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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 25, 2018 15:32:45 GMT -5
You guys should really watch out using Bank Cards to take money from ATMs Just because you have Capital 1 or Schwab or TD doesnt mean you arent getting ripped big time. They get you way worse with the exchange rates than with the "published" fees. Same with all the banks in Colombia. I took 780 mil out of Servientrega.They claimed an Access fee of only 12,600 pesos. Or like 1.5% of 780 mil. What a mentira. I checked against the Canadian dollar exchange rate actual from my bank statement against the oficial XE com rate and it was 2166 vs the oficial rate of of 2270 or 4.5 % In other words an extra 3% in the exchange rate or an extra 23 mil.pesos above what they "said" they charged for the 780 mil withdrawal. All Bank ATMs are the same. On the other hand ,I purchased groceries with my visa card and got an exchange rate with in exactly 2.5% of the oficial rate , as advertised by VISA.This is the case every time. Solution: use a credit for purcases as much as possible. At least you know what you are getting charged. Keep in mind hoy have to do the calculstion with in.minutes of withdrawing the money because tve rates do change. But the calculation has been consistent. And I am.pretty sure the profit is being grabbed on the Colombian Bank side , because I had a long conversación with my Canadian Bank.on this topic. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 25, 2018 15:45:56 GMT -5
I checks tve TE Bank velo.line and they once again confirmes that the extra charges fue to currncy conversión is being done on tve Colombian side. Excerpt from their website: "Other fees that may be assessed for an ATM withdrawal, including currency conversion, would be charged by the financial institution that owns or operates the ATM. You may refer to the ATM at the time of withdrawal or that bank directly for their fee information. Also, please refer to: bit.ly/1kb17UQ (pg. 44-45) for more information." So use ATM withdrawals with descretion andtry to use your CC. Dont know Any hassle free way of conveniently and cheaply extracting money from your overseas Bank account, but 4.5% seem expensive, although this can be reduced to 3% with a Charles Schwab,Capital one or US TD account, but a whole bunch of hassles are introduced. |
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 25, 2018 23:19:07 GMT -5
I wish I had a CapitalOne or Schwab card, They seem to hold up well at the ATM's with no fees.
Since Colpatria Bank bought the Colombian Citibank division, I still pay no fees at Colpatria ATM's but get a very low exchange rate now instead of TRM (Banco de Republica) or somewhat near it.
Most banks here take a cut out of the official TRM exchange rate (http://www.dataifx.com/) for their trouble with regular debit cards but they don't seem to be messing with CapitalOne or Schwab cards, which are more or less investment accounts.
I will refrain from using ATM's, start negotiating the 'Demanda' rate with Bancolombia and do a transfer into my Colombian bank to tie me over for several months too.
Just need to watch the yearly (Calendar year) maximum deposits to keep DIAN of my back.
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 26, 2018 7:13:46 GMT -5
I wish I had a CapitalOne or Schwab card, They seem to hold up well at the ATM's with no fees. Since Colpatria Bank bought the Colombian Citibank division, I still pay no fees at Colpatria ATM's but get a very low exchange rate now instead of TRM (Banco de Republica) or somewhat near it. Most banks here take a cut out of the official TRM exchange rate (http://www.dataifx.com/) for their trouble with regular debit cards but they don't seem to be messing with CapitalOne or Schwab cards, which are more or less investment accounts. I will refrain from using ATM's, start negotiating the 'Demanda' rate with Bancolombia and do a transfer into my Colombian bank to tie me over for several months too. Just need to watch the yearly (Calendar year) maximum deposits to keep DIAN of my back. Dont fool yourself. You are estilo getting ripped with their cards through the exchange rate on the Colombian ATM end. The only way to really know how much is to make a withdrawal, immediaely check the rate you are getting, then compare it to the rates on the XE exchange or other sites with the instant "oficial " rates. Banks have to.make money somehow. They dont do things for free.Especially Colombian banks. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 26, 2018 7:23:28 GMT -5
What bank do you use Calipro?
Do they send you emails about personal stuff like whether you did a declaration de renta or report stuffto DIAN?
How much do you get chaged for transfer from the states? Do you have to use only their ATMs for no fees? What are their monthly fees for the acount?
Dont know how low you can get the total included fees Doubt less than 2%
Wish you could everything in Colombia with a cc.
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Post by saltador on Aug 26, 2018 19:00:20 GMT -5
My curiosity was piqued by Elex's comments about my Schwab card, so I used an ATM today in Cartagena.
