Changing Money Abroad, Moving Money, Using ATM and Credit Cards

When going abroad, the least time spent on travel plans should be money exchange, carrying money, where to withdraw money when I run out, using ATMs. However, this is the part that hurts us the most financially and will challenge us the most if we are broke.

First of all, I would like to underline that everything in this article is my own experience. It is important to remember that everyone eats a different yogurt. I am sharing my own yogurt eating with you as a suggestion.

Before Going Abroad

When I go abroad, I have a few precautions to avoid damage due to the exchange rate difference. If I'm going to Europe, I get Euro, calculated according to the time I'll go with me, and if I'm going somewhere outside of Europe, I get USD. Note that there will be exceptions here, for example, if you are going to Georgia or Iran, it may be more meaningful to exchange TL instead of USD or euro. Therefore, although my general recommendation is valid, it is useful to research the situation in the country you are going to before you go.

I take cash with me with a simple account of 50 euros per person per day, 50usd. I have two goals here; the first is to carry a lot of cash with me and not take risks, and the second is to set a budget limit for myself. Since my trips abroad rarely exceed 2 weeks, I can carry enough money with me. My suggestions for moving money will be in the title below.

I don't buy foreign currency at the last minute as I always have trip accounts separately for euro and usd, but if you need to buy it, it is useful to research the exchange rate and buy accordingly. If you travel frequently, throwing foreign currency aside will be a life saver in a country with such a fluctuating exchange rate. The disadvantage of accumulating foreign currency is the requirement to withdraw foreign currency only from certain ATMs or branches in Turkey. Mostly, foreign currency can be withdrawn from ATMs at airports, but there is also the need to pay attention to the daily withdrawal limit.

The last and most important part is to check the exchange rate in the country you are going to, regardless of the currency you carry with you. I use a phone app called XE Currency for this. It is enough to define the currency of the country you are going to go to this offline application.

We prepared our money, we learned the exchange rate, now we are ready to go 🙂

Exchange Money Abroad

If you are going abroad by plane, you will need the currency of that country when you land. In this case, you have to go to the exchange offices at the airport. The exchange rate at the airport is usually low, in order to check this, it is useful to check the rate at the airport with the rate in the XE Currency application that I mentioned. If the exchange rate difference is too high, you only need to exchange a small amount of money to get you to the city centre.

There are many different practices for exchanging money from country to country. To give a few examples;

• They don't accept old dated USD in Indonesia. Since there is no distinction like new dollar and old dollar in Turkey, you can stay without money even though you have money in your pocket, we stayed 🙂
• In some countries, exchange offices are open until late, hostels and hotels change money, but again in Indonesia Malang, since the exchange offices and banks did not work after 16:00, we were again broke. We saved ourselves until the next day by paying the tour fee in dollars and eating the food with a credit card. Therefore, it may be useful to always be cautious and exchange a little more money than you need.
• In some countries in Africa and South America, while exchanging the new dollar from the normal exchange rate, I encountered the old dollar deteriorating at the low exchange rate. If possible, make sure that the foreign currency you bring from Turkey is new.
• If you are exchanging money outside the exchange office or bank, be careful about both the exchange rate and the money you receive. I asked about the exchange office in a coffee shop in Ethiopia, someone I later learned was a guide took a pack of money out of his pocket and changed my money, and it was a better rate than the exchange offices, I was quite worried if the money was real but luckily it was not a problem 🙂

Moving Money Abroad

Since my travels are not usually long, I did not have to carry large amounts of money with me. The only exception was my trip to South America.

My suggestions for carrying money abroad;

• You can hang it inside your clothes. neck hanging travel bag or a waist hanging travel bag You can keep both your money and important documents such as passport and credit card under your clothes. I have both, I mostly use the hanging version. These bags can easily stay on your neck or go under the pillow, not only while traveling, but also if you are staying in a partially unsafe place such as a hostel.

• Make sure to divide your money into different places. Like your bag and your pocket, your pocket and your socks… The most common thefts abroad are either theft or extortion of the bag. In both cases, if you divide your money, the rest will take care of you for a while. You can carry a spare wallet, especially for places with a bad reputation for extortion, and it would be safest to give this wallet (with a small amount of money, of course) to those who ask you for your money.
• It will also be beneficial to keep your money safe by not counting your money visibly, and paying extra attention to your left and right after you leave the exchange office or bank after changing money.
• I recommend that you do not carry your money or your mobile phone in places that will make the life of "pocketers" easier, such as the back pocket of the trousers and the front pocket. Once you see, the wind is blowing instead of the money, you don't even understand how it is. By the way, contrary to popular belief, events like this are happening in Europe as well as underdeveloped countries, so wherever you go, take care of your money 🙂
• I know that small bags that are hung on the back are very practical when traveling or visiting a city, but the front eyes of those bags are the farthest from your eyes, so do not entrust your valuables such as money, wallet, phone to those bags. I always carry a small bag that will stand in front of me in a diagonal so that my valuables can be kept in front of my eyes, you will see a lot of my photos.
• If you are traveling alone and staying in hostels, you can leave some of your money in the lockers in the hostel if you have one.
• Again, if you are traveling alone, money, wallet, passport and phone can be a nuisance while swimming. waterproof case bag Bags that you can carry around your neck while swimming are very practical, you can use them.

