ATM vs Debit; Intn'l Banks

Hello Echo

It mostly relates to Cebu City but you can read my article on using ATM's in
the Philippines he
http://bigjimsphilippinesexperience.com/blog/?p=32


Regards: Jim Sibbick




"echo" wrote in message
...
Planning on traveling to Thailand,Philippines and also Central America.
Then I will settle in one of the cities, with BKK and major city in
Philippines on on the list.

Need advice on how to make funds currently in USA major bank available
to me in these cities. Which is better ATM or Debit card? Thinking I
need a good international bank with branches in both USA and various
overseas cities. Or is it better to stick with a local in country bank?

Need your advice on which international banks if any are any good,
preferably one that has a branch in the USA also. Any help?

echo wrote:
Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

actually, your question is so dumb that it's hard to know what you're
asking... any major thai bank's atms will cough up money from your
american account... if you're going to settle, say, in bangkok and live
on the money in that account, why would you need a local account?


michael

echo wrote:
Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I don't know about banks other than thai banks but they
are as good and any other bank, you get a visa ATM
card. And most will not open a checking account unless
you start a business. You can get a international bank
account through Barclays, HSBC Bank International in the
Channel islands, (in Jersey is probably best, they don't
like those from the USA) Wells Fargo in the USA, and
of course a swiss bank account through an online service.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...+account&meta=




"Big Jim" wrote in
:

Hello Echo

It mostly relates to Cebu City but you can read my article on using
ATM's in the Philippines he
http://bigjimsphilippinesexperience.com/blog/?p=32


Regards: Jim Sibbick




"echo" wrote in message
...
Planning on traveling to Thailand,Philippines and also Central
America. Then I will settle in one of the cities, with BKK and major
city in Philippines on on the list.

Need advice on how to make funds currently in USA major bank
available to me in these cities. Which is better ATM or Debit card?
Thinking I need a good international bank with branches in both USA
and various overseas cities. Or is it better to stick with a local in
country bank?

Need your advice on which international banks if any are any good,
preferably one that has a branch in the USA also. Any help?

" echo wrote:
Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

actually, your question is so dumb that it's hard to know what you're
asking... any major thai bank's atms will cough up money from your
american account... if you're going to settle, say, in bangkok and live on
the money in that account, why would you need a local account?


michael

I don't know about him, but I have a local bank simply to be able to deposit
checks, cash checks, get money orders, get foreign currency without a
surcharge. Then, I transfer the funds from the local bank to my primary bank
in another city. That way, I am not always mailing off checks to the primary
bank. I just do the transfers on-line.

Pat in TX

echo wrote:
wrote in
oups.com:


echo wrote:
Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I don't know about banks other than thai banks but they
are as good and any other bank, you get a visa ATM
card. And most will not open a checking account unless
you start a business. You can get a international bank
account through Barclays, HSBC Bank International in the
Channel islands, (in Jersey is probably best, they don't
like those from the USA) Wells Fargo in the USA, and
of course a swiss bank account through an online service.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...+account&meta=

Thanks for the additional reply, flyaway,

My first contacts with HSBC has shown they do not value customer
service and/or their customer service people are morons.

That seems to be the norm in Banking, it seems they get their
workers from the local menatlly retarded center, like in internal
mail rooms have.


Don't know about Wells Fargo, but they have not answered my email yet.
There's also B. of A. but don't know if they are any good as far as
service goes, probably not.

Not familiar with Barclays; what do you mean "through Barclays"?

I could not get Barclay to answer if they allow those from
the USA to open an account or not, in the last email answered,
they said in effect if you "live" in the USA we canot open an
account for you. I kept asking like 5 times to every department
and added to that complaints about every deparment for not
answering my question and no further emails were recieved.
So I gave up. ("through Barclays" or another bank)


I think there are still some countries banks that offer real
privacy,(are these also in Jersey?) not subject to USA snooping,

Yes. But they will not say if they allow those from the
USA who live as an expat.

but do
not know if they have presences in Phil. or Thailand, probably not.
Swiss Banks are no longer private, nor secure since they are subject to
attachment at the whims of the US gov. from my understanding.

That is not true, they still have privacy laws on accounts, period,
as well as telling how much you have in an account, and
it is not against the law to tax evade in Switzerland. However
no longer will they keep this information private if there is
suspected illegal activity as money laundering for drug dealers.
Tax evasion is not against the law, therefore that is no reason
they will give out your information. One more however, if the
USA does find out you have evaded taxes they will extradite
you. In that case you better be in a country, as Belize, that
has no extradition treaty.

