Citibank PrePaid Card

indiamike · Nov 16th, 2002, 07:41

On Friday Citibank launched a pre-paid US dollar card along with Visa international.

The prepaid card will range in amounts from US $500 to US $10,000.

Customers will be able to buy able purchase goods and services at point-of-sale machines (places that take credit cards) and withdraw cash directly from ATM's.

For travellers using debit cards and travellers checks this my be an alternative.

I have asked Citibank for some more info on this and will post it as I recieve it.

indiamike · Nov 21st, 2002, 04:53

Not to much info yet from Citibank when this is becoming available.

Quote:

Dear Sir,

We wish to inform you that we have recently introduced the offer of Pre paid US dollar Credit cards. Thank you for your interest in such offer. We are yet to finalise the details and this product will be launched shortly. We shall keep you updated once the product gets launched.

Warm Regards,
R.Sujatha.
Customer Service Executive.

-m2- · Nov 21st, 2002, 21:25

good find, Mike, could be useful depending on the details.

I asked a lady who has been living in India for 3 years about her experience with ATMs as she mentioned that she used them exclusively.

Charges: she has a MasterCard Debit card which charges $7US per transaction !!! but also has a card issued by her credit union which charges only $.50 per -- obvioulsly only desperation would force her to use the MasterCard. My bank, CIBC (Canadian bank) charges $3CDN (around 2US) per.

Daily amount: She found that machine limits can vary from day to day -- she speculated that it depended on funds remaining in the machine at the time. the amounts available varied from 4,000 to 20,000 rupees in her experience. The transaction fee is obviously a very significant factor on a percentage basis, particularly if only the lesser amount is available or required.

I'll stick to TC's for now, my bank issues AMEX checks at no charge, so I'll put up with a 'perhaps' slightly inferior exchange rate.

keep on it Mike, could be a convenient and economical addition to a traveller's arsenal.

mike

indiamike · Aug 13th, 2003, 06:12

So following up on the Citibank prepaid Visa, I don't think this really came out like the way it sounded when they first announced it.

As many people know China, Indonesia and Korea have a prepaid Visa cards where you can go and deposit money and have a Visa card with a preset limit.

Kookmin Card and Samsung Card in Korea have the "Korea Pass", a Visa prepaid card for tourists visiting Korea.

I contacted Citibank about the prepaid Visas and the status of it and this was the reply-

Quote:

We suggest you to acquire the Citibank World Money Card ( India's first dollar denominated multiuse prepaid Visa card).

This card can be purchased only by Indian citizens holding a bonafide Indian passport

It can be purchased at RBI-authorized money changers and select Citibank branches in India

Kindly do the following

* Remit the INR equivalent of the USD amount that you wishes to load

* fill up an application form

*submit copies of the A2 form, Air Ticket and passport

*Complete the Form 60 declaration (only in the absence of a PAN number)

So for foreign tourists this seems to be another non-winning idea.

wonderwomanusa · Aug 13th, 2003, 13:22

OTOH, for those with a Citibank account, this bank apparently has ATMs all over India. I was happy with Citibank when I lived in NYC, and am thinking about switching an account over to them so that I can take advantage of this.

For the type of account that I'd be getting, I could also get free AmEx TCs .... seems like a good deal to me!

IainC · Aug 13th, 2003, 15:50

Whilst this sounds like a good idea, I have found that the old fashion ruse of covering all your bases, to be a good idea i.e. cash, travellers cheques and credit cards. Although I am using my ATM card more and more in India. In the UK I bank with Abbey National, who are members of the Link and Cirrus networks and I can use my card at Standard Chartered, Grindlays, HSBC and ICICI banks. The daily limit is Rs25,000 and my bank charges me £1.50 per transaction.

pooch · Aug 13th, 2003, 18:18

Iain,
You sure the bank still charges 1.50 per transaction when the card is used at ATMs overseas? or is it what they charged years ago ?

cookiemonster · Aug 14th, 2003, 03:09

I met a guy off in India who only used ATMs. He had specially opened an Internet account for that purpose. According to him they didnt charge him at all. (I wonder if it is so!?) But it might be worth checking internet banking!

-m2- · Aug 14th, 2003, 03:44

Internet banking and ATMs are two different things. One would use an internet account to shift moneys from one account to another and pay bills etc. The ATM's you use in India are owned by someone and that entity will naturally charge a fee for disbursing money to you -- this may be in an fee-sharing arrangement with your home bank, and it could be partly disguised by a 'fee' included in the exchange rate they give, but there is no free lunch. People who think bank services are 'free' just do not understand how the system works.

