Many banks offer US currency bank accounts. Then you can use the money
for any US $ purchases, trips, investments, and so forth. Some banks
can work entirely on line and thru bank machines.
e.g. http://www.ing.com Many also offer better currency exchange rates.
Check several out for their convenience and charges.
tOM
On Tuesday, September 03, 2002 at 8:05, Garth Wood
<olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote re "Re: [OM] ( OM ) off - topic - *ay*al" saying:
> At 10:37 PM 9/3/2002 +1200, Brian Swale wrote:
> >Hi folks
> >
> >I've entered uncharted territory (for me) this week. Selling things
> >and being paid via PayPal. Quite a learning curve. ( I mentioned once
> >or twice before that I am also a fern nut, and in my spare time (with a
> >friend) I have produced a complete list of all the ferns of the world,
> >about 12,800 of them, along with their synonyms (alternative scientific
> >names), geographic distribution, references and so forth. I sell this
> >on CDROM now.).
> >
> >I think for USA citizens it is a lot more straight forward, but for me
> >living outside the USA there are a few hurdles to jump. For a start,
> >all currencies get converted to USA dollars. I wanted to be paid in New
> >Zealand dollars. No go. This means I have to pay the cost of currency
> >conversion (in addition to a fee for this which amounts to about 50n
> >60 - 70 dollars NZ.). That seems straight forward enough? They say they
> >use the up-to-date exchange rates.
> >
> >I'd like to know WHOSE up-to-date exchange rates. Not those of ebay.
> >Not those of the online currency converter I use
> ><http://www.xe.com/ucc/>. Not those in my daily newspaper. They pitch
> >the rate about 5% to my disadvantage; for example if the average rate
> >is about 1:2.13588, they used 1:2.0249.
>
> When dealing with any financial institution (which, let's face it,
> Paypal's becoming), there's one cardinal rule: if they're doing
> something that looks like it's to their advantage (or your
> disadvantage), you're correct.
>
> It *is* to their advantage/your disadvantage.
>
> My local bank does the same thing when I take American money to be
> exchanged for Canadian -- they impose a rate spread significantly larger
> than the spot rate *and* a service charge on top of the spread. I no
> longer bother exchanging U.S. money -- I just keep it around for the
> next time I'm going to the States.
------- Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur -----------------
,__@ Tom A. Trottier +1 613 860-6633 fax:231-6115
_-\_<, 758 Albert St.,Ottawa ON Canada K1R 7V8
(*)/'(*) ICQ:57647974 N45.412 W75.714
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if anything small falls into them they ensnare it,
but large things break through and escape.
--Solon, statesman (c.638-c558 BCE)
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