EgorKotkin May 28, 2014 at 14:31

We get a bank card while abroad

There are several questions that freelancers face using credit cards or installment cards before going abroad. One of the most important is a means of storing money and payments. Cards of Russian banks for a number of reasons become inconvenient during a long stay abroad - for example, in case of loss, blockage and the need for restoration. Or, for example, if you need to open a new account in another currency - can you not fly specifically to Russia for this? Recently, political risks have been added. But in the end, it all comes down to a purely logistic question: how to get a bank card while being outside the home country.

Yandex money card

The only Russian bank card in the review. And at the same time, it is one of the most convenient options for freelancers: with its help Yandex money can be paid wherever cards are accepted without losing commission on withdrawing money. In addition, the first three years of card service are free, which makes the offer even more profitable. You need to pay only for the issuance and delivery of the card: 149 rubles in the Russian Federation, 199 - worldwide. The bank Tinkov - credit systems emits a card.

You must be careful with the delivery, ticking the right checkboxes: I ordered myself such a card before the trip, but I never saw it, because instead of my address, she went to the registration address on the passport, where she still lies in the mail. To the credit of Yandex and TCS, if the card is not activated, then resending is free of charge.

A YandexMoney card clearly shows how a Russian bank can remain convenient for its customers even when they live abroad. Actually, the secret to success is simple: worldwide shipping and low tariffs. Not Newton’s binom, huh? .. The question hangs in the air. Hundreds of Russian banks are silent, trying to understand what they are talking about.

The most affordable option.

Delivery around the world.

Linking to the popular electronic payment system.

Ruble account - the ruble exchange rate has not been pleasing the last time. A

card issued by a Russian bank - which makes it potentially vulnerable

Webmoney

Did you know that Webmoney also allows you to issue cards tied to your electronic wallet? Moreover, the choice of payment systems is not limited to "Visa" and "Mastercard" - it also includes Payoneer and Union Pay.

A detailed analysis of tariffs and conditions can be found in the material on credit-card.ru , but here I’ll just give some excerpts from it.

Commercial break: in addition to the articles, on credit-card.ru , the blog of which you read this article, there is a full catalog of credit cards - true, of Russian banks - with powerful functionality for their selection: do not miss the opportunity to check this ). End of commercial break.

The Webmoney website is divided into many independent services, for using each of them it is necessary to go through the authorization procedure. Due to the intricate relationships between the individual parts of the system, many users often cannot figure out all the features of webmoney. In this case, we are interested in the possibility of using the WebMoney.Cards service to order a debit card and replenish it from a dollar or Euro WM-wallet. WME (Euro) withdrawal is possible only on PaySpark EUR MasterCard, and WMZ - on all others.

For registration, a minimum of documents is required: a copy of the Russian passport (from the 2nd to the 5th pages), for the T24 PayVault Visa you will also need a copy of the utility bill, containing information about the address. Documents are submitted remotely through the Certification Center, at the time of application, they should already be checked.

However, you will have to pay for such convenience. The sum of all commissions depends on a number of factors: type of certificate, number of transactions on the card, value of one operation, etc. Naturally, all expenses are borne by the client. Moreover, if at the time of the next write-off of funds on the account it will not be enough, when replenishing the card, the bank will write off all payments due to it plus the amount of loss incurred due to lack of money. This item is registered in the conditions of registration of the card on the WebMoney website.

Another important point. Since the contract is formally concluded in Cyprus, all disputes that the parties cannot decide on their own are resolved in accordance with the legislation of the republic. By the way, about the essence of the contract itself. If you open an offer, you will see that the title says “Agreement on the sale of securities”. The fact is that all money transfer transactions involving the WebMoney system are regarded as transactions in the securities market.

Among all debit cards, the most profitable in terms of tariffs are PaySpark EUR MasterCard, PaySpark USD MasterCard and PaySpark China UnionPay, because when making them, the client does not pay for the cost of delivery of plastic. These costs are borne by the issuing bank. Delivery of the rest will cost $ 23. For a detailed comparison of tariffs, see the review .

From the time of filing an application to receiving a card by mail, an average of 3 weeks pass.

Large selection of payment systems and issuers.

It inherits the disadvantages of the confusing and unfriendly WebMoney system in terms of usability - at least at the stage of registration

Complex tariffs, for each one you have to pay

We open a bank account abroad

Despite the fact that the Americans seem to have agreed with the government that they will not stop working in July from Russia, it is not superfluous to make secure and get a card of another payment system. If your plastic shuts down in Russia, you simply go in and withdraw the money in person or send it by transfer to another account. If the plastic shuts off abroad, your position will be more difficult. Especially in your pocket only visas with master cards. So it is better to be safe.
Another reliable way to protect against surprises from the Russian authorities is to get a card already abroad by opening an account with a local bank. In this regard, I have some amazing stories:

Latvia

They recommend it as the country most friendly to Russian clients. In any Latvian bank (Citadele, Norvik, etc.), you can easily open an account and a card to it. Russian-speaking employees, the account currency is EUR, USD, RUR, prices do not bite, there are representative offices in many countries where you can submit documents.

Poland

In Poland, we are interested in Bank Millennium. It is a subsidiary of the largest Portuguese financial group Banco Comercial Portugues. In 2013, it was recognized as the “Bank of the Year" in Poland according to Newsweek magazine, and its Internet banking was named the best in the Global Finance rating. Come in [to the nearest department], smile, say the magic words “Konto is non-resident” (Konto is an account). In 15 minutes you open accounts for free - in zlotys, euros and dollars. You can put 5 euros into the account - then Schaub indulge in Internet banking. A payment card arrives by mail in about a week and a half. Activate it via the Internet. Done!

