How To Become Avare From The Danger Of Banking Abroad

The Dangers Of Banking Abroad

When you’re traveling, the measures your bank puts in place to protect themselves (not you!) are significantly more drastic than those in place when you’re at home.

Heading abroad? Watch out—abroad can be dangerous! That’s how your bank feels, at any rate. For U.S.-based banks, capping ATM and teller withdrawals, as well as point-of-sale purchases, is standard practice regardless of where you are. But banks take that practice to a whole ‘nother (potentially criminally liable) level as soon as you leave home, and especially if you travel abroad.

An example from my personal life (and no, I’m not going to say who I bank with): When I’m in the States, I’m not actually sure what my daily withdrawal limit from an ATM is—though I’ve had to take out large chunks of cash once in a while, nearly wiping myself out (to buy a car, for example), I’ve never hit that magic number, I guess. I can tell you pretty definitively what my limit is when I’m not in the States, though. It’s $300 per day.

Now, don’t get me wrong, please; $300 is a fair bit of money. But it’s not exactly all that much, in certain circumstances. For instance, when my computer died the other day, I (looking to get the best deal) went to a locally owned store instead of a massive electronics-mart. Here in France, though, small businesses often taken only a special kind of bank card: the carte bleue. If you haven’t got one, then cash is your only option. (They do this, by the way, to avoid being hit by the massive fees that credit card companies charge them per transaction, fees that allow the credit companies to offer you points and miles. Just remember, the next time you earn miles on your card, chances are you’re screwing a small business owner. But that’s another article . . .)

So, off I went to the ATM. And then to the next ATM. And the next, and the next. What was going on? Why couldn’t I take out my money? After taking out about 200 Euros (at the current exchange rate, just shy of 300 USD) from the first ATM, I wasn’t able to get anything more at that or any others. Imagine my frustration!

Now, if this were where the story ends, we’d really all have to agree that my unhappiness was pretty much my own fault. After all, everyone knows that banks put limits on ATM withdrawals. They have to, to protect themselves in the event that your card gets stolen and someone runs around taking out all your money (this wasn’t a credit card, mind you—just my normal bank card). If they didn’t, since they’re responsible for that money, they’d go out of business in short order!

Like I said, if this were where the story ended, there wouldn’t be much of a story in it. But it’s not. I called my bank and spoke for a while with a friendly representative who genuinely wanted to help but couldn’t. That is to say, she simply could not allow me access to more than 300 dollars of my money—not just from one ATM at one time, but from all ATM transactions combined throughout the course of a day. Yes, she was sorry, but she could not allow me any more access. The fact that I was up against a deadline and in desperate need of a computer that, at that point in the evening, I could only buy at a store that only accepted cash? Well, it aroused her sympathy, but didn’t change things any. Eventually, I had the chance to speak with her supervisor. After a pleasant but frustrating discussion, in which I suggested that (though I’m not personally into that whole scene) the bank’s policy of not changing this limit was absolutely ripe for a lawsuit, this bank representative softened a little.

Yes, she could raise my withdrawal limit—but only up to 500 dollars. That is to say, again, I could only take out 500 U.S. dollars of the money that I had worked for and entrusted to my bank for safekeeping. It didn’t matter that it was my money and not credit. It didn’t matter that I had been on the phone for over half an hour (a fair portion of the time on my own dime, calling the U.S. from a cell phone in France). And it didn’t matter that not being able to buy the computer that night would quite literally prevent me from practicing my livelihood, and could actually damage my earning power (because if you don’t accomplish certain freelance contracts on time, people stop wanting to hire you). The bank had a policy: no more than 500 USD per day for total foreign ATM withdrawals. No matter what.

So, why am I telling you this? Just to vent? Well, sure—that too. But, mainly, I’m telling you this in case you should find yourself heading to that dangerous place, abroad. If you do, beware and take good care. The most dangerous thing about "abroad" may be your own bank.