Something to think about if your about to travel

[Jack]

I saw Kievstar post something on another thread and thought due to it's (my perceived) importance I would embellish a little more for guys who are about to travel to think about.

I got 6.5 on Saturday in Kharkov on local exchange stores but bank machines were giving 5.89. 

Due to the expense to send money by Western Union several years ago I set up atm accounts for several of our associates in Ukraine and Russia. A couple of times a week I send funds to Kiev or Kharkov or Dnepropetrovsk or where ever.   

For the first time last week I did something, I said something, I thought I would never do or say.

Had to send a bunch of money to Ukraine last week. When using an atm card, for a Bank of America account, in Ukraine the banks were paying 5.6, 5.7 grivnas to the dollar.  But wait, the sign outside this money exchange booth on Khershatyk say's that they are buying dollars for 6.4, 6.5 grivnas to the dollar!

And this is what is happening, the banks in Ukraine are paying 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 grivnas to your dollar when using your credit card or atm card.

Using a bank card we could be losing $25 per hundred with what the bank was paying compared to what the street was offering.  So, to save money, and I thought I would never say that, to save money I took funds from the Bank of America account and sent by Western Union. When our people collect these dollars at Western Union they can then exchange these dollars for 6.5, 6.6 grivnas. If you use your atm card, pull out a hundred dollars, you will get 560, 570 grivnas.

What is the moral to this story grasshopper?  If you are traveling to Ukraine, or Russia, anytime soon, you should bring more cash and not rely as much on atm or credit cards.

[Shadow]

This is a clear result of the current international situation.
In stable times banks will offer a better rate, as they buy and sell foreign curreny at long term. But in unstable times, foreign currency like the US$ is in high demand, and there for will get a better cash rate as official exchange.