more than a $3-5 refund each month.  However, last month PNC refunded $69 in international ATM fees to our account.  This excellent customer service is in stark contrast to our extremely frustrating experience of banking with TD Bank, as Amy documented here.

ATM fees can be a major monthly expense that is largely unavoidable when traveling for extended periods.   You simply cannot safely carry enough cash to avoid having to use foreign ATMs regularly.  There are two drawbacks that come with nearly all foreign ATMs.  First is the withdrawal limits.  In many countries the amount of local currency you can withdraw in a single transaction is relatively small.   For example, in Vietnam many ATMs have a 2,000,000 Dong ($107) limit per transaction.  The reason this withdrawal limit is a problem is the second drawback: transaction fees.  The fees associated with withdrawing that $107 are $3.50, or 3.2% of the transaction.  And when viewed as a single transaction that does not seem to be such an onerous fee, but compound that by the fact that nearly all of our transactions while traveling are done in cash[1].   Over the course of a year this would effectively make our trip 3-4% more expensive.  ATM fees are not something I am willing to spend our hard earned money on.

Here are my banking tips for international travelers:

  1. Get a Capital One MasterCard to avoid international transaction fees
  2. Ensure you have a trusted family member or friend sign your bank’s POA (Power of Attorney) form, versus relying a general form POA.
  3. Finally, open a PNC checking account for the cash you’ll need to withdraw from foreign ATMs, avoiding substantial transaction fees.

Did I miss any other invaluable tips?  If so, be sure to let me know in the comments below.

[1] When credit cards are able to be used for transactions there is often a surcharge of 3-4% added to the price to cover the amount the credit card companies take out when they reimburse the merchants.

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Travel Challenges: Banking While Abroad

by Amy on December 18, 2009 · 4 comments

We thought we were well prepared.  More than well prepared.  I’s were dotted and T’s crossed.  We had figured out health insurance – domestic and foreign coverage.  The ink was dry on our lease and management agreement for the rental of our condominium.  Our wills were prepared and deposited in our newly opened safe deposit box at the bank, with my mother back home signed up as our agent and in possession of a copy of the key.  Power-of-attorney (POA) documents were drafted, executed and distributed.  Banks and credit card companies were notified of our impending travels and our records noted with requests not to freeze our accounts for unusual activity abroad.  Title to our car was signed and notarized for transfer.  We even prepared a sealed doomsday document with all of our electronic account information and passwords, just in case.  A bit excessive perhaps, but the Eagle Scout and lawyer in us thought it better to be safe than sorry.

Turns out that these preparations were not excessive enough.

A stack of legal documents inches thick giving someone back home access to your accounts isn’t much use when it comes to banks and health insurance companies that refuse to accept them.  Twice my mother has tried to utilize the financial and health care POA documents that we had our estates attorney prepare last summer before we left.  Twice those institutions came back requiring us to complete their own paperwork in addition to the legally binding and valid POA.

With our health insurance company, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, they at least sent us one form that hopefully, when it arrives in the States a month from now (international mail is not exactly swift), will give my mom the ability to do all of things that she should be able to do now based on the POA – access health information on my behalf, pay bills, etc.

TD Bank has been another story…

In addition to freezing our bank account nearly every time we enter a new country (and imposing a $65/day ATM withdrawal limit in Thailand – which is a cheap country, but not that cheap!), we have spent nearly a month getting the runaround on trying to send a wire transfer either from abroad or having my mom do it via her POA.  It went something like this:

Call customer service.  Be informed that we have to write a letter of explanation.  Email and scanned copies are not acceptable. Prepare letter. Print letter. Fax letter. Await response. Await response. Await response.  Call customer service. Be informed that there is no record of said letter, and that we need to call our local branch. (Use social media to vent frustration about the ineptitude of TD Bank customer service). Call local branch. Be told we must physically be present in the branch for them to be of any assistance.  Send mom to local branch. Be informed that we have to write another letter.  Prepare letter. Print letter. Fax letter. Have lawyer call TD Bank to follow up on letter. Await response. Await response. Have local TD Bank branch manager inform lawyer that everything is worked out and the POA will be respected as valid.  Have same local TD Bank branch manager inform my mom that POA will not be respected as valid.  Be informed that we need to fill out yet another form. (Immediately withdraw large chunk of money from TD Bank and transfer to a bank that seems to actually know what they are doing.) Print form. Fax form. Await response.  Await response…

While I suspect that eventually TD Bank would have to accept the POA as is and without any additional forms (the non-litigator lawyer in me thinks that there must be some kind of court-based legal action that could be taken to enforce the POA, no?), I can’t imagine the stress of being in this situation when there is an emergency need to access our accounts or if Keith and I were incapacitated.

Word to the wise: if you will be traveling abroad for an extended period of time, be sure to get and sign all of the required forms from all of the various institutions you interact with before you go.  It might be a pain to have to go to all of your various banks/insurance companies, but it’s better than wandering around looking for a fax machine when you should be on the beach. Oh, and don’t use TD Bank.

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