ATMs & cell phone advice

ju2dy

Hello all,

This is my first post as I am new to the indiamike community.

I'm traveling to India Oct. 1 and planning to travel for 3 months within Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa. Since I don't want to travel alone with large amounts of cash, I wondered if ATM withdrawals were the best option (safe and reliable) for foreigners in India and if ATMs provided the best exchange rate? Would moneygrams be another feasible option if I had money wired to me while in India?

Second question is about getting a prepaid cell phone while in India -- any advice on buying a phone, average cost, who to buy it from and how easy is it to add minutes, etc? Also, would sending SMS text msgs from India to the US incur additional costs vs. domestic texts?

Your advice and suggestions are much appreciated!

Aishah

Hello Judy, and welcome to India Mike!

there have been several discussions re ATM's and generally it is agreed that the ATM is the best rate for exchange but take into account also the fees charged by your bank for a withdrawal outside country and from a bank that is not yours.

For your mobile phone enquiry I suggest you look at this Forum:

http://www.indiamike.com/india/elect...-in-india-f15/

at already existing threads in this regard. You can do a search within that forum too.

Moneygrams I think are very costly as far as fees go. Another option is to bring a few traveller's cheques as an emergency back up if an ATM is not available at any time. ATM's have proliferated enormously all over the country, so should not be too much problem finding one. Your card should be Cirrus/Maestro linked, Visa or Mastercard. Visa seems to be the one with the least problems. You can link on that card directly to your savings account and use it that way on the ATM - press Savings not Credit at the machine if you want to withdraw from savings.

__________________
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

gw5458

I found ATMs were very convenient and easy to use BUT it was not always possible to find one which worked with a specific card brand . I carried three cards - one Cirrus/Maestro debit card, a Visa debit card, and a Mastercard credit card. Occasionally I had to try all three before finding one which worked. An extra problem can be that your home bank may suspend your card if they think it is being used fraudulently - don't know about the USA but UK banks are very suspicious of transactions in India. It's worth making sure that your bank know where you are going and when to reduce that risk. If you are relying on ATMs I suggest you carry an emergency reserve of cash just in case you run into problems.

Aishah

That suspended thing for transactions in India is important - you must notify your bank you will be travelling in India. I notified mine 10 years ago, and have had no trouble until booking railway tickets the other day. The first one went through the next didn't. All failed attempts, about five of them. A message for me to contact my bank came the next morning on my email.

I did, and they had stopped my card, suspecting it was being fraudulently used. I assured them no I am still in India, and it was me all the time. Problem fixed quite promptly after that.

I agree - other sources of money are definitely wise - cash and TC's are what I would do. US dollars are very readily changed most places.

sa_ill

Card brand is not an issue. the card 'gateway' is the main factor, whether MasterCard or Visa. These days, every ATM supports both the gateways.

GoanCanuck

Not really. I have had my Visa card rejected by ATMs in Goa although it is very prominently written on the ATM that Visa branded cards are accepted.

sa_ill

Thats a little wierd. I've travelled to more than 10 countries with my Punjab National Bank Maestro card, and it works everywhere, leaving about a very minute number of ATMS who support only Visa.

I've never had problems in India too.

Might be some technical problem in the server, it happens sometimes...

Aishah

Reliability is not a word one can associate with ATM's here! They are a bit like Russian roulette; here in Jaisalmer you never want to count on them on a Monday morning. For some reason (lack of cash inside?) none of them work. I have given up ever trying one on a Monday morning. I go Tuesdays instead, when they are all well stocked up and running. (Not that I take out loads of money!!)

The same thing with your card - some will accept it, some won't. If there is a power cut, and not possible internet connections or whatever, then your transaction will also be unsuccessful.

But in spite of all these untoward happenings, you will still find ATM's where you can get your money!

ju2dy

Thank you so much for the info and advice...yes I will certainly inform my bank that I plan to use my ATM card in India. I'll check out the links to the other threads you mentioned as well. Many thanks

wonderwomanusa

Well, most of them might ... but I found an ATM in Pushkar that only takes MasterCard.

__________________
The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

kevin_Bkk

I’m comforted to read all this information. My experience was quite different. Before I left, the Indian Tourist Office assured me that my Thai, U.K and Australian cards would all be accepted by Indian ATMs.

When I arrived in Bodhgaya, I discovered that there is only one ATM machine in the whole town. That stands, with an armed guard, outside the Bank of India. There is always along queue in front of it. I took my place in the queue and when my turn came, I duly fed all my cards, one after the other, into the machine, only to have each rejected. The man behind me was prodding me in the back and telling me to hurry up all this time. I then went into the Bank of India ,where after struggling with local farmers, with no concept of the queue, I finally got to the Foreign Business section, I was dismissed with an arrogant wave of the hand "We deal with no foreign cards here" I then found my way to the only otter bank in town, The Bank of Baroda, I think, to be dismissed as curtly as before.

I was getting desperate now, but, I happened upon a shabby looking shop with a sign saying Well Fargo Money transfers above the door. I went in to discover the other face of India, not the indolent public servant, who cares not a damn, but the private entrepreneur. I told him my problem, he examined my cards with obvious delight and pronounced them all acceptable. A few minuets later, I left clutching the cash in my grateful hands and a cheery smile form the shop holder.His fee was very modest too. I never used an Indian bank again and I never succeeded in getting money out of an ATM in Bihar.

My advice is, therefore, if you hit a snag in withdrawing money, try the private sector and leave the banks alone.

merrymoon

I'm travelling to delhi in two days. I have a barclays visa debit card. My bank told me they have an arrangemnet with deutsche bank in india. Can anyone tell me are their many branches throughout india. The deutsche bank website's not terribly helpfull.

Aishah

If you do find out, I would be really interested. My bank in Oz is supposed to have an 'arrangement' with Citibank - I thought therefore no ATM fees would happen. Not the case. It's no different to any other bank here, there is no advantage with the 'arrangement' at all.