Kammekor wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:23 am

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:26 am I recommend keeping your US bank account, and withdrawing from it through ATMs. The fees are high when money is transferred to an overseas bank account. It also makes it simple when you return to the US.

Extremely bad advice for long-termers.

For instance, ACLEDA charges 0.1% for incoming money, with a minimum of 10$. My overseas bank charges EUR 6,95. That means I can receive up to 10.000 USD just 10 USD plus EUR 6,95. After that I get 0.5 interest (at home: 0%) and I can withdraw free of charge as many times as I want.

A withdrawal with my overseas bank card will cost me at least USD 5 each time, plus EUR 2,95 for my overseas bank.

You are giving extremely bad advice. Here is a person who has never been to Cambodia. He may decide to return home after a few months. It is best if he keeps his US bank account. After he has been here for some time, it is up to him what he does.

explorer wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:41 am

Kammekor wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:23 am

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:26 am I recommend keeping your US bank account, and withdrawing from it through ATMs. The fees are high when money is transferred to an overseas bank account. It also makes it simple when you return to the US.

Extremely bad advice for long-termers.

For instance, ACLEDA charges 0.1% for incoming money, with a minimum of 10$. My overseas bank charges EUR 6,95. That means I can receive up to 10.000 USD just 10 USD plus EUR 6,95. After that I get 0.5 interest (at home: 0%) and I can withdraw free of charge as many times as I want.

A withdrawal with my overseas bank card will cost me at least USD 5 each time, plus EUR 2,95 for my overseas bank.

You are giving extremely bad advice. Here is a person who has never been to Cambodia. He may decide to return home after a few months. It is best if he keeps his US bank account. After he has been here for some time, it is up to him what he does.

Of course he can keep his US bank account, and if he's smart he will ask for his allowance to be paid into that account.

He can then periodically transfer money into his Cambodian bank account, which is much cheaper than withdrawals using his overseas card. Also cheaper than to receive his allowance in a Cambodian bank account, because in that case he will have to pay the transfer every month. Better to save it up a bit and make a larger transfer.

How much are you charged for one withdrawal with your Australian bank card in Cambodia?

Kammekor wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:50 am How much are you charged for one withdrawal with your Australian bank card in Cambodia?

Too much. You pay a fee to the Australian bank, and a fee to the Cambodian bank. Then they give you a poor exchange rate, which in reality also costs you money, but is difficult to put a figure on.

Transferring money to a Cambodian bank is much more expensive again. Higher fees and even worse exchange rate. It is daylight robbery.

If you just look at the fees but not the exchange rate, you are not getting an accurate picture.

Modern banks are about making money, not about looking after customers. Banks make a huge amount of money from people travelling to other countries.

explorer wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:10 am

Kammekor wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:50 am How much are you charged for one withdrawal with your Australian bank card in Cambodia?

Too much. You pay a fee to the Australian bank, and a fee to the Cambodian bank. Then they give you a poor exchange rate, which in reality also costs you money, but is difficult to put a figure on.

Transferring money to a Cambodian bank is much more expensive again. Higher fees and even worse exchange rate. It is daylight robbery.

If you just look at the fees but not the exchange rate, you are not getting an accurate picture.

Modern banks are about making money, not about looking after customers. Banks make a huge amount of money from people travelling to other countries.

Once again..... If I transfer 10k USD into my ACLEDA account I pay:

10 USD to ACLEDA
6,95 EUR to my overseas bank
I get a better exchange rate than when using the ATM (they cut 1% of the mean daily rate)
20 USD to an intermediary bank if it's a bank in the USA (in 70% of the cases), not applicable if the transfer is routed through Hong Kong / Japan (30% of the cases)

And after that I can withdraw as many times as I want free of charge, and I get 0.5% interest at ACLEDA. More if I would deposit my money elsewhere, like Sathapana (1%) or AMK (4%).

For longtermers it's WAY WAY cheaper than using the overseas bank card. It's fine to use it once or twice while getting settled, but it's just silly to use that card for months if you intend to stay for a longer time. Not even talking about the limits put on most foreign cards, mine for instance is 500 EUR. Most banks won't even allow that, because most Cambodian banks will impose a 500 USD cap on overseas bank cards (not talking about credit cards, whole different story with different cost structure), making withdrawals of larger amounts crazy expensive.

On my foreign card I get a worse exchange rate than with bank transfers, and for every withdrawal I pay at least 5 USD to the Cambodian bank and EUR 2,95 to my overseas bank. And to get 10k USD I need to make at least 20 withdrawals. Now do the math.

I dont know this person. Some pensioners dont have 10k to transfer, but just live from month to month.

I think we all agree. Start with the US bank account. See how he feels after being here for some time. He can then decide what he wants to do.

Nolan,

Many credit unions in the US refund a certain amount of ATM fees every month - mine does up to $20 in fees. Might want to see what is available in your area.

I do a transfer once a year from my US account. Keep in mind that depending on what bank your using, you'll likely get hit with a $25-40 Fee from the originating bank, a $25 fee from the interchange bank and a fee from the receiving bank. So to make it worthwhile you need to be transfering $10K or above.

I use ANZ atms when I use my ATM card from the states. They allow a withdrawal of up to $400. So I can withdraw $390 (have to factor in the $5 fee they charge) four times a month. My credit union refunds me the $20 in ATM fees. I do the transfer once a year to an ACLEDA account and use that money when needed for larger purchases or paying rent.

I'd recommend you contact the SS administration and follow their instructions before moving over. Keep a US address if possible, and keep a US bank account. Best of Luck.

If you have to pay ATM charges why not take out max amount ( 1000 $ ) &*fee . ABA charges 9$ for that privilege ,
UCB bank charges $4 only if you’re in sville or Pp Where there are UCB’s ..
Other banks won’t even let you withdraw 1000 at a time .. ( long ago canadia was 800$ max )
usually out from Visa Debit card from USA account and deposit from there into ‘ cash in ‘ machine at ABA ,
Deposit the 100’s , get reil or under 100$ withdrawal from ABA .. Works for me

If there is a better way to get lump sum every month of direct deposit from USA bank account to here I’d like to know .

^^You can go inside the bank and make a withdrawal- and avoid the 9$ or whatever it is -Cambodian bank charge can't you?

That would be .. if it sounds too good to be true , it probably is ... who ever heard of that ?
Use a ATM card inside the bank to avoid any bank charges from this end .. ?
Impossible

My question is if I can find cheaper than 9 $ withdrawal fee for 1000 ..
UCB $4 +5 was better than $9 +5 at ABA

There is no UCB , only ABA where I am now ( not kampot but no UCB there either )

In the ( good ) old days I would get my govt check sent here ( there , chiangmai c/o us consulate Embassy mail )
and take it to the bank

In Aus you can get a travellers debit card, which reduces the commonwealth Bank fees for the currency conversion. Mine expired and I'm waiting on a normal new bank card to be sent from Aus. In the meantime I'm using western union and I feel it might actually be the better option. The exchange rate is probably a touch lower than the bank would offer but the processing fee is about 3-5 bucks depending on the amount and it does feel nice knowing I'm not giving the commonwealth Bank a ridiculous amount for an admin fee just to withdraw my money overseas. If I get around to doing the math I'll let you know what option is best.