Money gone abroad, what to do?

Money lost abroad

Suddenly being without money on a trip, because everything has been stolen and your credit card is gone, is certainly one of the most unpleasant situations you can get into abroad. In the following post, I'll introduce you to a few ways to get money back when you're abroad, resp. some things, like accommodation etc., you can pay online if the money is suddenly gone abroad.

Withdraw cash with Western Union or MoneyGram

If your cash has been stolen or lost, it is gone, there is nothing you can do about it. If you find yourself abroad without both money and a credit card, there are two ways to get money again.

  • If you still have the necessary data for online banking, you can get z.B. send money yourself via Western Union, which you can then transfer to the recipient within approx. you can pick up the money in a branch near you on the same day.
  • If you can't do online banking, the next option is to ask family or friends at home to send you money via Western Union or MoneyGram. You can then also pick up this money within a few minutes at a branch near you.

How do Western Union and MoneyGram work?

Deposit the money either in cash at a counter, by credit card or wire transfer. After completing the deposit, you will receive a transaction number, which you need to give to the recipient. The recipient needs this transaction number to be able to withdraw the money together with his passport. The name of the recipient must be given exactly as it appears in the passport when making the deposit, otherwise there may be problems when the money is collected.

There are usually fees for this type of money transfer, which vary depending on the destination country.

Travellers Cheques (Travellers Cheques)

Even though travelers checks are not used as much nowadays, as they have been largely replaced by credit cards, it might still be a good idea to have a traveler's check or two on hand.

  • The good thing about checks is that they do not expire. They are valid for an unlimited period of time, i.h. even if you are going on a very long trip, you can keep the Travellers Cheques as an emergency reserve until the end without any problems and if you don't use them at all on a certain trip, you can even keep them until the next trip.
  • In addition, traveler's checks are usually replaced within 48 hours if lost.
  • When paying with traveler's checks, only a signature is required and the change is paid out to you as cash.

I have a very good article about traveler's checks on deutscheskonto.org found.

What to do if the credit card is gone?

First of all, of course, definitely block the credit card. You can find out the emergency numbers for blocking the individual credit cards from the respective credit card company. Often, emergency numbers for blocking are also printed directly on the credit card. With the blocking you can apply for a new credit card right away. Usually within a few days you will be provided with a new credit card abroad. The fees for this vary depending on the credit card institution.

No more cash, credit card or online banking. What are the alternatives?

A PayPal account for emergencies abroad

It is useful to have a PayPal account in case of emergency, so that you can pay online without having to rely on online banking for your regular account or credit card. But for this it is important that you have not only verified a credit card on the PayPal account, because it won't work anymore in case of a blocking, but also a bank account, so that you can pay via PayPal by direct debit. The best thing is to have credit on your PayPal account, because you can pay online completely independent of your credit card and bank account. With PayPal you can already pay for many accommodations and transports online nowadays.

The other alternative, the bitcoin account

Unlike PayPal, you don't create an account here with a credit card, etc. is linked, but you set up a wallet (a purse) for yourself. Then you buy bitcoins, which you keep in your wallet until you want to spend them again.

So if you have a Bitcoin wallet with funds and you suddenly have no money when you travel, you can already use Bitcoins to pay for hotels and transportation online these days. Even in some restaurants you can pay the bill with Bitcoins.

Go here for Bitcoin. And here you can find an overview where you can pay with Bitcoins everywhere: usebitcoins.Info as well as all other information about cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Have you ever been without money abroad?? How did you cope with the situation? And what are your tips to be prepared for all situations?

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