Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Atkinson]

If this has been covered somewhere else, please send a link.

I will be moving to Seoul in a week. I will be maintaining a Canadian bank account to deal with ongoing expenses I have here in Canada. I am looking into different ways I can get money back home, but all the ones I have found are either very expensive (wire transfers range from $35 to $70 here, and I'm assuming it's similar in Kor), or too slow (my bank will hold a foreign cheque for 30-60 days before depositing it), or prohibitively complicated (setting up a Premium PayPal account in Korea, making payments into it from a credit card that I pay off with my Korean bank account, then transfering the money to a Canadian PayPal account, then into my real Canadian bank account).

I figure there's a lot of ex-pats working in Korea, so maybe there's a simpler way that we just don't have here in Canada.

So, for those of you who still maintain finances back home -- especially in Canada, what system do you use to get your money back home? How well does it work for you? I intend to send back roughly half what I earn each month.

Thanks!

At

[Koreabound2004]

I send hundreds home every month....just wire it, my Korean bank charges about 7 CAD, and the Canadian bank at home charges another 10.00. Not so bad, for the amount I am sending....easy to do. Don't worry.

[Wangja]

Transfers oversease cost around 22,500 KRW ... the cheapest I have ever come across around the world. And they are fast too. Fret not.

[Grotto]

two methods that may work for you.

One: get an international bank machine card and send it to someone you trust back home. They can go to the ATM at your bank and withdraw the cash or transfer it right into your account.

Two: you can get a Korean money order...they call it a 'REMITTANCE' it is the same as a money order or certified check. The cost varies depending on the amount being sent home....usually about 5000-10000 won per check. You can only get them in US, Euro or Yen. They are gauranteed and if you dont need to cash them right away you can sit on them and wait for the exchange rate to get better. I get mine at the Nong Hyup bank.

[Shoon]

What about via the post office?

[Atkinson]

[Atkinson]

[chronicpride]

Woori Bank charges me around 10k Won. I transfer every month to my TD acct and distribute funds from my online banking. Daegu Bank was around the same. I can't recall KB, as I only wired from them, once.

It's not an arduous process. Make sure that you save your receipts from your first wiring and bring them back the next time, as it will save a lot of time for processing future wires.

[Shoon]

I didnt need a quote because I wasnt referring to anyone's quote.

Send the money via the post office.

[Koreabound2004]

I bank with Nong Hyup....they are a little slow, but cheap.

[ThePoet]

I send a money order home every month -- At the Korea Exchange Bank, they draw upon an actual Canadian bank with a home office in Canada so there is no 25 day waiting period. In fact, one girl I go to prints up the money order FROM the Korea Exchange Bank of Canada in Toronto, and the other draws it up through the Bank of Montreal (Quebec's still part of Canada....kinda) and a money order costs me 10,000 won with no fee back in Canada.

Poet

[Atkinson]

[ThePoet]

I Don't know....I have an account there. But I think a friend of mine said (not sure now) that she went to KEB to send a money order home and they charged her a surcharge of 3000 won and had to have her passport stamped or something like that

[Homer]

Much like Poet, I wire money everymonth.

I pay around 8000-10000 Won per wire here and nothing back home with RBC.

[Sage Monkey]