Another story from the comments: in Poland it is also possible to open an account with Alior Bank without problems, though not in every branch (sometimes they break). But in general, they opened an account for Russian abroad without problems, after 1.5 weeks a personalized card came with paypass, service is free if there is activity on the account (there are many tariffs there).

Czech

Masha, designer: I can only say about my experience and what I read before on the forums. I have a registration in Prague, so I only needed a passport. If there is no registration, then Russian with a residence permit is required. I received at Sberbank, because I was afraid that for the first time I would not understand all the subtleties, and there are Russian-speaking managers there. Then she found out that in the center, on Vatslovskaya Square, many banks have Russian-speaking staff in order to help our compatriots draw up cards, etc.

I did not expect to meet the Sberbank office in Prague. However, it works, they say, no better than in Russia.

At the request of the client, the bank can give documents to notify the Russian tax on opening an account. They themselves do not, of course. So the client decides what to do.

Austria

Account in the Austrian Erste bank: service 60 euros per year, it includes bankomatkarte (chip Maestro with PayPass). If you need Visa, then a gold one costs 5 bucks a month. Access to online banking is free. Bank transfers within the EU (slightly simplifying) are completely free. If you need to replace the card or receive a new one, they will send it to the registration address without problems by regular mail. A passport is enough to open .

Thailand

~~Unfortunately, a bank account in Thailand can only be opened with a work permit.~~ Opening an account with a debit card of no name can be done at Kasikorn Bank if you have an immigration police ticket (costs 300 baht).

Singapore

Opening a bank account and getting a card is relatively easy, but very expensive. Many banks have special types of accounts for non-residents. You can even do this by mail, without a trip to the banana-lemon. For example, this allows Citibank: you need to fill out a form to open an account , after which the manager will send information on the next steps. Only the minimum account balance must be at least $ 5,000, and if the amount is less than $ 20,000, then a monthly payment of $ 30 is added. So an account in Singapore is for the rich.

Hong Kong

To open an account, a valid passport is required, approximately 1000 HKD and a reference letter (reference letter) from any other bank in which you already have an account - with the address of residence in English. An account, card and token are provided in 3-4 days.

Mauritius

A similar requirement for a reference letter, moreover, they can send another request to this bank ( photoshop will not work ) and will not issue a card until they receive a response.

South Korea

In South Korea, you can open a card account with a temporary resident, at least at KB Bank, the country's largest bank. It is advisable to have a friend who will know Korean, and explain that this, for example, is necessary for study. A passport is required, they may very much ask for an alien registration card, but passports are enough. Issue Visa Classic with a chip and a shelf life of five years.

Ecuador

(sent by mich83 ) I’ll tell you about my experience with Pichincha Bank. You can open an account for a non-resident in it only if you have local friends:
in addition to the usual documents, they will require a certificate from any local company certifying that the applicant provides any services to this company (in fact, it’s not necessary, but it was easier for me than argue); a letter of recommendation from any client of Pichincha bank in which we write that the applicant is honest, hard-working, and generally a good person in life; home telephones and the names of two more Ecuadorians. The card - a debit visa with a chip, costs 5.15 USD - was ready 3 days after opening an account.

Pros:

To an open account, you can configure the withdrawal of funds with PayPal.
It is convenient to cash received checks. Usually, a check can be cashed only in the bank in which it is issued. If you have an account, then you can simply transfer checks to the bank on the way home and withdraw cash from the ATM.
Card service is free of charge.
Validity - 7 years.
A small percentage is charged on the account balance - about 3-4% per annum.
A small insurance is also attached to the card - for incidents with a house (coverage 75USD), a car (coverage 80USD) and accidents when traveling through the territory of Ecuador further than 50 km from the house (3000 for the card holder, 1500 for the spouse and 750 for children under 23 years).

Minus: payment for purchases in foreign online stores is taxed, which is 5% of the payment amount. The bank usually automatically deducts it when conducting a transaction with a foreign counterparty.

Other countries

Share your experiences in the comments.

Sanction security - if suddenly Russian cards stop accepting abroad (unlikely, but suddenly) - you will not find yourself with a useless piece of plastic, but you can use another useful piece of plastic.

Depends on specific countries and banks.

Some countries require you to notify you about opening an account abroad, and this can have different consequences for the user depending on the legislation of his country.

Payoneer

One of the best options for freelancers. It is a replenished dollar MasterCard, which Payoneer emits and sends by mail to anywhere in the world. According to the experience of real users, delivery takes up to a month. Having received the card, the user activates it on the service website. The card is issued for a period of three years. Dollar card. Access to card statements is available on the Payoneer website. Payoneer Support is available by email. mail, phone and online chat in a number of languages, including Russian.

By the way, Payoneer is on Habré , and as they write , the Russian market is a priority for the company, Russian was the first language after English in which the support service spoke. Card Order Pagesalso translated into Russian.

Of the nice features of the card - it functions without opening a bank account, so no documents are required. Consequently, there is no need to notify the tax, for those who care: there is no account - no questions.

Dollar card

Freelancer orientation

Savings on withdrawing money from partner sites like Odesk

Lack of bank account

Unchipped cards - which is unsafe,

Another minus for security - the bank is very liberal with dubious payments, withdrawals in different countries, etc., so it’s possible to keep large amounts risky

ePayService

Another American service focused on freelancers - and also with the Russian version of the site . Unlike Payoneer, card issuance is free, and also with worldwide delivery. The rest is very similar: a dollar MasterCard, which is tied to an account replenished with bank transfers, for example, from freelance exchanges (Elance, etc.), checks from Google or Amazon, or webmoney. There is support in Russian. The card is also issued without opening a real bank account. The main advantage over Payoneer is more affordable tariffs and withdrawal rates in rubles or hryvnias, and high withdrawal limits - up to $ 10,000 per day.