# currency transfers



## sicilian1 (Jul 3, 2013)

I used to have a debit/cash card where the bank here in the states paid the fees for using the card while traveling abroad. Now they no longer offer that service. What is the least expensive way to get dollars into Euros? If I'm in Italy for a month or two I'd like to have access to 10g's without incurring high exchange fees.

For people who have moved to Italy how did you go about transferring your money?


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

My bank doesn't charge ATM fees. The exchange rate is reasonable. For day to day stuff it's fine. If I needed a large amount they don't charge a huge amount for wire transfers if done online.

I use HSBC. I think they have US branches. In addition to my Canadian account I have an UK Jersey Island account with them. This gives me an UK debit/ATM card. Useful for amazon.uk plus the airlines. Transfers between the various HSBC accounts are free for me. If some thing goes wrong it would be easier to deal with an UK office then dealing with timezones etc across the ocean.


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## sicilian1 (Jul 3, 2013)

Thanks for the recommendation Nick. I'll look into HSBC.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

A zero foreign currency exchange credit card (set up for automatic full monthly balance payment) should be your primary spending vehicle, not cash -- and particularly not in the amounts you describe. It's legally hard to spend cash in single large transactions. My current U.S. favorite is Capital One's Quicksilver Visa credit card -- the one with no annual fee -- but there are several good ones. (Bank of America's no annual fee Travel Rewards credit card is a good backup card for the few occasions when you need a card with an EMV chip.) The Quicksilver card ends up being a better deal than cash because of the nice rebate and interest float, again with the key assumption that you pay off the entire balance every month, on time.

There are still many, many U.S. banks and credit unions offering low cost ATM/debit cards. Heck, even giant Bank of America's ATM cards are low cost if you use them only to withdraw cash only at BNL ATMs in Italy. My current U.S. favorite ATM card is Charles Schwab Bank's High Yield Investor Savings account, but there are many other good ones.


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## sicilian1 (Jul 3, 2013)

BBCWatcher,

Thanks for the info. It's good to know for purchases but I plan to hire someone to do some work for me and I also like to pay cash for rent. I want to be able to make payments in cash without some or all of the ATM fees usually associated with those cash withdrawls. The payments will be broken up into smaller chunks so I won't be withdrawing that amount all at once. 

Your post showed me just how much I don't know. Thanks for the help.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

CAUTION: Large (1000 euro or higher) cash transactions are illegal in Italy, _including all rental payments regardless of amount_.


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## sicilian1 (Jul 3, 2013)

Okay, thanks.


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## rsetzer99 (Feb 20, 2014)

While I have not used it and therefore cannot comment on its efficiency, you might look into the Italian Paypal. I believe it would only be useful when you want to transfer money to someone with an Italian bank account. A little research suggests that it is possible to link it with a foreign bank account so that you could transfer money for low or no fees to paypal so you could then make payments.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Paypal's exchange rates (inclusive of fees) are not at all attractive.


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## rsetzer99 (Feb 20, 2014)

I cannot disagree with Paypal fees and rates. However, with a situation where the poster was looking for ways to pay for local services in Italy, in amounts over the rather small amounts one can reasonably withdraw in cash via ATM's, it appears that the real hurdle is finding reasonable ways to move money from Dollars to Euros and also having those Euro's available in an Italian bank. 

I was looking at it from the perspective of the poster wanting to pay for rents and services with cash or cash equivalent. Paypal seemed a possible avenue for these, however this does not address the problem of getting the money into the Italian Paypal account as their accounts are country specific. Fees will likely be involved no matter what the method you find to move money around, so I suppose the question then comes down to how best to reasonably and legally move amounts in excess of the those that can be handled via cash card withdrawals.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

It just takes planning for most things.

Even with a low ATM limit you can likely withdraw €500 a day. That's 15000 a month. Not many people are spending more then that. Or even close to it. If you are just pick one of the banks that offer cheap wire transfers.

Getting it into an Italian bank is easy. Use the ATM to withdraw the cash. Take your card out. Insert your Italian card and deposit the money. 

In more extreme cases a person could even get multiple ATM cards and accounts. But outside of the safety of having a back up card it's likely not needed in 99.9% of the cases.


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## sicilian1 (Jul 3, 2013)

It's funny, when I move out of my field of expertise I can't think of simple solutions to problems that seem so complex but in the end aren't. So many good ideas to be found on the internet.

Thanks


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

NickZ said:


> Even with a low ATM limit you can likely withdraw €500 a day. That's 15000 a month. Not many people are spending more then that.


Keep in mind this technique, if adopted, is only required for those payees/billers that do not directly accept your low cost credit card (preferably) or low cost debit card (secondarily). For example, to pay rent you cannot pay in cash or cash equivalents, and most landlords do not accept credit and debit cards. You would thus typically make electronic payments to your landlord's bank account. Having a low cost Italian (or at least Eurozone SEPA-connected) bank account can be useful for this purpose, and then you'd use a low cost approach to transfer funds into that bank account to support your rental payments and other non-credit card/non-debit card payments.

On the other hand, if you're buying gasoline (to pick an example), just use your low cost credit card.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

You'll need a chip and pin card. While I know some US providers are issuing them there is no guarantee they'll work in automated machines like those used in gas stations.


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## Mrtcpip (Feb 15, 2014)

BBCWatcher said:


> CAUTION: Large (1000 euro or higher) cash transactions are illegal in Italy, _including all rental payments regardless of amount_.


For an example; Does this mean if I pay for let's say a hotel stay in Italy in cash that exceeds €1.000, it's not legal?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

*Hotels* can accept up to €999,99 cash in payment per stay. They cannot legally accept €1000 or more.

Is this limit a problem for you?


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## Mrtcpip (Feb 15, 2014)

No, not a problem with the hotels I stay at..:eyebrows:


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