Obtaining money with a Citibank account , or HSBC- your thoughts?

shishkani

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, as well as my first trip to India (or anywhere outside of the US!). I have a devious plan to get the best exchange rate for my dollars to rupees in India - I had planned to open a Citibank checking account, knowing that they have ATMs in many location in Mumbai, and also that their cards work in a lot of other overseas ATMs.

So here was my plan: open a citibank account, deposit in it the amount of money I plan to use (plus a little extra in case of emergencies). Carry perhaps $40 in cash on me, exchange this at the airport in Mumbai; and once I get out into the city, visit a Citibank ATM and withdraw a much more substantial amount of money, in rupees, and with a much better exchange rate than I could get at the airport. I also have a Wachovia account, which is my main checking account here in the US, and I figured I would take my ATM card for that as well, just in case; and leave a spare citibank card stateside here with my hubby, also just in case.

I am traveling with a US friend of mine( As well as her mother, and two of her mother's friends). My friend recently married an indian man, so we will be there with him and his family - who live in Mumbai, so I should have a safe place to store the extra cash, and my iPod. So I don't have any concerns about what to do with the money after I get there - just about how to actually get it, while I am in Mumbai.

So I am asking this, especially to anyone who has a US-opened citibank account and has used it in India - does this seem like a good idea? Is there any reason why this would not work? I don't see why it shouldn't, but I thought I'd make sure before I go.

machadinha

? What's so devious about it? This is what ATM's are for, it's all the order of the day.

Call your bank to ask if you can use your card in India (and preferably widely use it there while you're at it, and again, there's nothing devious about it, so no harm whatsoever in calling them about it). If not, you could ask them for another card that will work (it just needs the right logo, so essentially the right chip), or you may have to look for another bank that will provide you with the right card.

That's it. Welcome to the modern world

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SitaParityaga

shishkani, I did a similar thing last year and it worked out fine, but you MUST have the type of ATM with a "VISA" logo on it in order to use it to get money out of the ATM machines. The "regular" ATM cards don't work.

Cayle

Maestro/Mastercard also works.

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Aishah

Also check whether fees for use of Citibank ATM in India are there or not? I should imagine because it's the same bank as the one you are using it should be less, but this may not be the case. Not many Citibank ATM's all over India btw - they are in the big cities but further afield less, so whilst travelling definitely a good idea to have your savings account linked to Visa, Maestro or Mastercard (Visa is most common in all ATM's here)and you'll never be 'stuck'!

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Roaming Jack

I executed "your" "devious" plan -- and there is a catch. There is a withdrawal fee from ATMs (and a slightly higher fee on the use of credit cards). It still may work out OK -- but call the bank to do the numbers.

Fan of India

Yes - The "Withdrawal fee" might 'eat' into your exchange rate savings. So 'several small withdrawals' might actually result into a costlier affair than 'few large withdrawals'.

Also you might not always get access to a Citibank ATM - specially whilst visiting smaller towns. In that case you might end up paying higher fees for using a share ATM.

Nick-H

I don't see why Citibank should give you any better exchange rate than any other bank. Likewise, ATM fees vary from bank to bank; you must check with CitiBank themselves.

Commissions, fees, etc, like this are best just accepted as part of the expense of travel.

You may be making a mistake in thinking that a bank which has branches (or a related/subsidiary company) in India will give the best terms. Try your local banks. In UK, it is one of the British companies that gives free foreign ATM withdrawals.

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shishkani

The reason I chose citibank is because, as far as I can tell, HSBC and citibank are the only two banks with branches in America and in Mumbai (I will be staying most of the time in Mumbai; and I plan to make two or three large withdrawals).

And by 'better exchange rate', I mean better than I'd get at the airport, and better than I'd get by bringing US cash in and changing it at some bank.

I do think it might be considered 'devious' by the bank - basically I would be opening the account to get the money over there, and then closing it after I get back. In fact, yesterday I called Citibank to ask if I had an account I opened here, would I be able to use the ATM card while in India to get money.

