ATM card use for expatriates

[UnrealizedPotential]

Well, I was wondering how those who are from the U.S. who either relocated to another country or spend significant time away from the U.S. manage to get money every month for their living expenses. I can't get money from a pension yet, not old enough, another 4 months required for minimum age pension amount and I want to wait anyway. . SS is available in over 12 years. So not a possibility as I would have to rely on my investments.

If I did move permanently abroad and I am planning on using my ATM card and any ATM fees charged by another bank will be reimbursed back into my account. Alright good deal for me. But what happens if my ATM card is frozen temporarily or gets lost? What then? So that is why I need a back up ATM card and I hate my choices. I am thinking of just holding my nose and keeping my WF ATM card as an emergency back up in case I need one.

What do others do overseas who rely on investment income? This is the only way I can figure out to do this. Is there an alternative? I could keep extra cash on hand for an emergency , but I don't really like that idea. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[candrew]

Open a high yield investor checking account with Schwab. We have monthly withdrawals from Fido transferred to our Schwab account. We make fee-free cash withdrawals at ATM's worldwide. It has worked flawlessly for us.

If you don't currently have a valid U.S. mailing address (PO Box won't work) you will likely need one in order to open the account. Easy enough. Set yourself up with one the traveling mailbox services - Traveling Mailbox and Brendans Isle are two popular ones..

 

[Alan]

If you have relocated to another country then almost certainly it will be good to open a bank account in the country you are living. Moving money into that foreign account is very easy to do and the cheapest and easiest way I have found is Transferwise. Even have their app on my phone. (My wife and I are US citizens living in England). You could also have a Transferwise Borderless account. (comes with a debit card you can use in ATMs)

https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/

Our investments are still in the USA plus my pensions are paid into my US bank which has no foreign transaction charges or ATM fees so when travelling abroad I use these at ATMs to get my foreign currency. This year I have used my US ATM card in France, Norway, and Mexico plus I have used my US CC in those countries also.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Open a high yield investor checking account with Schwab. We have monthly withdrawals from Fido transferred to our Schwab account. We make fee-free cash withdrawals at ATM's worldwide. It has worked flawlessly for us.

If you don't currently have a valid U.S. mailing address (PO Box won't work) you will likely need one in order to open the account. Easy enough. Set yourself up with one the traveling mailbox services - Traveling Mailbox and Brendans Isle are two popular ones..

Thank you for the reply. Yes I have a Schwab high yield checking account. I will use their ATM card for that account. In regards to a U.S. address overseas , I have not made a decision on that yet as I am still living in the U.S. I also need to look into mail forwarding. I just wanted to see if what I wanted to do makes sense or if someone else has a better solution to get money overseas from the U.S.

I think maybe opening up a bank account overseas may give me more options and availability to money should one of my accounts not be available for whatever reason.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

If you have relocated to another country then almost certainly it will be good to open a bank account in the country you are living. Moving money into that foreign account is very easy to do and the cheapest and easiest way I have found is Transferwise. Even have their app on my phone. (My wife and I are US citizens living in England). You could also have a Transferwise Borderless account. (comes with a debit card you can use in ATMs)

https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/

Our investments are still in the USA plus my pensions are paid into my US bank which has no foreign transaction charges or ATM fees so when travelling abroad I use these at ATMs to get my foreign currency. This year I have used my US ATM card in France, Norway, and Mexico plus I have used my US CC in those countries also.

Alan , thank you for the reply. Yes, opening an account overseas is something I will look into. If I could do that it will help a lot .