ATM Usage and Withdrawal Fees Abroad

For those who do not want to carry large amounts of money with you (which is safer not to carry them), withdrawing money from an ATM is of course one of the most practical solutions. There are some points that you should pay attention to when using ATMs:

• Before you go abroad, check which is the main account of your ATM card (debit card), because you will only be able to withdraw money from the main account. If you are using Usd, Euro, Sterling accounts, you can have these accounts defined on your ATM card. Many banks convert the money you withdraw from ATM cards in TL to USD and then to the currency of the country you are in. If the currency of the country you are visiting is one of these 3 currencies and your account is linked to the card, you will not be affected by the exchange rate difference.
• In addition, you can use your credit card like an ATM card in Turkey, but you cannot use it abroad, you can withdraw cash directly from your credit card, so the card you will use must be a debit card.
• Before you go abroad, be sure to learn about the foreign money withdrawal commission rates, fixed commission amount and lower and upper limits of the bank you are working with, and then you will not be in for a surprise.
• Do not trust that you can find an ATM abroad, especially in underdeveloped countries, or that it will work even if you find an ATM. Although I called the bank in Bolivia's largest city Lapaz and confirmed that there was no problem, I could not withdraw money all day due to a “connection error”.
• Each bank's international withdrawal practices are different, I used TEB's debit card when I went to South America and I did not pay any commission, I did not have any problems other than connection error problems, and I did not pay any extra money.
• Have a second ATM card with you in case something happens to your card. These are magnetic cards, their magnets are broken, there is a connection problem with the bank, they are stolen, anything can happen. That's why dual ATM cards are good.

International Withdrawal Fees and Commissions by Bank Card

Below I share the international withdrawal practices and commission rates of 10 banks in Turkey. However, since these applications can be changed by banks, please contact your bank for up-to-date information before you set off.

Apart from the contracted banks, the bank from which you withdraw the money will also receive a transaction commission from you, since there are too many bank options abroad, there is no information about it in this article.

The name of the Bank	Overseas Withdrawal Commission	International Withdrawal Fee	DESCRIPTION
Akbank		7,60 TL
denizbank	1,25%	7 TL	Minimum 7TL
Garanti Bank	1,25%		A transaction fee of 400 TL is charged for withdrawals up to 5 TL, and 400% is charged for amounts exceeding 1.25 TL.
financial bank		3 USD	BSMV is excluded. The fee is charged in TL equivalent of USD.
Halkbank	2%
HSBC		5,50 TL	BSMV is excluded.
ING Bank	1,15% + 1,04 TL		including BSMV
İş Bank	1,15% + 1,05 TL		BSMV is included.
TEB		3 USD	Free in 64 countries at contracted banks. No fee is charged for the amount withdrawn from the contracted bank ATMs. 2 EUR in the euro zone, 1.5 GBP in the pound zone. BSMV is excluded.   Click for bank list.
Yapı Kredi Bank		3 USD	You can withdraw money from contracted banks free of charge in 12 countries, and from ATMs within Unicredit without paying a commission fee. When you withdraw money with a debit card from bank ATMs other than Unicredit group banks, a commission of 3 USD is charged per transaction.  Click for bank list.

* Bank fees are the information published on the banks' websites in March 2018.

Using a Credit Card Abroad

I use a credit card abroad to avoid carrying large amounts of cash with me. I use a credit card for items that are both reliable and cost-effective for hotels, transportation (such as planes, trains). My suggestions for using credit cards abroad:

• Do not give your credit card to someone and do not go away, do not send the card to pay the account, the most card copying is done on credit cards used for international travels. Always have your card under surveillance.
• The practices of banks also differ in the use of credit cards abroad. However, in general, your spending is converted to usd or euro and then converted to Turkish lira, so be aware that you will lose some money due to the exchange rate difference.
• While shopping, the cashier may ask you whether to withdraw USD or local currency, in that case, say usd, because we are constantly losing money when converting from local currency to usd and then from usd to TL. At least one step less.
• As with the debit card, always have a backup of the credit card with you and if possible keep the two cards in different places.
• If your credit card limit is high, it would be beneficial to lower the limit before going abroad. If your card is stolen, it's only a matter of time before they spend all the money on your card limit.
• When you use a credit card and if your card is a mileage program card, you will gain an advantage here, as overseas spending usually earns more miles.

I am aware that it is a very long and detailed article, but I wanted to answer all the questions on these issues. If you have other issues on your mind, you can add them as a comment.

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