I withdrew 320 mil, then checked my Schwab account, they debited 107.36.
If my math is correct, that was 2980 for the exchange rate, while XE.com is showing 2957, so they actually gave me a better than current market rate. Maybe they used the rate from Friday? (Today is Sunday.)
The math on my last few withdrawls was not so favorable, came out to 2927 and 2874 (within the last week.)Still not bad.
Overall I'm still extremely happy with the Schwab card.
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 26, 2018 19:30:06 GMT -5
My curiosity was piqued by Elex's comments about my Schwab card, so I used an ATM today in Cartagena. I withdrew 320 mil, then checked my Schwab account, they debited 107.36. If my math is correct, that was 2980 for the exchange rate, while XE.com is showing 2957, so they actually gave me a better than current market rate. Maybe they used the rate from Friday? (Today is Sunday.) The math on my last few withdrawls was not so favorable, came out to 2927 and 2874 (within the last week.)Still not bad. Overall I'm still extremely happy with the Schwab card. They used Friday's rate, the only rate they've got because the currency market is closed on weekends and holidays.
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Post by sedelen on Aug 26, 2018 20:56:13 GMT -5
My curiosity was piqued by Elex's comments about my Schwab card, so I used an ATM today in Cartagena. I withdrew 320 mil, then checked my Schwab account, they debited 107.36. If my math is correct, that was 2980 for the exchange rate, while XE.com is showing 2957, so they actually gave me a better than current market rate. Maybe they used the rate from Friday? (Today is Sunday.) The math on my last few withdrawls was not so favorable, came out to 2927 and 2874 (within the last week.)Still not bad. Overall I'm still extremely happy with the Schwab card. I believe 2957 was Fridays rate, changes little or nothing through the weekend. That being the case, you usually get the same rate through the weekend, has been my experience with ATM cards that I have anyway. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2018 10:22:23 GMT -5
Don't panic, but the $DXY losing daily trend line, the dollar could get weaker.
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Post by sedelen on Aug 27, 2018 10:37:30 GMT -5
Don't panic, but the $DXY losing daily trend line, the dollar could get weaker. It is weaker, @ 2930. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 27, 2018 10:58:03 GMT -5
My curiosity was piqued by Elex's comments about my Schwab card, so I used an ATM today in Cartagena. I withdrew 320 mil, then checked my Schwab account, they debited 107.36. If my math is correct, that was 2980 for the exchange rate, while XE.com is showing 2957, so they actually gave me a better than current market rate. Maybe they used the rate from Friday? (Today is Sunday.) The math on my last few withdrawls was not so favorable, came out to 2927 and 2874 (within the last week.)Still not bad. Overall I'm still extremely happy with the Schwab card. They used Friday's rate, the only rate they've got because the currency market is closed on weekends and holidays.
Right. On weekends they use the previos Fridays closing rate. Good point. I have to remember that next ti e I make a withdrawal or visa extraction in other to compare Apples to apples. Still.the visa rate is consistently closet to 2.5 and the atm withdrawal close to 4.5 % or 3% lesa Publisher ATM fees. I realy doubt the local ATM banks differentiate between Scwab and other account when using the exchange rate. |
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Post by scumbuster on Aug 27, 2018 11:11:39 GMT -5
The big advantage of the Schwab card is you get reimbursed the ATM fee. Bancolombia is now something like 12,500 mil ATM fee each use, but all have gone up. To be truthful I rarely look to see the ATM fee because I know its paid by Schwab.
