Travler's Checks and ATM's

[freeeye]

Totally anachronistic. Totally retro. Totally useless and pointless. I feel sorry for the people who are conned into using them.

[mizzoujack]

TC's is all I used to use, about five years ago. It got to the point where banks wouldn't even take them. Like Rick said, an anachronism. I was told by a bank teller many years ago they were far easier to counterfeit/copy than American currency. Some places look askance at even C notes. As anti-plastic as I continue to be, Paypal seems to be the best method, Peg's got that process figured out. Plus, she's the one who controls the dinero anyway, sound familiar GUYS

[Garf]

I have had good luck with pre-loaded credit cards. If lost or stolen and someone figures out the pin number you're only out the amount loaded, not your entire bank account. I use this as backup to my daily walking around money.

[Macuardo]

Garf: is the money re-embursable as it is with a regular credit card, or do you burn for the doe that is on it???

Jack: are you kidding about who controls the money??? Didn't you see that Sarah said that she (women) do the cooking!!!
Man. I'll take shit for this!!!

[Garf]

Garf: is the money re-embursable as it is with a regular credit card, or do you burn for the doe that is on it???

I don't believe the money is refundable but I might be wrong. You just load the amount you want and use it anywhere credit cards are accepted, there's no expiration on the card I use (Royal Bank Visa) you just need to keep tract of your usage which can be done online.

[ATM guy]

Thanks for the compliment:)
-we really do guarantee everything we do..
US Currency: we dispensed about 35% more USD this year, than the past year! Why? We have done several informal studies, and the two biggest reasons are 1. American female tourists feel more secure with USD in their purses. 2. Americans can take it home with them. And the third comment we received the most was in reference to currency fluctuations, it seemed easier
Travelers Checks: I am not aware of any banks that still take them. And, if they do, they Fx rate on them is 2 points less than Cash
Preloaded credit cards: I think this is the BEST way to travel, and I am currently researching options for getting into this business, for tourists and expats alike. You can almost Never get screwed. I'm leaving for Africa in about 10 days, and I will be taking 10 credit cards, all with $500 prepaid on them, and 10 cards with $100 prepaid on them...
They don't expire
The most you could ever get taken for, is the amount of that card.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[kcowan]

In a prior life, I did a business case for launching a branded preloaded card. The primary business case is the same as travelers checks, namely that you are selling a currency for someone to spend in the future. This creates a huge "float" that the company can borrow against.

(If 1 million people buy $100 of prepaid, you have $100 million in the bank held in trust that can be used as collateral.)

The secret is that you have to be a trusted party for the consumers to buy your card. We attempted to sell the idea to Amex. The banks weren't interested because it competed with their other offerings. Starbucks immediately saw the potential and introduced their own.