$$$$$$ Help

[CS767]

What is the best,cheapest and safest way to help your fiance` with financial deposits on a monthly basis.I am wondering if a credit card that is loaded each month would work.Is it safe?Do they have to pay a fee/tax to receive money this way.I know there is a lot of experience out there on this topic and thanks in advance for the advise and the possible "flak"--I go over in a month so I have time to set something up.I have tried the Western Union thing and it seems like a lot of extra expense.I have heard the same about pay pal that people have trouble with that.It will be a Ukrainian transaction.

[AllenB]

... in response to $$$$$$ Help, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

I gave my wife a debit card with the visa logo so she can get cash from an ATM or, in those rare shops that accept credit cards, she can purchase things directly.  She has an allowance that she never uses completely and it only costs $1.50 for an ATM fee.  Caution that you will have to explain to her that she will have to look for an ATM that bears the Cirrus or MAC logo or any other that is printed on the back of the card because most machines over there accept only visa electron or eurocard.  You will probably have to teach her how to us it and what it is for because most do not know anything about credit/debit cards.

[RickM]

... in response to Re: $$$$$$ Help, posted by AllenB on Mar 17, 2003

nt

[Alfred]

... in response to What Is The "Daily" W/Drawal L..., posted by RickM on Mar 17, 2003

The few times I did it is Kiev I hit the atm limit of 1200 or 2000 Hrivna.  In Crimea, I used a machine that gave Dollars, Deutch Mark (Probably Euros now) and Hrivna and got $300.  I suspect the daily limit is set by your bank and you may have to make multiple withdrawals if the limit at the ATM isn't high enough.

[RickM]

... in response to Re: What Is The "Daily" W/Draw..., posted by Alfred on Mar 17, 2003

in uSA many machines will only let you take MAX $500.00 US which is a bummer if you live far from the city where you want to withdraw from and need larger amounts.It STILL is cheaper than western union and other transfer companies ...

[rojak]

... in response to $$$$$$ Help, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

Easy enough. Open a new checking account at your bank--joint with whomever you want to be able to provide $$ to. Get a debit card for the account and give it to her with a PIN #. She will easily be able to take dollars or grivnas at myriad ATM's all over Ukr. You can monitor the account easily on the internet, assuming you deal with a bank that offers internet banking. My wife and I have used this method for three years for her daughter. WU was a huge ripoff. The charges now are a flat 2% of the amount she takes. She takes $100, the account gets debited $102.

[CS767]

... in response to Re: $$$$$$ Help, posted by rojak on Mar 16, 2003

Rojak,
   Thanks that is the third such suggestion I have had.I am going to do that tommorrow.Is the card a visa card?I used it in Germany and France,SA ,Spain and GB.Thanks again. cs

[lswote]

... in response to $$$$$$ Help, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

What I have done that has been very successful was to open a separate bank account with its own ATM card and then give the card to my fiancee (now wife).  You can control exactly how much money is in the account.  The account was only charged $1.00 for every withdrawal (I am sure this varies with every bank) and she got the best exchange rates as well.  Now this was for Colombia with my wife, so I don't know how this all plays out in FSU, but I would think it should be similar.

[CS767]

... in response to Re: $$$$$$ Help, posted by lswote on Mar 16, 2003

Thanks for the suggestion.I had that in mind also.I flew Europe and my visa card always worked well everywhere in Europe and South America.I wonder what Bank would be the best or if it really matters.It like you said gave the best rates also.Thanks again for the post.cs

[lswote]

... in response to Re: Re: $$$$$$ Help, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

I am able to track my bank accounts on the web.  So when I travel to Colombia and use my ATM card or my wife uses her ATM card when I am here, I can see what exchange rates different banks give by looking at my statements online and then try to patronize the ATMs that give the best rate overall (exchange rate and ATM fee taken into consideration).  

I can tell you that using ANY ATM gives almost a 10 percent better exchange rate than Western Union and that isn't even taking into consideration that Western Union will also charge you $25 to $50 dollars to send money, plus an additional fee if you do the transaction online.

[Cold Warrior]

... in response to $$$$$$ Help, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

set up a debit card for her. you can probably put a limit on monthly withdrawals. She can get cash from any ATM just by entering her PIN.

[Richard]

... in response to Debit card, posted by Cold Warrior on Mar 16, 2003

I would suggest that you get an atm card set up against an account set up for this purpose to protect yourself. You might even consider setting up the account at a different bank from where your accounts as an added precaution.  When I set up an atm card for my ex finance, I had the overdraft limit set to zero. (I used a separate account, but not a separate bank. If I were to do this again, I would use a different bank, also.)  

Also, it's supposed to be illegal to mail an atm card to Ukraine. (Don't know about Russia.)

[CS767]

... in response to Re: Debit card, posted by Richard on Mar 16, 2003

I will plan to put this on the top of my list.

[CS767]

... in response to Debit card, posted by Cold Warrior on Mar 16, 2003

Thanks I wondered about this.Have you done It like this?

[Cold Warrior]

... in response to Re: Debit card, posted by CS767 on Mar 16, 2003

i did it for my ex-girlfriend from Kiev. I applied for another debit card on my account here and had the bank impose a monthly limit. Another safer way is to open a separate account and apply for a debit card on this account. You can then give her this card. Depending on where she lives you'll have to check whether her ATM accepts Cirrus, Maestro or Electron.