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Sending money home...Need advice
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adventureman



Joined: 18 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2003 2:49 pm    Post subject: Sending money home...Need advice Reply with quote

Hello all-

Does anybody who has tried the international ATM card route to send money home (getting an international ATM card from your Korean bank, sending it back to a trusted one at home and having them withdrawl the money on demand) know how much you friend or family member can withdrawl from your Korean bank account at the aforementioned ATM back home at any one time (I live in U.S.)? I heard $200USD every three days is the limit? If whoever is holding the card for you keeps making large withdrawls thousands of miles away doesn't the Korean bank or anyone back home look upon this suspicously? Also what is the exchange rate like using this method?

Also, if this method does not work, does anyone know the going rate in the major Korean banks for cashiers checks if you first convert the money to USD and then have the check sent home?

Just want to see how the alternatives to expensive wirings hold up (incidentially, just how expensive ARE standard wirings from Korea to the U.S with such standard Korean banks as Kookmin or CHB, I have heard many conflicting stories on this topic...)

Thanks
Very Happy

**Sorry moderators, I already posted this message on a couple of the 'sticky' posts but I wasn't sure if as many people check these posts as the general forum and I need to open a bank account and establish the cheapest and most efficient way to send money back in the near future...
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bucheon bum



Joined: 16 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2003 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

200 bucks every 3 days? No way. My mom did it for me and there was no limit on how much she could take out. The problem she had was that each ATM machine had a limit. She could only take out a few hundred bucks at each ATM machne (the limit depended on which bank ATM she went to) each day, so she stopped doing it for me. Oh yeah, and you can't always get money from the ATM either: it has to be when the Korean ATMs are open as well. So if you have a dedicated, patient relative that is willing to travel to a few ATM machines, then go to your bank back home and deposit money there, you're set. Also, if you only have him/her do it once a month and you're only sending a thousand bucks or less home, you'll probably be ok.


As for the exchange rate, it was poorer than if I had exchanged the won for T/Cs, but was about what I would have gotten for regular cash.
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adventureman



Joined: 18 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for the info...Yes a grand a month sounds about adaquate...so I will try the ATM thjing when I arrive in August

Thanks Again
Very Happy
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angela



Joined: 17 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sun Jun 22, 2003 9:21 pm    Post subject: Sending money home Reply with quote

One way that has the best exchange rate is Traveler's Checks. I bought them and sent them home. My sister signed them for me (power of attorny to her) and deposited them into my account. I know the mail could be a problem, but nothing ever happened with them and I saved a lot of wiring fees plus bank fees at home for wired funds to my account. Your traveler's checks are secure though if there was a theft, and you can get them replaced. Just have to communicate to whomever you send them to, and they confirm they received them.
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PEI George



Joined: 14 Nov 2006

PostPosted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard a rumor that the mail is now monitored to determine who is repatriating funds to Canada with travellers' cheques. This sounds suspect to me. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, is there a limit on how much can be repatriated to Canada?
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bnrockin



Joined: 27 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2007 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So if you are sending travelers checks from Korea, at what point are they exchanged for U.S. $?
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dogshed



Joined: 28 Apr 2006

PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2007 9:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bnrockin wrote:
So if you are sending travelers checks from Korea, at what point are they exchanged for U.S. $?


You buy US dollar checks at a bank in Korea. The checks are in US dollars.

Another poster said he had trouble getting them replaced.
Another poster said if they are lost in the mail you have to lie to the
company and say you personally lost them.

I'm buying money orders from KEB which are actually checks from the Bank Of New York. The exchange rate when buying traveler's checks is slightly
more so it comes out to about the same as the fee on the money order.

The Bank Of New York check looks just like a regular check. My little
bank in Arkansas City, KS doesn't charge me anything to cash it.
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dogshed



Joined: 28 Apr 2006

PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2007 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Because my bank in the US charges a really big fee to receive a
wire transfer I did a lot of comparing.

Some banks in the US charge only $10 to receive a wire transfer
via the SWIFT system and there are some that charge no fee
to receive a wire transfer, but I did not set up that kind of account
before I left and it is not clear what intermediate fees there may be.

What I didn't know when I got here was that the banks are closed
on Saturday. I could see how for some people the cost of the wire
transfer might be better than missing a day of work.