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Post by sedelen on Aug 27, 2018 13:18:31 GMT -5
Looks like the Fed is doing a little bit of backtracking. It put out guidance that it was likely to keep raising rates, then Trump badmouthed them, and now, it appears, perhaps there might be one more rate hike at the end of the year? Well...……. so were anticipating that rates have topped for the time being? I'm not buying it. If the economy gets too hot, the Fed will have to act, and that' it, bottom line. finance.yahoo.com/news/u-dollar-weakens-fed-powell-231412861.html |
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Post by pilotguy68 on Aug 27, 2018 14:50:36 GMT -5
I get fees reimbursed also, but never get the correct pesos per dollar, the banks discount a lot. I have mentioned my test before. Bancolombia seems to change with the wind. I have been charged over 200 pesos per dollar discount + the fee. joe
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 10:23:21 GMT -5
I get fees reimbursed also, but never get the correct pesos per dollar, the banks discount a lot. I have mentioned my test before. Bancolombia seems to change with the wind. I have been charged over 200 pesos per dollar discount + the fee. joe Hopefully, you are no longer using Bancolombia. I only use them when I get the fees reimbursed, period. I haven't found any ambiguity in their rates affecting any of my transactions, yet...…………. but, when and if it should happen, I'll make a note on here about it. |
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Post by pilotguy68 on Aug 28, 2018 10:36:50 GMT -5
Yea, no longer use them. I have carefully tested them several times. I will also advise as I learn more. joe
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 28, 2018 12:30:04 GMT -5
I get fees reimbursed also, but never get the correct pesos per dollar, the banks discount a lot. I have mentioned my test before. Bancolombia seems to change with the wind. I have been charged over 200 pesos per dollar discount + the fee. joe Hopefully, you are no longer using Bancolombia. I only use them when I get the fees reimbursed, period. I haven't found any ambiguity in their rates affecting any of my transactions, yet...…………. but, when and if it should happen, I'll make a note on here about it. Sedelen All the banks are in cahoots. One gets the idea of ripping you off on tve exchange rate the others follow thriugh. Lately they have all been charging 3 % on exchange rate plus another 1.5 to 2 % with the Published fee (12 yo 13.6 mil), assuming you take tvhe Maximino.out 600 to 760.mil pesos. I have never seen.it as high as 200 mil.on the USD though. That like 6.6%. There was a while back when they seemed to.just charge you the published fee and gave you the exchange rate pretty close to par. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 28, 2018 12:36:12 GMT -5
I get fees reimbursed also, but never get the correct pesos per dollar, the banks discount a lot. I have mentioned my test before. Bancolombia seems to change with the wind. I have been charged over 200 pesos per dollar discount + the fee. joe Hopefully, you are no longer using Bancolombia. I only use them when I get the fees reimbursed, period. I haven't found any ambiguity in their rates affecting any of my transactions, yet...…………. but, when and if it should happen, I'll make a note on here about it. Sedelen... Are you sure you arent getting ripped? You need to withdraw on a weekday and check your rate at the exact time within minutes on XE com or similar site. You might be very surprised at the result. |
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 15:00:50 GMT -5
Hopefully, you are no longer using Bancolombia. I only use them when I get the fees reimbursed, period. I haven't found any ambiguity in their rates affecting any of my transactions, yet...…………. but, when and if it should happen, I'll make a note on here about it. Sedelen... Are you sure you arent getting ripped? You need to withdraw on a weekday and check your rate at the exact time within minutes on XE com or similar site. You might be very surprised at the result. I make use of my cards. Two I use US Banks charge fees, independent from any fees charged here. One charges a 1% International transaction fee, and both charge user fees. But, as far as the exchange rate, it's always been within the daily range I see posted on Bloomberg. I use two different banks here, Davivienda and Bancolombia. Another card I use with Bancolombia because the stiff fees Bancolombia charges are reimbursed, so whether it's 12.6 or 13.6 mil really doesn't matter as I don't have to pay it. I've checked transactions based on declarations of people being ripped off, some in what I considered big ways, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary in my transactions, so now I've quit questioning it unless I can see something out of kilter. Perhaps, I'll get to the point where I need to figure a transaction down to the "gnats" ass, and will use the XE posted exchange rate just prior to using my Card. But I just don't see any reason to go there now. I can live with the small percentages I know the banks make. Sorry to say some stuff I see leads me to believe there are folks that really don't have a clue as how to figure out the math involved in these transactions, so they perhaps feel cheated because they might have erred in their math, or can't explain it, so they just shoot off the hip, so to speak without any meaningful explanation, or don't respond at all when being backed in a corner. I mean, I expect people to be competent enough to balance a check book and I can't believe how many I know personally, that can't. It's really sad when it becomes evident, because most of these people come across as fairly smart otherwise, and you expect them to be able to use the calculator that's on their phone to figure out a basic transaction. I have a gringo friend, geez, he's been here off and on his entire adult life, we went to look at a rental apartment in Rio Negro, he told me the price was 1.5 million pesos a month. And somehow he got it in his head it was $300.00 USD. And I asked him, how did you come up with that? And he said his wife's friend rented one for $300.00, so this one should be the same, and I told him, $300 USD is not 1.5 million pesos. I could see the wheels spinning in his head and he just couldn't figure it out. I mean really? And then I said, look just divide 1.5 million by 3 like in 3 mil pesos to the dollar. I actually had to show him how to do the math on his phone's calculator. Then, it finally dawned on him. So, he asked the realtor for a discount, and we were back on the curb awaiting a taxi in a New York minute. Sad, very sad. I will say this though, your advice on the use of credit cards was spot on. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 28, 2018 17:56:46 GMT -5
Sedelen... Are you sure you arent getting ripped? You need to withdraw on a weekday and check your rate at the exact time within minutes on XE com or similar site. You might be very surprised at the result. I make use of my cards. Two I use US Banks charge fees, independent from any fees charged here. One charges a 1% International transaction fee, and both charge user fees. But, as far as the exchange rate, it's always been within the daily range I see posted on Bloomberg. I use two different banks here, Davivienda and Bancolombia. Another card I use with Bancolombia because the stiff fees Bancolombia charges are reimbursed, so whether it's 12.6 or 13.6 mil really doesn't matter as I don't have to pay it. I've checked transactions based on declarations of people being ripped off, some in what I considered big ways, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary in my transactions, so now I've quit questioning it unless I can see something out of kilter. Perhaps, I'll get to the point where I need to figure a transaction down to the "gnats" ass, and will use the XE posted exchange rate just prior to using my Card. But I just don't see any reason to go there now. I can live with the small percentages I know the banks make. Sorry to say some stuff I see leads me to believe there are folks that really don't have a clue as how to figure out the math involved in these transactions, so they perhaps feel cheated because they might have erred in their math, or can't explain it, so they just shoot off the hip, so to speak without any meaningful explanation, or don't respond at all when being backed in a corner. I mean, I expect people to be competent enough to balance a check book and I can't believe how many I know personally, that can't. It's really sad when it becomes evident, because most of these people come across as fairly smart otherwise, and you expect them to be able to use the calculator that's on their phone to figure out a basic transaction. I have a gringo friend, geez, he's been here off and on his entire adult life, we went to look at a rental apartment in Rio Negro, he told me the price was 1.5 million pesos a month. And somehow he got it in his head it was $300.00 USD. And I asked him, how did you come up with that? And he said his wife's friend rented one for $300.00, so this one should be the same, and I told him, $300 USD is not 1.5 million pesos. I could see the wheels spinning in his head and he just couldn't figure it out. I mean really? And then I said, look just divide 1.5 million by 3 like in 3 mil pesos to the dollar. I actually had to show him how to do the math on his phone's calculator. Then, it finally dawned on him. So, he asked the realtor for a discount, and we were back on the curb awaiting a taxi in a New York minute. Sad, very sad. I will say this though, your advice on the use of credit cards was spot on. I think you should check.it out.A "gnats ass" can be quite significant. I just took a bunch of money out and from 4 difierent banks and was shocked to see Me being charged exactly the same..a hefty 7 Percent from BancoColombia, Banco de Bogota and Sirvienbanco and 5 percent from Davivienda. The posted fees 12600 to 13600 pesos only make Up 2 %. I am so shocked I am.going to phone my bank Up and see what is happening as well. I am los going to phone Charles Schwab and Capitol.one and TD US account people about their accounts . But for me it is a big hassle.I have to have a US address, invest the minimum in the account and transfer thousands from.my Canadian account to the US account every month. And honestly, I find it hard to believe that the Colombian Banks give better exchange rate on Charles Schwab and other no fee account than on other cards. Pilot guy seems to have doffeent experience than you do on this matter. |
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 28, 2018 18:16:46 GMT -5
Héres another option. Send money from your US or Canadian account to a BancoColombia or other Colombian account using one of these methods. www.timedoctor.com/blog/whats-cheapest-way-send-money-colombia/The "hidden exchange rate fee" is what we are talking about..the penaly they charge you by devaluing the exchange rate..over and above the "Published" fees ..12600 to 13600 typical by Colombian banks. Still best idea is to use your CC as much as possible. 2.5% charges by visa guaranteed and you dont have to worry about any other "hidden fees" |
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 28, 2018 18:45:34 GMT -5
Yesterday Monday, the 27th. at 9:38 AM I withdrew 300.000 and Citibank charged me $101.44 which comes to 2957, last Friday's rate.
Can't complain, except for the 3% international fee, Citibank gets me for each time I use the ATM. I pay no fees when using Colpatria's ATM which used to belong to Citibank.
But, as I mentioned earlier, when the Schwab card and the CapitalOne card got 3002.70 I only got 2930 with my Citibank card at Colpatria.
