Show me the money, Part 2.

Last week I wrote about money when you travel and some tips on how to use it with as little drama as possible (see this post here). But sometimes a little drama cannot be avoided.

When I was in Guatemala a few years ago, quetzales (the local currency) were hard to find for several weeks. One day I went to five or six cash machines/ATMs with a friend and they were all empty of money. So I had no cash. And there were no places that would just swipe a credit card for payment, especially in the local stores, restaurants and markets. We continued to try, day after day, but to no avail. Luckily my host family lent me some money until I could get cash. But it was a problem for a few weeks, and there were travelers running around Xela in a panic because they had no money. “Help me, I cannot even purchase a liquado de sandía or hot chocolate because I have no cash!!” (Of course, the locals were having the same problem, but as I discussed in this blog post, they take it, and any inconvenience, all in stride.)

Evidently the Guatemalan government was having new money printed in Europe somewhere. But before the printing job was complete, they retired a bunch of old bills, thereby leaving an inconvenient and incomprehensible void. True, sometimes one goes to a cash machine in the U.S. and there is no money left, especially on weekends. But on Monday morning, it’s full again. We don’t even think about it. Believe me, when it goes on for days and days and you are in a place where you don’t have your own bank, it is a little disconcerting. This is another one of those instances where you just adapt, deal with it, and realize it is part of the experience. Luckily, part of my experience was living with a kind and generous family.

When using local currency, you will sometimes find it hard to get change for bigger bills. The smaller stores will often not be able to change the larger notes, thereby making it impossible to buy that pack of gum/local paper/bottle of water. They will just tell you, “No change. Sorry.” And you lose out on that candy bar, and they lose a sale. Much like in the U.S., the ATMs I’ve encountered in other countries don’t spew forth a wide variety of paper money. Stateside it’s 20s all the time. Never any larger, never any smaller. The lack of denominational variety is sometimes the case in other countries, too ... thus the issue of getting/not getting change. The smaller businesses, which most of them are, just cannot keep up. So any time you can get small bills, do. It is worth making the effort so you can buy what you need, when you need it (or what you want when you want it). 

Here are those cool Nicaraguan córdoba bills again. I love that see-through
circle and wonder what it is made of, because I promise
it is not plastic cling-wrap. 

As far as using the ATM, I have used a personal credit card, and one of those prepaid credit cards. The problem is the fees, but I don’t think you can avoid them. On my trip to Nicaragua, I used a prepaid Visa card I bought through AAA and it worked well. But I had all types of fees by the time I got back. Fees from the U.S. side, fees from the Nicaraguan side. It ticked me off, but what can you do? You will probably have some kind of conversion fee whenever you use a credit card, so they will get you one way or another. I do not recommend carrying huge wads of cash around, even though there are no fees with cash. Your fee may be losing it all to a pickpocket, luggage thief, or worse. Just don’t be flashing that money in front of anyone. Ever. (I also discussed this here.)

Before you take that trip, contact your credit card company and/or bank and let them know where you will be traveling so they do not put a block on your card if they see charges from Buenos Aires or San Salvador or wherever you are traveling (which is a great service if your card has been stolen, but not so much if you trying to use your own card in a foreign country). Also, make sure you have on hand the phone number you should call if your credit card is lost. They will most likely have a number you can use overseas. Keep this number separately from your card. Or better yet, email it to yourself so if everything gets stolen or lost (gasp!), you can access those numbers at an internet cafe. You could also email yourself a copy of the credit card so you have all the needed information in an emergency. I know, I know ... you keep everything on your smart phone. It’s so remarkable. It’s so cool. But when your smart phone falls out of your pocket as you jump onto a moving chicken bus, lands in a giant puddle, and is run over by a pick-up truck hauling six water barrels, three goats, and two men sitting on a hay bale, you will feel pretty stupid that you don’t have the information elsewhere.

For me, a few of the interesting things about visiting another country are seeing the colorful, local money, getting accustomed to using it, learning what the conversion rate is and using it in my head (eventually), and getting away from the almighty dollar. It’s just a nice change of pace. Those bills and coins represent a colorful culture and history. There may be many places out there where you can get by with just a credit card. That’s all well and good, but traveling to developing countries isn’t always quite so slick and easy. So if you use the cash, take a close look at it, feel it in your hands. Then let it go. Use it for that ice cream cone or cold cerveza. That’s what it’s there for after all.