Proceeding abroad? Watch out—abroad can be dangerous! That’s how your own bank feels, at any rate. For U. S. -based banking institutions, capping ATM and teller withdrawals, as well as point-of-sale buys, is standard practice regardless of where you are. But banks take that practice to a whole ‘nother (potentially criminally liable) level once you leave home, and especially if you travel abroad.
A good example from my personal life (and no, I’m not likely to say who I bank with): When I’m in the actual States, I’m not actually sure what my daily withdrawal restrict from an ATM is—though I’ve had to take out large chunks of cash every now and then, nearly wiping myself out (to buy a car, with regard to example), I’ve never hit that magic number, I speculate. I can tell you pretty definitively what my limit is when I’m not in the usa, though. It’s $300 per day.
Now, don’t get me personally wrong, please; $300 is a fair bit of cash. But it’s not exactly all that much, in particular circumstances. For instance, when my computer died the additional day, I (looking to get the best deal) visited a locally owned store instead of a massive electronics-mart. Within France, though, small businesses often taken only a special type of bank card: the carte bleue. If you haven’t obtained one, then cash is your only option. (They do that, by the way, to avoid being hit by the massive fees that credit card issuers charge them per transaction, fees that allow the credit companies to provide you points and miles. Just remember, the next time you earn miles in your card, chances are you’re screwing a small business proprietor. But that’s another article... )
So, off I visited the ATM. And then to the next ATM. And also the next, and the next. What was going on? Why couldn’t I remove my money? After taking out about 200 Euros (at the present exchange rate, just shy of 300 USD) from the very first ATM, I wasn’t able to get anything more from that or any others. Imagine my frustration!
Now, if this were in which the story ends, we’d really all have to agree that my unhappiness was virtually my own fault. After all, everyone knows that banking institutions put limits on ATM withdrawals. They have to, to protect themselves when your card gets stolen and someone runs around taking out all your money (this wasn’t credit cards, mind you—just my normal bank card). If they didn’t, since they’re accountable for that money, they’d go out of business in brief order!
Like I said, if this were where the actual story ended, there wouldn’t be much of a story inside it. But it’s not. I called my bank and spoke for some time with a friendly representative who genuinely wanted to assist but couldn’t. That is to say, she simply could not allow me access to a lot more than 300 dollars of my money—not just from one ATM previously, but from all ATM transactions combined throughout the span of a day. Yes, she was sorry, but she couldn't allow me any more access. The fact that I was facing a deadline and in desperate need of a pc that, at that point in the evening, I could only buy in a store that only accepted cash? Well, it aroused the woman's sympathy, but didn’t change things any. Eventually, I had the opportunity to speak with her supervisor. After a pleasant but irritating discussion, in which I suggested that (though I’m not individually into that whole scene) the bank’s policy of not changing this limit was absolutely ripe for any lawsuit, this bank representative softened a little.
Yes, she could raise my withdrawal limit—but only as much as 500 dollars. That is to say, again, I could only remove 500 U. S. dollars of the money that I'd worked for and entrusted to my bank for safekeeping. It didn’t matter it was my money and not credit. It didn’t matter that I had been on the phone for over 30 minutes (a fair portion of the time on my personal dime, calling the U. S. from a cell telephone in France). And it didn’t matter that not having the ability to buy the computer that night would quite literally avoid me from practicing my livelihood, and could actually damage my earning power (because should you don’t accomplish certain freelance contracts on time, people stop attempting to hire you). The bank had a policy: no a lot more than 500 USD per day for total foreign ATM withdrawals. Regardless of what.
So, why am I telling you this? Just in order to vent? Well, sure—that too. But, mainly, I’m telling you this in the event you should find yourself heading to that dangerous place, overseas. If you do, beware and take good care. Probably the most dangerous thing about "abroad" may be your own financial institution.
A good example from my personal life (and no, I’m not likely to say who I bank with): When I’m in the actual States, I’m not actually sure what my daily withdrawal restrict from an ATM is—though I’ve had to take out large chunks of cash every now and then, nearly wiping myself out (to buy a car, with regard to example), I’ve never hit that magic number, I speculate. I can tell you pretty definitively what my limit is when I’m not in the usa, though. It’s $300 per day.
Now, don’t get me personally wrong, please; $300 is a fair bit of cash. But it’s not exactly all that much, in particular circumstances. For instance, when my computer died the additional day, I (looking to get the best deal) visited a locally owned store instead of a massive electronics-mart. Within France, though, small businesses often taken only a special type of bank card: the carte bleue. If you haven’t obtained one, then cash is your only option. (They do that, by the way, to avoid being hit by the massive fees that credit card issuers charge them per transaction, fees that allow the credit companies to provide you points and miles. Just remember, the next time you earn miles in your card, chances are you’re screwing a small business proprietor. But that’s another article... )
So, off I visited the ATM. And then to the next ATM. And also the next, and the next. What was going on? Why couldn’t I remove my money? After taking out about 200 Euros (at the present exchange rate, just shy of 300 USD) from the very first ATM, I wasn’t able to get anything more from that or any others. Imagine my frustration!
Now, if this were in which the story ends, we’d really all have to agree that my unhappiness was virtually my own fault. After all, everyone knows that banking institutions put limits on ATM withdrawals. They have to, to protect themselves when your card gets stolen and someone runs around taking out all your money (this wasn’t credit cards, mind you—just my normal bank card). If they didn’t, since they’re accountable for that money, they’d go out of business in brief order!
Like I said, if this were where the actual story ended, there wouldn’t be much of a story inside it. But it’s not. I called my bank and spoke for some time with a friendly representative who genuinely wanted to assist but couldn’t. That is to say, she simply could not allow me access to a lot more than 300 dollars of my money—not just from one ATM previously, but from all ATM transactions combined throughout the span of a day. Yes, she was sorry, but she couldn't allow me any more access. The fact that I was facing a deadline and in desperate need of a pc that, at that point in the evening, I could only buy in a store that only accepted cash? Well, it aroused the woman's sympathy, but didn’t change things any. Eventually, I had the opportunity to speak with her supervisor. After a pleasant but irritating discussion, in which I suggested that (though I’m not individually into that whole scene) the bank’s policy of not changing this limit was absolutely ripe for any lawsuit, this bank representative softened a little.
Yes, she could raise my withdrawal limit—but only as much as 500 dollars. That is to say, again, I could only remove 500 U. S. dollars of the money that I'd worked for and entrusted to my bank for safekeeping. It didn’t matter it was my money and not credit. It didn’t matter that I had been on the phone for over 30 minutes (a fair portion of the time on my personal dime, calling the U. S. from a cell telephone in France). And it didn’t matter that not having the ability to buy the computer that night would quite literally avoid me from practicing my livelihood, and could actually damage my earning power (because should you don’t accomplish certain freelance contracts on time, people stop attempting to hire you). The bank had a policy: no a lot more than 500 USD per day for total foreign ATM withdrawals. Regardless of what.
So, why am I telling you this? Just in order to vent? Well, sure—that too. But, mainly, I’m telling you this in the event you should find yourself heading to that dangerous place, overseas. If you do, beware and take good care. Probably the most dangerous thing about "abroad" may be your own financial institution.