We get a bank card while abroad

There are several issues that freelancers face when they realize that their lifestyle no longer binds them to any particular point on the map. One of the most important is a means of storing money and payments. Cards of Russian banks for a number of reasons become inconvenient for a long stay abroad - for example, in case of loss, blockage and the need to recover. Or, for example, if you need to start a new account in another currency - you will not fly specifically to Russia for this? Recently added political risks. But in the end, it all comes down to a purely logistic question: how to get a bank card while being outside the country of origin.

Yandex Money Card

The only Russian bank card in the review. And at the same time - one of the most convenient options for freelancers: with its use of Yandex-money, you can pay wherever you accept cards without losing commission on money withdrawal. In addition, the first three years of card service are free, which makes the offer even more profitable. You only need to pay for the issue and delivery of the card: 149 r across the Russian Federation, 199 - worldwide. Emit card "Tinkov Credit Systems".

You need to be careful with the delivery, putting the necessary checkboxes: I ordered such a card for myself before the trip, but I didn’t see it, because instead of my address, she went to the address of registration with a passport, where she is still at the post office. To the credit of Yandex and TKS, if the card is not activated, then re-sending is free.
')
The Yandex Money card clearly shows how a Russian bank remains convenient for its customers even when they live abroad. Actually, the secret of success is simple: worldwide delivery 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 generally talk about.

The most affordable option

Worldwide shipping

Binding to the popular electronic payment system

Ruble bill - the ruble exchange rate hasn’t been happy lately

The card is issued by a Russian bank - which makes it potentially sanctionable.

Webmoney

Did you know that Webmoney also allows you to issue cards linked to your e-wallet? And the choice of payment systems is not limited to "Visa" and "Mastercard" - there also includes Payoneer and Union Pay.

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

A commercial break: in addition to the articles, on the website credit-card.ru , the blog of which you are reading this article, there is a full catalog of credit cards - true, Russian banks - with powerful functionality of their selection: do not miss the opportunity to check it ). The end of the commercial break.

Webmoney site is divided into many independent services, to use each of them you need to go through the authorization procedure. Due to the intricate links between individual parts of the system, many users often cannot understand all the possibilities of webmans. In this case, we are interested in the possibility of ordering a debit card using WebMoney.Cards service and replenishing it from a dollar or euro WM wallet. Withdrawal of WME (Euro) is possible only on PaySpark EUR MasterCard, and WMZ - on all others.

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

However, for this convenience will have to pay. The sum of all fees depends on a number of factors: the type of certificate, the number of card transactions, the value of one transaction, etc. Naturally, all costs are borne by the client. And if at the time of the next debit of funds in the account is not 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 terms of the card on the WebMoney site.

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

Among all debit cards, PaySpark EUR MasterCard, PaySpark USD MasterCard and PaySpark China UnionPay are the most profitable in terms of tariffs. at their registration 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. Detailed comparison of rates, see the review .

From the time of application to receive the card by mail on average 3 weeks pass.

Large selection of payment systems and issuers.

Inherits the cons of WebMoney's user-friendly system, which is unfriendly in terms of usability - at least at the design stage.

Complex tariffs, for each sneeze you have to pay

Open a bank account abroad

Despite the fact that Americans seem to have agreed with the government that they will not stop working in Russia in July - it will not be superfluous to insure and enter a card of a different payment system. If your plastic is disconnected in Russia, you will simply go in and withdraw money personally or send it by transfer to another account. If the plastic turns off abroad, your position will be more difficult. Especially in the pocket only with mastercard visas. So it is better to err.
Another reliable way to protect against surprises from the Russian authorities is to get a card abroad by opening an account at a local bank. I have a few delightful stories on this subject:

Latvia

Recommended as the most friendly country to Russian customers. In any Latvian bank (Citadele, Norvik, etc.) you can easily open an account and a card to it. Employees Russian-speaking, account currency - EUR, USD, RUR, rates do not bite, there are offices in many countries where you can apply.

Poland

In Poland, we are interested in Bank Millennium. It is a subsidiary of the largest Portuguese financial group Banco Comercial Portugues. In 2013, he was recognized as the “Bank of the Year” in Poland by Newsweek magazine, and his Internet banking was named the best in the Global Finance rating. Come in [to the nearest branch], smile, say the magic words “Conto is a non-resident” (a conto is an account). For 15 minutes, open an account for free - in zloty, euro and dollars. You can put 5 euros on the account - then Schaub indulge in Internet banking. The payment card comes by mail in about a week and a half. Activate it via the Internet. Done!

