I travel internationally frequently. The lucrative signs in the airport that say "Currency Exchange" and I love the "no commission." Do yourself a favor - kindly walk by them and forget them. Instead of using this, please use an ATM in the country you are going. Never, ever, ever exchange money unless you are in a very unique situation - I can't think of any situation other than life and death. You will get a horrible exchange rate, pay hidden and inflated fees and walk away screwed.
What about MoneyGram and Western Union? These are valid options in Brazil but with these services you pay a send fee which really isn't justifiable unless you are sending a large sum of money at which point you will possibly be signing documents, answering questions and paying more taxes when you receive it in Brazil.
What about International Wire through my bank? Avoid like the plague. I have never sent an international wire and never will. Not only is it a complicated process in which you could easily make a mistake the fees are outrageous. Simply put do not do it.
What is the best way to withdrawal money in Brazil? At an ATM. But go before 6:00PM local time or risk a R$100,00 limit. That said, I have never used any other method to get my money other than an ATM. You skip the banker, and do it yourself thus avoiding forms and questions. Most US bank accounts have a daily ATM withdrawal limit of anywhere between $300 - $1000USD. Most Brazilian banks only allow R$1.000,00 to be withdrawn per card per day. So if you have two accounts you could easily transfer money into two accounts and get up to R$2.000,00 per day. The currency exchange rate is real, not inflated and you can rest assured you are not getting screwed. Avoid ATMs at the airport, grocery stores, etc. as these often charge a fee of R12,00. If you go to the bank and use the ATM there you are good to go. Keep in mind your US bank will most likely charge a fee for the withdrawal so minimize your withdrawals by making larger withdrawals.
Finally, never close your account back at home. You will lose the ability to shop online at stores in the United States using the US Dollar. You will also subject yourself to Brazilian banking which is hardly peace of mind.
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteOne important point that I'd like to make is that banks in Brazil, none of them with a few notable exceptions, will accept a foreign check. Even the ones that will accept only certain kinds of checks (usually goernment checks or from major institutions). Personal checks are virtually worthless here. I'm not sure, but I think even Traveller's Check are too.
There are a few currency exchanges (very few) that deal with foreign checks, I'm finding this out the hard way. It is becoming more and more difficult to cash my Canadian pension check each passing month. Now I've got to try and buck the odds and see if I can open a Canadian bank account without going back home to do so, just so I can get my pension depoisited and be able to withdraw it through an ATM here.
Right now, it's costing me R$125 per month just in bus fares to Rio and back plus around R$150 or more that I lose on the transaction itself due to conversion and taxes. If you're planning to retire to Brazil make sure you've got a bank account back home (HSBC is a good option since they operate here and this allows you access to more ATMs than most other banks would).
Thanks for the feedback. I haven't used a travelers check since my first trip to Europe which was a long time ago. And even with those your at the mercy of the broker who accepts it and exchanges it unless it is in the currency of the country you are in. I agree, keep your bank account back home at all costs! You may need several trips to an ATM to get your money but in the end it will be cheaper with less running around. I am not surprised Brazil does not take personal checks - though I never tried.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing good and helpful article with us. This is very helpful for me.
ReplyDeleteMoney transfer
ATM's are fine, I use them all the time, but preferably not the Banco do Brasil ones. One year ago I had problems with transactions that resulted in debits to my account but no money dispensed by the machine, all eventually straightened out by my U.S. bank after hours spent on the phone. I was not theonly one, read more about it in Gringoes.com.
ReplyDelete