Finance and money forum

A couple things you can do. First make sure you notify your bank which countries you will be going to or when you try to get some money out of an ATM they may decline the withdrawal because the bank suspects fraud!

Only use an ATM that is attached to a bank, use the ATM during regular banking hours and an employee can open the ATM and get your card for you if it doesn't come out.

Ask your bank for a duplicate card in case you scrunch up your "one and only" card.

I use a debit card from a credit union back home, this credit union also pays my ATM fees too! No interest with a debit card! Some cards have big ATM fees! If your card has big fees don't make a lot of little withdrawals that cause you to have many fees! If you are in one place long enough take out the maximum you can at one time to lessen the fees.

You could open up a separate account with a different card and even different bank that you can use as a back up.

Make arrangements with a trusted friend or family member who can contact the bank on your behalf in case a problem comes up. (Lots of internet shops in Asia, no problem there!)

Use the security box for storing valuables and cash! You can store "need to know" important information on the internet in an email that you send to your self and save. Lots of internet shops all over, especially in Thailand and the Philippines.

If you are in one country for a long time (like Thailand for instance,) you might want to open up a bank account and use a local debit/bank card. At least this way you would have some local cash to fall back on in an emergency.

Use the security box provided by your hotel/hostel for safety. Don't bring a lot of valuables with you anyway! I wouldn't bring a laptop either unless you really need it for work or study.

Good luck.

Posted from within Vietnam.

I live in the Philippines most of the time. but I do travel to SE Asia. I use a small bank from my home town. They allow me to have 4 checking accounts and one savings account all attached so I can move money from one to another. I ordered 2 ATM(only) cards and 2 Debit cards attached to the 4 checking accounts. One of the checking accounts has overdraft protection connected to the savings account. I never carry a Debit card, they are backups or only to be used for rare credit card transactions. I carry one ATM card which was stolen once upon a time, but I didn't even report it because no one can do anything with it without the PIN. Also, the bank is part of Cirrus nad NYCE which must be the reason why I have never seen a charge for my ATM card use in any country.

Allen