Alternatives to Using British-Issued Debit Cards?

Hi All,

My apologies if this question has already been addressed but I have looked everywhere and there is no answer on it.

Basically I am British (born in and still living in the UK, with a British passport) and am looking for the cheapest and most convenient way to handle my money in India. The only problem is that almost ALL British banks charge ridiculous fees for using your cards abroad. So just a few questions trying to resolve this:

1) Does anyone know of any banks based outside of the UK (ideally, India) which you can join and receive an ATM debit card for? Are there specific rules preventing non-Indians or non-resident foreigners from getting Indian bank accounts?

2) Failing this, how easy is it to exchange Traveller's Cheques? (TC's) in Indian cities? Are the exchange rates good or punitively poor? There is some information on this but it is a bit vague and/or out of date.

Thank-you in advance for your help Even if you only have the smallest piece of advice it will be helpful to me!

Regards

Penguin

I was in India for 5 months last year and used a Travelex Global Currency Card (Cash Passport Globe). You preload this with money (pounds) before you travel and then use the card to withdraw money at any ATMs that accept Mastercard.
The fee for withdrawals was much less than using my UK debit card.
You can also use the card to pay hotel bills etc.
It's easy to manage online, e.g. checking your balance, and if necessary you can top it up online from a UK bank account while you are still abroad.
It's available online or from Travelex shops and can be used anywhere in the world.
I found it the best way to access money while in India and will definitely use it again in future - my card is valid until 03/16.
You can withdraw money in the UK too, so once home I withdrew the balance just leaving £1 on the card.

THANK-YOU!

How had I not spotted this before? I am amazed by my own ignorance. That is such a fantastic help, @bsue, and really useful to me! I think I'll definitely get one of those and use that- at 1.49% it's certainly cheaper than the 1.5%+conversion fee+usage fee charged by a large number of the British banks.

Thanks again

Penguin

I was recommended to use travelers cheque by an indian but when I tried to use one in a bank in India, they said that they needed a copy of my passport and did not have a copy machine? So I just used my card.

We use the Clarity Card from Halifax when we go away as there is no fee to use it anywhere in the world.

Have a look at this site, we found out about the card here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...p-travel-money

But isn't this a credit card so you get charged interest from the time you withdraw any cash?

Hi All!

@JonBen thanks for your note on TC's on the back of that I'll probably avoid them.

@EmmaN68 also thank-you for the link to the Halifax Clarity Card, I think on balance getting a "Cash Passport" as suggested by @BSue would be slightly easier because there's no risk of being charged interest etc. but thanks for the link, I'll bear it in mind for future trips

Thanks again for all your advice, you've helped me out a lot

Captive

Cash is king!

Take a wad of BofE 50,s and dont lose them, as safe as a card which you dont loose either

Perhaps I should have elucidated further

GBP to INR today is about 85.

Last year it was less about 72.

2000 in the latter 60's.

exchange rate is all about the economy and how it it is perceived in global terms. India economy is suffering from gross deficit.

Banks will exchange GBP but first you have to find out what the going rate is, and then negotiate.. Managers are paid a premium on TC.s, as are UK banks and cards.

If you are travelling soon you will get a far better rate for exchange .

Bear in mind a cup of tea will cost about 5 rupees. Cost in UK?

Your choice