Text 12684, 76 rader
Skriven 2008-03-13 18:07:26 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
  Kommentar till text 12581 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: Money (was: Art)
========================
13 Mar 08 09:46, Ward Dossche wrote to Roy Witt:


 RW>> RB> Try to exchange Euro for Dollars at a bank in the States, except
 RW>> RB> maybe in New York City. You'll expierience the shock of your
 RW>> life
 RW>> RB> when they refuse or tell you it'll take a week.

 RW>> Not only that, but it'll cost you money to make the exchange. They
 RW>> don't do that for free unless you have an account at the bank you're
 RW>> using to make the exchange.

 WD> An exchange at a bank, any currency any bank any country, will
 WD> _always_ cost you. There's the exchange rate and then there's their
 WD> processing fee
 WD> ... after all a bank is a business providing a service.

One exception to that is when you have an account at the bank you're
transacting the exchange with. It's a free service. I know for sure that
BofA, won't exchange it for you 'unless' you have an account there.

 WD> Best is when abroad to use plastic whenever where-ever you can. You
 WD> pay the exchange-rate at the day of the transaction and no processing
 WD> fee.

I would agree...

 WD> That is different when you decide to pull money out of the wall
 WD> abroad ... nearly every bank or ATM-teller-facility charges around
 WD> US$2.50 for the transaction.

Because you don't have an account there. There is also a fee for
extracting cash from the ATM because your bank doesn't cooperate with the
bank who is running the ATM.

 WD> So the rule of thumb there is: if
 WD> possible get all of the cash you will need in one sweep, it will
 WD> still be less expensive than a bank but avoid $100 today and $60 the
 WD> day after tomorrow because each transaction will cost you.

I do my banking at a credit union. There are more benefits and services
than any bank.

 WD> The trick behind it is that if you pay plastic at a store, there
 WD> still is a processing fee but that business will pick it up for you.

Actually, you pay the processing fee in the price of the goods and
services you buy. Cash customers can ask for a rebate of the processing
fee if they wish to save the extra 3%.

 WD> Interesting is the attitude of people when you pay with plastic.
 WD> Overhere paying with debit-cards has been so common since about 1970
 WD> that if you dare to show a Visa or Mastercard, people behind you will
 WD> immediately have this look on their face: "What? No cash? No debit?
 WD> Out of funds?".

The day of the instant payment while the card is being swiped is not yet
here. I use plastic everywhere I go, except for the places where I need
something that cash will make the transaction faster.

 WD>   Paying with Visa/MC is often perceived here as a
 WD> last resort for people running out of money while in the US nobody as
 WD> much as gives you a look when you pay like that.

I prefer plastic in every transaction. If the customer pays in cash, I
have to keep change with me at all times for that. A check is ok, but not
as safe to take as cash or credit cards. Of course the best transaction is
when the customer charges it to their roadside service under their
insurance. No money changes hands, it's done electronically.

                R\%/itt



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