So far I've been mailing these Bank Of New York checks I get from
KEB. I'm not sure what happens if it gets lost in the mail.
I'm assuming because it is an American check that it can
be replaced for a fee if lost. I don't actually know that
though. I've done three so far and it
takes 4-10 days for a 950 won airmail letter.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2007 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PEI George wrote:
I've heard a rumor that the mail is now monitored to determine who is repatriating funds to Canada with travellers' cheques. This sounds suspect to me. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, is there a limit on how much can be repatriated to Canada?


The mail is not monitored and no-one cares who is repatriating funds.

There is NO limit on the amount of LEGALLY acquired money you are allowed to send home.

There is a $10,000 limit PER VISIT to Korea without restriction.

OVER $10,000 you have to show proof of employment to show the funds are legal. Pay slips or your contract will suffice.

To the OP:

The easiest ways to send money home are:

The cheapest way is to send TCs, a cashiers check, or money order. They can be purchased it at your local bank's foreign exchange desk. The cost is 5k-15k won. A stamp for the letter home is 600 won. All 3 are replaceable if lost or stolen.

Make them payable to you (pay to the order of "your name") then send the letter to your home bank (with a deposit slip if possible - hand written note if not) with the notation on the back of the checks, "Payable to the acount of the payee, #xxx-xxxx-xxxx". Takes about 10 days to be credited to your account.

Bank wire is the 2nd fastest but the costs vary depending on your bank here, your bank at home AND the intermediary bank between the bank here and home. Costs vary from 20k-50k won. Takes from 1-3 days for the transaction to appear in your home account. Some of the smaller banks and credit unions cannot/willnot accept inbound wires.

Western union is the fastest but is the MOST expensive. Takes about 15 minutes but cost is around 20% (dependant on the amount send).
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PEI George



Joined: 14 Nov 2006

PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ttompatz wrote:


...
The easiest ways to send money home are:

The cheapest way is to send TCs, a cashiers check, or money order. They can be purchased it at your local bank's foreign exchange desk. The cost is 5k-15k won. A stamp for the letter home is 600 won. All 3 are replaceable if lost or stolen.

Bank wire is the 2nd fastest but the costs vary depending on your bank here, your bank at home AND the intermediary bank between the bank here and home. Costs vary from 20k-50k won. Takes from 1-3 days for the transaction to appear in your home account. Some of the smaller banks and credit unions cannot/willnot accept inbound wires.
...


Good information! ttompatz, do TC's use the same exchange rate as the bank wires?
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dogshed



Joined: 28 Apr 2006

PostPosted: Tue May 22, 2007 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PEI George wrote:
ttompatz wrote:


...
The easiest ways to send money home are:

The cheapest way is to send TCs, a cashiers check, or money order. They can be purchased it at your local bank's foreign exchange desk. The cost is 5k-15k won. A stamp for the letter home is 600 won. All 3 are replaceable if lost or stolen.

Bank wire is the 2nd fastest but the costs vary depending on your bank here, your bank at home AND the intermediary bank between the bank here and home. Costs vary from 20k-50k won. Takes from 1-3 days for the transaction to appear in your home account. Some of the smaller banks and credit unions cannot/willnot accept inbound wires.
...


Good information! ttompatz, do TC's use the same exchange rate as the bank wires?


The rates posted at the bank and on the bank website have buy and sell prices for each. If you are converting won to dollars you are buying dollars and you use the buy column.

TC is for traveller's checks.
Remittance is for checks, money orders, on line, ATM, and SWIFT wire.
Cash buy is the highest rate and that is for getting actual American money.
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jeremyslome



Joined: 09 Jun 2008

PostPosted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 9:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can a cashier's check from a Korean bank be cashed/exchanged in the USA?
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sketchforsummer



Joined: 11 May 2007

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are there any issues about using an intermediary bank to be aware of? My home bank doesn't have its own SWIFT code so uses Chase...will the different names be an issue for Korean tellers? I'm with Nonghyup if it matters.
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Rob'sdad



Joined: 12 May 2008
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where is Western Union in Seoul?
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Nowhere Man



Joined: 08 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 9:35 am    Post subject: ... Reply with quote

Quote:
Can a cashier's check from a Korean bank be cashed/exchanged in the USA?


I'm no banker, but I think yes.

Quote:
Are there any issues about using an intermediary bank to be aware of? My home bank doesn't have its own SWIFT code so uses Chase...will the different names be an issue for Korean tellers? I'm with Nonghyup if it matters.


Again, I don't think so, at least not at this end. The problem you may encounter is surcharges for some little bank in the west processing such transactions.

I think I was the first person who'd ever wired money from Asia to my local bank. This weirded them out in a way that they ultimately were charging me $50 a pop. I believe money orders are the cheapest.
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