Privacy is
not absolutely necessary, but good customer service is and that is hard
to find in a big international bank, my guess. Have just started
researcing this whole subject so eventually I will find an answer.

Can't help you, good customer service and banking is a
non-sequitur. If you do get a swiss bank account ask
first do they have an ATM card. Surprisingly some have
no ATM cards nor debit cards, so the only way to get
your money out is to hope you get a credit card, and
then use that as a ATM card and transfer funds from
your account.






"Big Jim" wrote in
:

Hello Echo

It mostly relates to Cebu City but you can read my article on using
ATM's in the Philippines he
http://bigjimsphilippinesexperience.com/blog/?p=32


Regards: Jim Sibbick




"echo" wrote in message
...
Planning on traveling to Thailand,Philippines and also Central
America. Then I will settle in one of the cities, with BKK and
major city in Philippines on on the list.

Need advice on how to make funds currently in USA major bank
available to me in these cities. Which is better ATM or Debit
card? Thinking I need a good international bank with branches in
both USA and various overseas cities. Or is it better to stick
with a local in country bank?

Need your advice on which international banks if any are any good,
preferably one that has a branch in the USA also. Any help?

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:47:13 +0000 (UTC), echo wrote:

Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I have had accounts with HSBC in several countries for many years, and
have been happy with their service in both the Philippines and
Thailand.

My main source of income is credited to another account I have with
them offshore in the Channel Islands, and any transfers they do for me
from there to my other HSBC accounts elsewhere in the world are free
of charge. Also, it normally only takes a couple of hours for the
money to arrive in my overseas account.

Chris


"Big Jim" wrote in
:

Hello Echo

It mostly relates to Cebu City but you can read my article on using
ATM's in the Philippines he
http://bigjimsphilippinesexperience.com/blog/?p=32


Regards: Jim Sibbick




"echo" wrote in message
...
Planning on traveling to Thailand,Philippines and also Central
America. Then I will settle in one of the cities, with BKK and major
city in Philippines on on the list.

Need advice on how to make funds currently in USA major bank
available to me in these cities. Which is better ATM or Debit card?
Thinking I need a good international bank with branches in both USA
and various overseas cities. Or is it better to stick with a local in
country bank?

Need your advice on which international banks if any are any good,
preferably one that has a branch in the USA also. Any help?

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:47:13 +0000 (UTC), echo wrote:

Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I have had accounts with HSBC in several countries for many years, and
have been happy with their service in both the Philippines and
Thailand.

My main source of income is credited to another account I have with
them offshore in the Channel Islands, and any transfers they do for me
from there to my other HSBC accounts elsewhere in the world are free
of charge. Also, it normally only takes a couple of hours for the
money to arrive in my overseas account.

Chris

Interesting. I have an HSBC account in the UK (mainland) with offshore
status (they may not issue new accounts like this any more, I think now
offshores must be in the Channel Island or IOM).
I cannot make overseas transfers from this account via the internet as the
account data fields are fixed to the lengths of UK accounts (8 digits?) and
sort codes etc.I therefore have another account with a different bank in IOM
which allows overseas transfers via the net.
I also have HSBC in Indonesia. Sounds like I would be better off moving my
UK HSBC to the Channels islands if intenational transfers can be done over
the net and are free. But it is a shame as now I can go into the HSBC branch
from time to time when I am in the UK, which can be useful; I would not want
to pop over to Jersey just to sign some form.

I have had the Indonesian account for over 10 years, the UK one for about 20
years. In general I find HSBC gives good service though sometimes they are
too expensive, e.g. their foreign exchange rates in Indonesia are terrible,
so I take money out in cash and change it in a money changer or local bank.


*** Free account sponsored by SecureIX.com ***
*** Encrypt your Internet usage with a free VPN account from http://www.SecureIX.com ***

Chris Blunt wrote:
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:47:13 +0000 (UTC), echo wrote:

Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I have had accounts with HSBC in several countries for many years, and
have been happy with their service in both the Philippines and
Thailand.

My main source of income is credited to another account I have with
them offshore in the Channel Islands, and any transfers they do for me
from there to my other HSBC accounts elsewhere in the world are free
of charge. Also, it normally only takes a couple of hours for the
money to arrive in my overseas account.