For anyone travelling outside the major cities, ATM's may not always be a convenient source of funds; I'm with IainC on taking a balanced approach with TC's and cash in addition to plastic.

cookiemonster · Aug 14th, 2003, 03:50

So most usually you will get charged twice: once for using the 'local' ATM and the second for cash withdrall from your bank.
May be what he meant was that he only got charged for the first. ?!?

Having said that, in places where there is no ATM but charge through the 'traditional' way(Hampi) I had problems getting money at the bank. They did not want to accept my Spanish Visa. A visa after all but...
So I agree with you, better balance it... $$$

IainC · Aug 14th, 2003, 05:14

I just checked an old bank statement. My bank charges me 1.5% per withdrawal to use an ATM in India (or anywhere else outside the UK for that matter).

Nov 16th, 2002, 07:41	#1
indiamike Retired Admin Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: New Joisey for now Posts: 1,759	Citibank PrePaid Card On Friday Citibank launched a pre-paid US dollar card along with Visa international. The prepaid card will range in amounts from US $500 to US $10,000. Customers will be able to buy able purchase goods and services at point-of-sale machines (places that take credit cards) and withdraw cash directly from ATM's. For travellers using debit cards and travellers checks this my be an alternative. I have asked Citibank for some more info on this and will post it as I recieve it. Attached Images

Aug 13th, 2003, 13:22	#5
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 4,261	OTOH, for those with a Citibank account, this bank apparently has ATMs all over India. I was happy with Citibank when I lived in NYC, and am thinking about switching an account over to them so that I can take advantage of this. For the type of account that I'd be getting, I could also get free AmEx TCs .... seems like a good deal to me! __________________ The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

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Nov 21st, 2002, 21:25	#3
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,575	good find, Mike, could be useful depending on the details. I asked a lady who has been living in India for 3 years about her experience with ATMs as she mentioned that she used them exclusively. Charges: she has a MasterCard Debit card which charges $7US per transaction !!! but also has a card issued by her credit union which charges only $.50 per -- obvioulsly only desperation would force her to use the MasterCard. My bank, CIBC (Canadian bank) charges $3CDN (around 2US) per. Daily amount: She found that machine limits can vary from day to day -- she speculated that it depended on funds remaining in the machine at the time. the amounts available varied from 4,000 to 20,000 rupees in her experience. The transaction fee is obviously a very significant factor on a percentage basis, particularly if only the lesser amount is available or required. I'll stick to TC's for now, my bank issues AMEX checks at no charge, so I'll put up with a 'perhaps' slightly inferior exchange rate. keep on it Mike, could be a convenient and economical addition to a traveller's arsenal. mike

Aug 13th, 2003, 15:50	#6
IainC Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London Posts: 194	Whilst this sounds like a good idea, I have found that the old fashion ruse of covering all your bases, to be a good idea i.e. cash, travellers cheques and credit cards. Although I am using my ATM card more and more in India. In the UK I bank with Abbey National, who are members of the Link and Cirrus networks and I can use my card at Standard Chartered, Grindlays, HSBC and ICICI banks. The daily limit is Rs25,000 and my bank charges me £1.50 per transaction.

Aug 13th, 2003, 18:18	#7
pooch Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Middle East <---->India Posts: 384	Iain, You sure the bank still charges 1.50 per transaction when the card is used at ATMs overseas? or is it what they charged years ago ?

Aug 14th, 2003, 03:09	#8
cookiemonster Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Spain Posts: 29	I met a guy off in India who only used ATMs. He had specially opened an Internet account for that purpose. According to him they didnt charge him at all. (I wonder if it is so!?) But it might be worth checking internet banking!

Aug 14th, 2003, 03:44	#9
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,575	Internet banking and ATMs are two different things. One would use an internet account to shift moneys from one account to another and pay bills etc. The ATM's you use in India are owned by someone and that entity will naturally charge a fee for disbursing money to you -- this may be in an fee-sharing arrangement with your home bank, and it could be partly disguised by a 'fee' included in the exchange rate they give, but there is no free lunch. People who think bank services are 'free' just do not understand how the system works. For anyone travelling outside the major cities, ATM's may not always be a convenient source of funds; I'm with IainC on taking a balanced approach with TC's and cash in addition to plastic.

Aug 14th, 2003, 03:50	#10
cookiemonster Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Spain Posts: 29	So most usually you will get charged twice: once for using the 'local' ATM and the second for cash withdrall from your bank. May be what he meant was that he only got charged for the first. ?!? Having said that, in places where there is no ATM but charge through the 'traditional' way(Hampi) I had problems getting money at the bank. They did not want to accept my Spanish Visa. A visa after all but... So I agree with you, better balance it... $$$

Aug 14th, 2003, 05:14	#11
IainC Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London Posts: 194	I just checked an old bank statement. My bank charges me 1.5% per withdrawal to use an ATM in India (or anywhere else outside the UK for that matter).