Another story from the comments : in Poland you can also open an account in Alior Bank without any problems, although not in every branch (it happens that they break). But in general, the Russian zagranu opened an account without problems, the card after 1.5 weeks came with paypass, the 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 registration is required. I received in Sberbank, because I was afraid that for the first time I would not understand all the subtleties, but there are Russian-speaking managers there. Then I found out that in the center, on Vatslovskaya Square, many banks have Russian-speaking staff in order to help our compatriots to draw up cards, etc.

I did not expect to meet the branch of Sberbank in Prague. However, it works, they say, not 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

The account in the Austrian Erste bank: servicing 60 euros per year, it includes bankomatkarte (chip Maestro with PayPass). If you need a Visa, then the gold is 5 bucks a month. Access to online banking is free. Bank transfers within the EU (slightly simplified) 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. Enough to open a passport .

Thailand

~~Unfortunately, a bank account in Thailand can be opened only with a work permit. You can open an~~ account, receive a debit card of the same name, in Kasikorn Bank if you have an immigration permit from the police (cost 300 baht).

Singapore

Open a bank account and get a card is relatively easy, but very expensive. Many banks have special types of accounts for non-residents. You can even do it by mail, without a trip to a 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 further steps. Only the minimum balance in the account must be at least $ 5,000, while if the amount is less than $ 20,000, then a monthly payment of $ 30 is added. So the Singapore bill is for the rich.

Hong Kong

To open an account, you need a valid passport, approximately 1000 HKD, and a reference letter from any other bank in which you already have an account, indicating your residential address and in English. Account, card and token provide in 3-4 days.

Mauritius

A similar requirement for a reference letter, and can still send a request to this bank ( Photoshop will not pass ) and will not issue a card until they receive a response.

South Korea

In South Korea, you can open a card account to a temporary resident, at least at KB, 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 studying. You will need a passport, you can ask an alien registration card, but a passport is enough. They will issue a Visa Classic with a chip and a shelf life of five years.

Ecuador

(sent by mich83 ) I will 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 the fact that the applicant provides any services of this company (in fact, not necessarily, but it was easier for me to do than argue); a letter of recommendation from any client of the Pichincha Bank, in which we write that the applicant is honest, hard-working, and generally a good person in life; home phone numbers 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 the account.

Pros:

You can set up a withdrawal with PayPal to an open account.
Conveniently cash received checks. Usually, a check can be cashed only in the bank in which it was issued. If you have an account, then you can just put the checks to the bank on the way home and withdraw cash from an ATM.
Card service is free of charge.
Duration - 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 accidents with a house (75USD coverage), a car (80USD coverage) and an accident when traveling around Ecuador’s territory more than 50 km from the house (3000 for a cardholder, 1500 for a spouse and 750 for children under 23 years old).

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 - if suddenly Russian cards are no longer accepted abroad (unlikely, but suddenly) - you will not end up with a useless piece of plastic, but you can use another useful piece of plastic.

Depend on specific countries and banks

Some countries are obliged to notify about opening an account abroad, and this may 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 issues 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 site of the service. 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, telephone and online chat in a number of languages, including Russian.

By the way, Payoneer is in Habré , and as they write , the Russian market is a priority for the company, the Russian language was the first language after English, which was spoken by the support service. Card order pages are also translated into Russian.

Of the nice features of the card, it functions without opening a bank account, therefore no documents are required. Consequently, there is no need to notify the tax authority, for those to whom it is important: there is no invoice - there are no questions.

Dollar card

Focusing on freelancers

Savings on the withdrawal of money from partner sites like Odesk

No bank account

Odd cards - which is not safe,

Another disadvantage to security is that the bank is very liberal towards questionable payments, withdrawals in different countries, etc., therefore, it is risky to keep large sums

ePayService

Another American service focused on freelancers - and also with the Russian version of the site . Unlike Payoneer, the release of the card is free, and also with worldwide delivery. The rest is very similar: dollar MasterCard, which is tied to an account, replenished by 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 rates and withdrawal rates in rubles or hryvnias, and high withdrawal limits - up to $ 10,000 per day.