Money World

Money World Today's travelers don't know how good they have it when it comes to accessing their money. Although local forms of debit cards date back to 1966 when first used by the Bank of Delaware, it wasn't until the mid-2000s that debit cards issued in one country could be used in other countries, as well as their use for internet and telephone purchases.    Before the use of debit and credit cards, getting money while traveling could be a complicated thing, sometimes even a several-day event. Stuffing the wallet with a bunch of money was a simple solution, but traveling around in foreign lands with a fat bulging wallet was not a good idea. Some travelers strapped their cash around their waists while others hung their travel funds around their necks on a string. But neither method fooled someone intent on robbing tourists. And besides being risky, traveling with a lot of money also meant sleeping on a very lumpy pillow at night.   After ten years of working as a graphic artist in Costa Rica, I managed to put away a small nest egg, large enough to jump on a mountain bike to see how far I could travel until the money ran out. How far I could go would depend on what I was willing to put up with. Fortunately, my father had encouraged us to like bargain food by always picking the cheapest items on the menu.  Sixty years later and I still follow that

advice and highly recommend it. His advice about budget hotels was a similar great lesson. But then after a year of sleeping beneath a sheet of heavy plastic in the Vietnam jungle, were hotels even needed?

Instead of jumping on the plane bound for the US with a giant wad of dollar bills, I purchased a certified bank draft. Easy to carry, I later walked into an American Express office in Seattle and opened a personal account. I wasn't rich but had more money than I could, or should, stuff into an already jam-packed camera bag. Banks in the 1980s were no different than today and were happy to accept money; setting up an account was the easy part. 

Even though American Express had branch offices in much of the world, only in major cities could I walk in and be handed a pocket full of money. More often than not, the transaction took 72 hours involving faxes, long-distance phone calls to Seattle, and waiting. Once authorized, I could receive either US dollars, American Express traveler checks, or a combination of both. Staying in two-bit hotels, traveler checks were much safer than cash. In addition, whether checks or cash, I still had to find a bank to convert them into local currency. 

Traveler checks were as good as real money and anybody could cash them if you could find someone who wanted them. Bigger hotels were candidates as were fancy restaurants, neither of which I frequented, but the cleaner my shirt the easier it was to cash one. The major benefit of traveler checks was if lost or stolen, American Express replaced them. This service was built on the trust system and worked well. American Express trusted their clients until they had reason not to. I had mine stolen twice and the bank replaced them within a half hour requiring no police reports or witnesses, earning them a five-star rating in my book. Though rarely used and nearly forty years later, travelers checks are still available for those who enjoy standing in line in foreign banks and don't mind a 1-4% commission deduction.

To buy American Express traveler checks:  https://www.americanexpress.com