The operator told me 'No, you can't do that.' Even when I pointed out that their website says that you can use ATMS worldwide, he said it doesn't work that way.

I suspect he was wrong, or lying intentionally, but either way it makes me a little less willing to open an account with them; my main account is with Wachovia and I am going by a branch later today to speak to someone about what fees they might charge. If it's something like 2%, I could probably live with that.

KABAARY

Too clever by half...learn basic concepts of cash rate, TOM rate, spot rate - and then realise the futility of arguing against such rates quoted. Fees over and above are a different matter and "perhaps" negotiable.

Mickey S

You can withdraw money from any bank that is a member of the ATM network; it does not have to be the same bank with which you have your account.

If you already have a Visa or Mastercard (from any bank) then you can just load that up with cash before you go and withdraw it once you're in India.

hfot2

Depending on the type of citibank card [debit? credit? brokerage? - I know that's not what the OP will have] and the kind of account you have, you will be charged a 1% to 3% currency conversiion charge for money withdrawn from ATM's. The rate of exchange will also vary day to day and bank to bank.

We have found that AMEX Travelers Checks are not such an old fashioned, bad idea in India after all. FOREX exchanges were everywhere and we received better rates for TCs than for US dollars [except for $100 bills in Kolkata] and perhaps even better than at ATM's if you are subject to a 3% currency conversion fee. Even with only the 1% conversion fee on our card, the TCs cost just an additional 1% and their good rate of exchange worked for us.

Bottom line, bring some TCs as well.

ggraves

I have a Fidelity card which pays all ATM fees. I used it in India in February and March at many of the state bank ATMs without problem. The exchange rates were way better than the merchants and bank exchanges, and also better than the exchange rates for travelers checks. While rates varied, I got rates of from INRs 3950 per $100 US to slightly over INRs 4000. That's inclusive of fees (none.) Black markets were offering INR 3875 and banks less than that on $100 US amounts. Lesser amounts were pricier.

I know that Fidelity is not the only institution which reimburses ATM fees. I believe that TD North and ING Direct do as well, so I'm reasonably sure that there are others. You should check into these before deciding upon them, but I would make sure what the true Citibank charges are before using that as your only card. Just because they have operations in India does not guarantee they are cost effective.

I would also strongly suggest that you take two ATM cards instead of only one. You can probably fund them from an internet cafe and limit the funds you put in each in case of loss. Depending on your budget, you might want to put, say, $500 in each card and then move more money into the card as you need. You should be able to do that from almost any internet terminal. That way if a card is lost or stolen, the amount of potential loss is limited and you'll still have another card.

I was able to use my Visa card in places like Bhuj and Pushkar as well as larger cities like Jaipur and Mumbai without problem. The only issues came when the US banks were down for weekend maintenance... prime travel time in India.

Best of luck. I'll be following my own advice when we return in October for a month. I'm cashing the travelers checks here in the States where there's no premium involved.

Best of luck.

George

obione980

The networks are many - Plus, Maestro, Star etc etc etc. Most bank cards are affiliated to several networks - so access should not be a problem.

Fees as everyone has said can be a problem.

The ATM you use will not charge any fee for itself - fees go to the issuing bank (your bank). Some card issuers charge NO fees (Credit Unions particularly) Nationwide in the UK being one which doesn't.

Most charge a flat fee per use (around the $3 to $5 level), PLUS a % charge (generally between 2% and 4% of the withdrawal). In return they give you the wholesale Interbank Rate for the day (it's far better than the retail exchange rate money changers etc use).

Be sure your bank records the fact that you will be transacting in India. Credit card fraud levels worldwide are so prevalent they often cut access for cards which are used in unexpected places.

HelenR

Citibank will charge you for:

1) non-Citi ATM fee
2) Foreign transaction fee
3) commission on the exchange rate

From our experience, this is still better than exchanging at the airport. You could check exchange offices and see if they offer a better exchange rate than Citibank (US).

As long as you have a debit card that's a Visa or Mastercard, I don't think you'll have any problems (we never did in other countries).