Like RAK I find this interesting, because I went into an office
in Australia and the HSBC told me you must transfer $6000
at a time, and there would be a fee. And you did not say it was
an internet transfer, so I doubt you meant that. And of course
you are not from the USA (I don't think) so you do not have the
restrictions on you as would one from the USA, and the reason
the Channel Island banks seem unwilling to open accounts to
Americans. (Because of the stock exchange rules and the
IRS (yes just like the ones in Ireland) in the USA.)

The only branches for HSBC are only in Bangkok (that I know
of) so if you go anywhere else that won't work.




Chris


"Big Jim" wrote in
:

Hello Echo

It mostly relates to Cebu City but you can read my article on using
ATM's in the Philippines he
http://bigjimsphilippinesexperience.com/blog/?p=32


Regards: Jim Sibbick




"echo" wrote in message
...
Planning on traveling to Thailand,Philippines and also Central
America. Then I will settle in one of the cities, with BKK and major
city in Philippines on on the list.

Need advice on how to make funds currently in USA major bank
available to me in these cities. Which is better ATM or Debit card?
Thinking I need a good international bank with branches in both USA
and various overseas cities. Or is it better to stick with a local in
country bank?

Need your advice on which international banks if any are any good,
preferably one that has a branch in the USA also. Any help?

On Sat, 1 Apr 2006 11:50:04 +0700, "RAK" wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:47:13 +0000 (UTC), echo wrote:

Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I have had accounts with HSBC in several countries for many years, and
have been happy with their service in both the Philippines and
Thailand.

My main source of income is credited to another account I have with
them offshore in the Channel Islands, and any transfers they do for me
from there to my other HSBC accounts elsewhere in the world are free
of charge. Also, it normally only takes a couple of hours for the
money to arrive in my overseas account.

Chris

Interesting. I have an HSBC account in the UK (mainland) with offshore
status (they may not issue new accounts like this any more, I think now
offshores must be in the Channel Island or IOM).
I cannot make overseas transfers from this account via the internet as the
account data fields are fixed to the lengths of UK accounts (8 digits?) and
sort codes etc.I therefore have another account with a different bank in IOM
which allows overseas transfers via the net.
I also have HSBC in Indonesia. Sounds like I would be better off moving my
UK HSBC to the Channels islands if intenational transfers can be done over
the net and are free. But it is a shame as now I can go into the HSBC branch
from time to time when I am in the UK, which can be useful; I would not want
to pop over to Jersey just to sign some form.

I have had the Indonesian account for over 10 years, the UK one for about 20
years. In general I find HSBC gives good service though sometimes they are
too expensive, e.g. their foreign exchange rates in Indonesia are terrible,
so I take money out in cash and change it in a money changer or local bank.

For some reason, HSBC do not allow international transfers to be
carried out by internet banking on UK mainland accounts. I'm not sure
why that is, because they permit it in every other country in which I
have accounts with them, including Jersey.

By the way, the international transfers are only free if you have
"Premier" status with them. If not, I think they charge GBP15 each for
transfers to other HSBC offices.

The exchange rates at HSBC in Manila are not bad. Certainly as good as
any other local bank, but perhaps not as good as a money changer.

Chris

On 1 Apr 2006 01:24:01 -0800, wrote:


Chris Blunt wrote:
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:47:13 +0000 (UTC), echo wrote:

Thanks to Jim and all those who replied. I notice no one had any bank
recommendations. I have pretty much concluded that they all suck, so
probably there is no good one.

I have had accounts with HSBC in several countries for many years, and
have been happy with their service in both the Philippines and
Thailand.

My main source of income is credited to another account I have with
them offshore in the Channel Islands, and any transfers they do for me
from there to my other HSBC accounts elsewhere in the world are free
of charge. Also, it normally only takes a couple of hours for the
money to arrive in my overseas account.

Like RAK I find this interesting, because I went into an office
in Australia and the HSBC told me you must transfer $6000
at a time, and there would be a fee. And you did not say it was
an internet transfer, so I doubt you meant that.

I did mean via internet banking.

And of course
you are not from the USA (I don't think) so you do not have the
restrictions on you as would one from the USA, and the reason
the Channel Island banks seem unwilling to open accounts to
Americans. (Because of the stock exchange rules and the
IRS (yes just like the ones in Ireland) in the USA.)

The only branches for HSBC are only in Bangkok (that I know
of) so if you go anywhere else that won't work.

That's right, but their ATM network in interconnected with one of the
domestic networks in Thailand (ATM Pool??) and you can withdraw cash
from other bank's machines elsewhere in the country.

Chris