'sending'money abroad (Brazil) with a prepaid ATM card?

insurgente

Hey all, been reading with interest these topics about the Caxton and FairFX prepaid ATM cards...

I'll be needing to send little bits of cash fairly regularly to Brazil. I was going to send some by Western Union until I saw the cost and noone at the Post Office seemed to know how to use Money Gram, so I came upon this crafty idea.

If I send a prepaid card out there and load it up from here once in a while, it'll be far cheaper, they'll be able to get cash whenever they want and not overspend .... or am I being too clever here?

Just wanted some opinions on whether this would work. Also the Fair FX card is available in euros or $US I understand. Would this mean I would essentially end up 'paying' to convert pounds to euros/dollars to Brazilian Reais, or does it work out ok? I saw Caxton offer a card in GBP (which would hopefully mean just converting from pounds straight to Reais) but I can't really afford to stick €150 on it straight away.

any advice greatly appreciated! :T

dzug1

Should work.

You will be charged for the conversion from whatever currency the card is in to Braz reais but the loading is reasonable, certainly better than Western Union or Moneygram even before fees.

benjus

According to the Fair FX FAQ, the exchange rate used to convert from EUR/USD to another currency is the Mastercard rate with no loading. The exchange rates when buying cards (i.e Sterling to EUR/USD) are very good - about 1% loading on the spot rate. So it looks like a very cheap option - the only downside being the $2 charge for cash withdrawals. Still, 1% plus $2 is really very cheap.

In comparison, the Caxton Sterling card would charge 2.5% loading on the exchange rates, but does not have a cash withdrawal charge.

Bob_the_Saver

Fairfx, Fairfx Fairfx Need I say more

insurgente

i saw the caxton FX site said this...

"Please note that if you use your Euro or Dollar card outside the Euro zone or United States respectively there is a 2.50% charge on all transactions, including ATM withdrawals."

so, essentially, using any card outside their zone (i.e. in brasil) has this charge? and the Fair fx card doesnt?

All in all with the various charges, I'm thinking maybe they work out about the same cost for what i'm wanting...

any advantage to buying a card in euros/dollars in terms of the exchange rate to Reais? Or will it just work out the same?

thanks again

benjus

insurgente wrote: »

i saw the caxton FX site said this...

"Please note that if you use your Euro or Dollar card outside the Euro zone or United States respectively there is a 2.50% charge on all transactions, including ATM withdrawals."

so, essentially, using any card outside their zone (i.e. in brasil) has this charge? and the Fair fx card doesnt?

All in all with the various charges, I'm thinking maybe they work out about the same cost for what i'm wanting...

any advantage to buying a card in euros/dollars in terms of the exchange rate to Reais? Or will it just work out the same?

thanks again

Getting a Caxton card in EUR or USD doesn't make sense, as you will have to pay for currency conversion when you buy the card (GBP to USD/EUR) and then again when it is used in Brazil.

The Caxton Sterling card (2.5% charge) and the Fair FX card (roughly 1% when buying the card, plus $2 for each cash withdrawal) will work out cheapest. Which one is cheaper depends on the amounts you're sending and whether the card will be used to withdraw cash or to make purchases.

In general I would say that the Fair FX card looks like the better option.

You could always try to open a Nationwide Cash Card account (with the Cirrus card, not the Visa one) - that way it would be completely free.