Job Discussion Forums

Perpetual Traveller · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 651 Location: In the Kak, Japan

I've noticed more than a few people asking about how to get money back home etc so I was wondering if this was a feasible plan:

Get an account with citibank in your home country be it Australia, France, England, America, Canada or wherever.

Get an account with citibank in the country in which you are employed be it Japan, China, France or wherever.

Easily transfer money between the two...or not?

Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Is it fairly simple?

Or am I dreaming because let's face it things are never as easy as you think they should be!

PT

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I looked into such a thing for Scotiabank between Canada and Mexico. The transfer fees were no different than from one bank to a different bank. Apparently, Bank of America can do no fee deposits from Mexico to the US. I would assume Citibank as well, but haven't checked.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I don't know about citibank but I thought the same with HSBC. I was able to set up an account in the Gulf with them. I went back to the UK hoping to set up an account with them there for an easy transfer. I was refused. I wanted to give them money!!! But UK banking laws have become strict. They couldn't be sure I had earned the money legally even though I showed them 12 months of pay slips and my contract.It could have just been some officious git in the bank but I was able to transfer elsewhere. (I had been out of the UK for over a decade aswell)

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

These other folks make it sound doable. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you may not always have control over opening a bank account in your new country. In Japan, my school opened my account for me at a bank that was so small and local that when I crossed the prefectural lines I could not access my account. (Yeah, I suppose I could have gone and opened another account elsewhere, but oh, the hassle, the hassle...) In Chile, it seems that foreigners just cannot have bank accounts, period.

d

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:56 pm Post subject:

WHere there's a will, there's a way. Doesn't mean it comes cheap, though. My experienceis that tranfering money internationally anywhere is rather expensive- even if it's between different branches of the same bank.

My current technique is to live someplace really picturesque, where all my old friends and family want to visit. When they do (a couple of times a year) I send cash home with them, and an extremely trusted person in the US allocates it where it is needed. This only works with people you trust, but it's cheap...

Justin

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:44 pm Post subject:

Only been to Scotland twice, but liked it alot. I might have stayed, but after the festival's over, there isn't much work for street performers. The whisky's nice, though...

Justin

cmp45 · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 1475 Location: KSA

I know this may not be applicable to you guys in other countries but here's my experience in KSA...
I have my account with the Arab National Bank in Riyadh. By filling out a one time form, the bank set me up to use the ATM to transfer my funds from NAB account to my accounts in Canada. I use my ATM card to transfer money directly into my Royal Bank of Canada account.
It sure makes banking much easier. It generally takes one day for the transaction to go through and have been doing it this way for 2 years now with no problems at all! Knock on wood!!!
I believe the Royal Bank charges 10 dollars CAD for processing but do not have any service fee charged from the Arab national bank.

coming soon · Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 47

I'm using HSBC and i couldn't be happier. The branch in NY made sure that everything would be taken care of once i got to Beijing and opened a local account with them. So far, i have not had issues sending money in or out of either account.

Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

Conversely, I've tried to transfer money from my UK bank to my Italian bank (from Italy) and it has been a nightmare. The UK bank will only accept a signed letter, even though they are able to identify me via pin codes etc. They won't accept faxes, and emails are obviously the devil's work, so it is always a bit of a drawn out saga with them. Avoid Natwest if you can...

shenyanggerry · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 619 Location: Canada

I've recently emailed money. I could only send $1000 at a time and paid a $1.50 transaction fee per transfer. I did, however have the money in a Canadian bank at the time.