So I stormed into the Colpatria bank and asked them what they where doing with the exchange rate and was told the rate was set in Bogotá, they had nothing to do with it.
I have a feeling the daily rate is set by some big wheel at the head office and depends on how generous his mosa was the night before, because it's all over the place.
Citibank assured me, the rate for international withdrawals is decided in Colombia, they only control exchange rates for incoming funds.
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 28, 2018 18:51:39 GMT -5
XE Currency FAQ
What are “mid-market” rates?
Answer
The rates in our free information services are not transactional rates. Instead, they are mid-market rates derived from the mid-point between the "buy" and "sell" transactional rates from global currency markets. Our free information services always list the mid-market rate because it indicates the value of a currency that is not weighted towards buying or selling. Consumer clients or small to medium sized businesses cannot access these rates.
Transactional ("Buy" and "sell") rates include overheads and profit margins that are independently set by foreign exchange providers; their rates can vary a lot and will differ from the mid-market rate.
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Post by elexpatriado on Aug 28, 2018 20:08:00 GMT -5
XE Currency FAQ What are “mid-market” rates? Answer The rates in our free information services are not transactional rates. Instead, they are mid-market rates derived from the mid-point between the "buy" and "sell" transactional rates from global currency markets. Our free information services always list the mid-market rate because it indicates the value of a currency that is not weighted towards buying or selling. Consumer clients or small to medium sized businesses cannot access these rates. Transactional ("Buy" and "sell") rates include overheads and profit margins that are independently set by foreign exchange providers; their rates can vary a lot and will differ from the mid-market rate. Yeah they are a "Benchmark"and how far you are from the bechmark is howm uch.the bank is rippig you off. I talked to.my Bank ln Canadaand they confirmed the "buy" exchange rate are set by the Colombian banks when you use thier ATMs. I asked what exchange rate they would give metoday for a wire transfer and they gave 2276 for Canadian dollar to COP.the Xe com rate is 2311.this works out to a discount of 1.5%. As I remember they charged an additional $30 for a transfer, or about 1% on a $3000 transfer. Can probably make total Costs less than 2.5% ,about the same as a Visa Card. Still way better than the 4.5 to 7% these Colombian Ladrone banks have been chharging lately. Still, I would have to confirm the Exchange rates used and wiring costs with my local branch of the bank. Also a lot of headache to get them.to do a wire every me every month or two months. |
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 28, 2018 20:13:06 GMT -5
I believe the 'transactional rate' mentioned above which we are supposed to get is the TRM (Tasa Representativa del Mercado), in English it's called 'Market Exchange Rate' by Banco de Republica (Colombia's Central Bank) and is supposed to be applied by all other Colombian banks. I have discovered however that Colombian banks pay little attention to it any more and use rates that suit them best. You'll notice that Banco de Republica lists the TRM for the following day, regardless of what the market is doing the next day. In this case 2966 for 1 US$ for Aug. 29th. www.banrep.gov.co/en/colombian-peso/colombian-peso-market-exchange-rateYou can also find the TRM here as well as the current Demanda rate you can negotiate with your Bancolombia: www.dataifx.com/Of what I've learned so far about the Demanda, your local branch has a maximum amount for the Demanda at something under US$7000 (US$6700?) and if your transfer is for more the money will be returned to your bank back home. Have no idea what the minimum is. Still not sure at what point in time you need to contact the bank when doing the Demanda transfer.
