|
Travellers Cheques (TC's)
A common questions: How is it best to take money to India?
Without a doubt Travellers Cheques are the safes, cheapest and best solution for any international traveler in 2008-2009.
Travelers Checks offer a guarantee that if they are lost or stolen they will be replaces in 24 hours!
Can you imagine being in India without any cash? Well it happens all the time, a travellers is moaning about having to money wired to them or have a friend lend them ruppees becasue their cash card doesn't work.
What wrong with relying on an ATM card?
1. Not very safe. ATM cards are not insured or designed for international travelers. If it is lost, stolen or damaged it may not be able to be replaced in Asia. Usually banks only issue replacement cards to your home address. If you rely on plastic in India it is possible that you'll find yourself cashless (and maybe homeless,) not a good situation for a budget traveler to be in.
2. Inconvenient. Yes, in India, it is a "inconvenience card." Only certain banks machines will accept foreign ATM cards, and they are not located everywhere. The bank of HSBC is one machine that works. ICICI is another, you may be to get an account abroad, that is an Indian Bank.The problem is that you will find yourself say 500km from Caclutta in Puri and no ATM. What will you do? go back to Calcutta? Small towns are will be even worse.
 3. Power outage and cash shortage. Many times the ATM can be closed ornot working.
4. Expensive. ATM cards generally will cost you more to use. You need to check the fine print, often the transaction fee is 3-5$, the exchange rate maybe be a little bit better or the same as TC's.
5. Demagnetization. ATM cards can become demagnetized from passing through an airport!
6. If you forget your pin code and try too many times you card may be locked for good, over three tries.
7. Fraud. As a foreigner you are are prone to fraud such as a fake ATmachines or one that captures you pin codes.
What about a credit card? Is that safe?
1. Credit cards are a bit safer than an ATM cards because the visa contected bank in India chould still give you a cash advance if you lost your credit card.
2. You may need to use a credit card for online flight bookings.
3. More expensive than ATM or TC's.
4. Fraudulent charges may be put on your card, so you need to check one per month your online statement. Cybercafes are often riddled with viruses (no, portable firefox will not solve all your problems.)
- Credit Card. Charges interest on cash advance. Fees are higher than ATM cards. You should have an on-line account to keep an eye on charges to your card if you are traveling for a long time.
- Notify you creidt card company that you are leaving the country. The credit card companies often blocks a card if too many strange charges appear from a foreign counrty.
More on Travellers Cheques
How much to take, what denominations? If you are planning two months in India and @$25 per day, then take 60 x $25 =$1800 in TC's. Usually $100 notes are ideal. You may want to take some smaller $20 notes if need to change at the airport. The airport is general known to offer a slightly lower rate.
What type? What currency? Where to buy them?
American express, Thomas Cook and Visa all offer travelers cheques, usually commission free. You may have to some looking around to find a commsion free service. I use http://www.pcfinancial.ca/ that is free
Travelers checks can be of any currency USD, EURO, Italian Lira. Usually people pick the most stable currency or even one they think will go up in value in time!
When you get your travelers checks, first thing you should do is record the serial numbers as well as any emergency contact phone numbers. Store this information in your email account. That way if you they are lost or stolen you can easily retrieve the information.
Where to change them?
Banks and private money changers are everywhere. Anywhere you can change cash you can change a TC. Banks may have a slightly better rate, usually charge 30Rs per check for a 'duty stamp." You can also bargin with private money changers, don't accept the first rate! 
Warning against thieves: Thief enter the room with room key, finds a packet of check and extracts one or two from the center of the pack. This way the victim may not notice for some time (or ever) that the checks are missing! Giving the thief time to cash them without being reported stolen.
Solution: keep track of your serial numbers on the checks and make packets of 5 checks sealed inside individual envelopes with tape (or wax.) This way a theif is prevented from opening the checks without being detected.
CASH
-
US or Euros cash is not really necessary.
Where ever you can change cash - you can change a TC's, but cash you can always lose, so it best to only carry what you need for a short while, say $200-300.
-
Some fool always seems to think that should carry all their money in cash!
-
NEVER CARRY ALL YOUR MONEY IN CASH.
-
-
Don't come to India without sufficient funds!
Overall India is a safe country and very few robbery's against tourists. But it may happen, so it’s best to be cautious. Remember not to pack your travelers checks or money cards inside your luggage, who knowns it may be lost in transit. You could be in a boat and it might overturn.
Dirty Money (literally)
Bills and notes can be very dirty in India. You will also find that coins are used more often than at home, so you end up carry a stack. A good idea is get a small pouch (puddi) with a draw string, these are available at local shops. If not a puddi then a small purse with a zipper. With a puddi you can wash the filth every week, and it will need it!
Passports
Make a digitlal copy (you could even use your camera) of your passport and current visa stamps. Upload the image to your email account folder. This way in an emergency you will be able to print it out a copy for temporary use. This will save you a lot of trouble should you lose your passport.
Every time you check in to a guesthouse in India you will have to supply: Your Name, Passport number, Date of issue, Date of expiry, Visa number, visa date of issue and visa expiry. You can make a copy of your passport and visa and just show that, that will save your passport for over use. Other times they will take it be photocopied and this way it can't be lost.
|
