Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Daily Report: Going To The Bank

It turns out that there was no hold put on my bank account because of the rather scatological purchases I had made over the past week. Instead, it seems that my bank card's magnetic strip isn't as magnetic as it used to be.

So, penniless, I was forced to act.

I have been told before that instead of going to an ATM, one can simply walk into a bank, hand over your bank card (assuming it has a Visa or Mastercard logo on it), and get money. The reason I had never done so before is because I had memories of Cambodia where the go-into-the-bank method is the only way to obtain cash... and it took an hour. (That was 5 years ago, so it has probably improved since then, but...) anyway, that explains why I waited. Besides, they might assume that I'm a criminal, confiscate my card, call the police and... well, my imagination can run amok at times.

It was with these thoughts in mind that I drove down the road, Maid Go along with me to play the part of the friendly old lady... you know... to take the edge off any suspicious vibes I might give off... and pulled in to the first bank I came to.

I walked in with my complete story (in Thai) worked out in advance, and even considered the possibility of shedding a tear or two if it came to that.

Instead, the lady took my card, photocopied my passport, had me sign a receipt, and within 3 minutes I had my 35,000 baht in my hand and I was on my way.

(That money didn't last long though: It was immediately off to Pot's school where I paid for his first term.)

2 comments:

Nan and Rune said...

This have happened to me as well.

Also when the ATM card have been blocked (I have a limit on how much I can take out over a 4 day period), I just walk into a bank if I need more cash. May be wise to get a second bank account though.

My solution to the "problem" is to have a second bank account with aseparate card. If I need some emergency cash, I simply transfer the money from one account to the other by internet bank. Both accounts are in the same bank. So the funds are imediately available.

Jil Wrinkle said...

Good idea. Thanks.