Keep in mind that you will get the Demanda rate of the day when your transfer hits Bancolombia, not when you initiate the transfer, which makes it a bit more complicated in a volatile exchange market. If you want to use the Demanda for US$10.000 and more you need to consult the person at the 'Mesa de Dinero', usually located at the main Bancolombia office where you will be interrogated from which shady transaction the money came from, lol. |
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 20:22:56 GMT -5
Yesterday Monday, the 27th. at 9:38 AM I withdrew 300.000 and Citibank charged me $101.44 which comes to 2957, last Friday's rate. Can't complain, except for the 3% international fee, Citibank gets me for each time I use the ATM. I pay no fees when using Colpatria's ATM which used to belong to Citibank. But, as I mentioned earlier, when the Schwab card and the CapitalOne card got 3002.70 I only got 2930 with my Citibank card at Colpatria. So I stormed into the Colpatria bank and asked them what they where doing with the exchange rate and was told the rate was set in Bogotá, they had nothing to do with it. I have a feeling the daily rate is set by some big wheel at the head office and depends on how generous his mosa was the night before, because it's all over the place. Citibank assured me, the rate for international withdrawals is decided in Colombia, they only control exchange rates for incoming funds. Actually, the 2,957 rate which may have been Friday's rate, was also yesterdays (Monday's) closing rate if I remember correctly, and it wasn't a holiday. I believe it was around 2,942 when I checked it before I headed out yesterday early afternoon. I checked it after the market closed and it was 2,957. But the math works out for your transaction, 300 divided by 2.957 = 101.45, Damn, there's a penny missing! Now today there was a big swing in the currency, from a low of 2,933.32 to 2,989.00 with a close of 2,988.05 near the top of it's trading range. This makes it somewhat more difficult to gauge what you should be getting, and I believe there could be a variance in time and price from the banks. But for me, I expect anything I get to be within the range. |
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Post by caliorbust on Aug 28, 2018 20:36:52 GMT -5
Well, Bloomberg closed at 2988 today, lets see how long that will last tomorrow. It may also come down again in the morning considering the volatility of the market.
Banco Republica suggests 2966 for tomorrow, frankly I don't understand what they're doing with the exchange rates anymore.
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 20:55:51 GMT -5
Héres another option. Send money from your US or Canadian account to a BancoColombia or other Colombian account using one of these methods. www.timedoctor.com/blog/whats-cheapest-way-send-money-colombia/The "hidden exchange rate fee" is what we are talking about..the penaly they charge you by devaluing the exchange rate..over and above the "Published" fees ..12600 to 13600 typical by Colombian banks. Still best idea is to use your CC as much as possible. 2.5% charges by visa guaranteed and you dont have to worry about any other "hidden fees" I know when I do use Bancolombia, the fee is printed on the receipt, for 600 mil, it's 13.2 mil, or 2.2% but that fee is reimbursed. Of my two other cards, one charges 4% on a 400 mil transaction, so I hardly ever use that card, and another charges 2.3% on a 400 mil transaction, exchange rates aside. |
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 21:07:30 GMT -5
Well, Bloomberg closed at 2988 today, lets see how long that will last tomorrow. It may also come down again in the morning considering the volatility of the market. Banco Republica suggests 2966 for tomorrow, frankly I don't understand what they're doing with the exchange rates anymore. The currencies fluctuate like commodities, or stocks on the exchange, for every buyer there has to be a seller, and vice versa. Prices are determined by buying and selling pressure, and I believe it's the specialists, or the so called market makers that do all this stuff on the trading floor. Surely you seen that crazy action in the pits on the trading floor. And then you got your futures markets, and options markets, and it can get really complicated real quick. I'll just say this right up front, I don't trade options and futures, I don't fully understand it, I just know it's out there. |
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Post by sedelen on Aug 28, 2018 21:14:16 GMT -5
XE Currency FAQ What are “mid-market” rates? Answer The rates in our free information services are not transactional rates. Instead, they are mid-market rates derived from the mid-point between the "buy" and "sell" transactional rates from global currency markets. Our free information services always list the mid-market rate because it indicates the value of a currency that is not weighted towards buying or selling. Consumer clients or small to medium sized businesses cannot access these rates. Transactional ("Buy" and "sell") rates include overheads and profit margins that are independently set by foreign exchange providers; their rates can vary a lot and will differ from the mid-market rate. Yeah they are a "Benchmark"and how far you are from the bechmark is howm uch.the bank is rippig you off. I talked to.my Bank ln Canadaand they confirmed the "buy" exchange rate are set by the Colombian banks when you use thier ATMs. I asked what exchange rate they would give metoday for a wire transfer and they gave 2276 for Canadian dollar to COP.the Xe com rate is 2311.this works out to a discount of 1.5%. As I remember they charged an additional $30 for a transfer, or about 1% on a $3000 transfer. Can probably make total Costs less than 2.5% ,about the same as a Visa Card. Still way better than the 4.5 to 7% these Colombian Ladrone banks have been chharging lately. Still, I would have to confirm the Exchange rates used and wiring costs with my local branch of the bank. Also a lot of headache to get them.to do a wire every me every month or two months. I just wished I could make good use of my Discover Card down here. I have actually used it, at the Immigration office in Belen, and I was shocked that it actually worked. That was before they came out with these so called "Travel Plans." Prior to that, I just used to get calls from their fraud department, even when I called them up in advance telling them I was going to be using the card within a certain time frame. |
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