I can't make sense of that. If you're trying to say something, just spit it out. I don't have all day to guess what you're rambling about. kaže: I’m thinking about opening a Chime account, but I’m currently living here in the States. I have a buddy over in Germany whose address I could use so the card actually makes it to me. My main question is: does the card arrive via certified mail, or does the carrier just toss it in the mailbox? I really don't want it showing up as a registered delivery where it gets stuck at the local post office and requires me to show my ID to pick it up. I definitely am not looking to drive all the way to Germany just to grab a piece of plastic.🙂
You can just open an account with USPS and have them mail the card right to you.
Carl Nguyen5 said:The sender likely sent dollars because they've started checking which currency is standard for the destination country—if you're sending USD, they apply a terrible exchange rate to balance things out. It wasn't always like this; you used to just pay the exact amount on your card plus a $3 fee.
Try Change Wu, or maybe just stick with MoneyGram.
Carl Nguyen5 said:I haven't dealt with currency conversion before—previously, I was just sending Euros over to Mexico, and the recipient could choose to pick up either Euros or Dollars depending on what they needed. Now, suddenly, they won't let me send Euros at all, only USD, and they're hitting me with terrible exchange rates. What happened to the Western Union site? It feels like everything has been completely overhauled overnight.
I wouldn't know about that specific issue. My clients are pretty much used to paying me through Western Union, so a while back I had a guy send some money to my wife, and she was able to withdraw Euros without any drama. That was maybe two weeks ago. The transfer came from Canada, though, so I'm not sure what kind of currency the Canadian guy actually sent.
Besides Western Union, their exchange rates are absolute garbage. Plus, they’ve basically started flagging people and blocking transactions if you try to pick up more than one transfer in a row—claiming it's for "security reasons" or whatever. I had a payment from Canada get canceled on me (I'm based in Mexico), and I've been stuck waiting for nearly two months now just for Western Union to return the funds to the guy so he can actually resend them. And the kicker? I already shipped out the goods the second he sent me the MoneyGram info.
ironcyclist58 said:When I click that first link you posted up top, it just asks me to join a waiting list. Doesn't look like they're even handling transfers to the States yet...
Receiving works fine though. I was watching some guy on YouTube explaining how to set up an account to get paid, so I won't bother posting that here. I just didn't realize there wasn't an option to actually send a card.
ironcyclist58 said:I don't know, everything just works fine here in the States, so I never really felt the need to look into it. Not sure which services cover the US and which ones don't...
Yeah, obviously. But does any of those payment processors actually act, you know, Bitcoin-friendly? Like, at least for BTC, it shouldn't matter who you are or where you're coming from...
ironcyclist58 said:So, you can handle wire transfers—which I'm pretty sure works pretty much everywhere—but getting an actual debit card is a non-starter.
Wait, so I can just take incoming wire transfers into my foreign currency account? Great. Just what I need—the IRS breathing down my neck.
Also, do I actually have to use my own debit card to get this TW account live, or how does that work?
ironcyclist58 said:@Joakim Are you positive you can actually open a TW account from Mexico? Usually, those kinds of services are restricted to the European Union...
Now that you mention it, I’m a bit confused. I set up an account a few days ago but haven't even activated it yet, and it looks like I should be able to receive funds:
Edward Evans7 said:If you decide to go the route of using a Rhode Island debit card, you'll see "Wise" listed right there in the transaction details. Look, you can't just walk into a bank branch and drop off cash to get everything activated, but why make it harder than it needs to be? Just pick up an AT&T SIM, set up a virtual Mastercard, and then use that card to top up your account on Wise. Oh, and don't overthink the cost—you only need to send about $25 or $30 to trigger the activation. Once that hits, all the currencies unlock automatically.
Sent from my M2006C3MNG via Tapatalk
So basically, even the good old teller window won't help.
I didn't even know that AT&T thing worked like that—so I buy their SIM card and then I'm eligible for their Mastercard? And I fund it through a standard deposit into the account? But obviously, that Mastercard only works as long as I actually have their SIM card active, right? And I bet the top-ups are only in dollars, which means dealing with exchange rates and fees and all that headache? Also, could I actually receive money from overseas onto that AT&T Mastercard? And pull cash out of an ATM, naturally.
I do this little side hustle on the side, sending stuff to individuals all over the world. Up until now, I’ve been using Western Union, which is honestly a nightmare—the exchange rates are terrible and the sender gets hit with massive fees. The only upside is the cash aspect; if someone sends dollars, I can just walk in and grab the dollars. Now, we’re talking small amounts here, usually ranging from $20 up to maybe a couple hundred bucks, though sometimes I’ll get three or four of these orders hitting me in a single day. Recently, WU blocked three of my payouts. They won't give me a straight answer, and the senders are just getting told some vague nonsense about "too many transactions" or "additional info required." It's infuriating. So, partly for my own sanity and partly to make things easier for my clients, I’ve decided to switch to one of those digital payment services. In the meantime, while I figure this out, I’ll probably just stick with MoneyGram. Here’s the catch: I have a US bank account, but I don't actually carry any cards—no debit, no credit. Just the account. I was thinking about opening an account with Wise, but it looks like I might need to deposit some funds first to activate the account for each specific currency. Also, is it actually possible to just walk into a local bank branch and initiate a wire transfer? I really don't want to deal with using a debit card for this. Another thing—since I'm based in the States, I need to be careful about how I handle foreign accounts. I'm worried about what the bank might say if they see me constantly moving USD and Euros into a Wise account. And would Wise or Revolut or whatever else give me grief if they see a constant stream of small transfers coming in from all different corners of the globe in both USD and EUR?
One last thing: is there any service out there where you can activate the account by depositing Bitcoin, ideally without having to prove that I was the one who sent it?
Man, there are so many more questions, but I'll just start with these...
Edward Evans7 said:I’m honestly at a loss for how I’d even categorize TransferWise. The thing is, they handle all sorts of personal accounts beyond just those based in Belgium. Wait, isn't their headquarters actually located over in Belgium?
I read something about this somewhere, but what I really want to get at is the actual mechanics behind how this works. And I’m assuming PayPal, Revolut, and all those other players operate on the exact same principle—though, hey, maybe I'm off base there, I can't be sure.
But if that's the case—if opening an account with these fintech outfits and getting their cards actually functions as opening non-resident accounts—aren't we stepping into legal gray areas? As far as I know, opening non-resident accounts in other countries is strictly regulated; you're supposed to need explicit approval from the Federal Reserve and stuff like that.
Edward Evans7 said:They might be swapping, sure, but I highly doubt they’re going to sit there and watch their money vanish into some random foreign account just for the hell of it.
Sent from my iPhone 12 using Reddit
So, what you're saying is, by setting up a Wise account, I'm basically opening a non-resident account in Belgium, getting a personal IBAN, and a debit card tied directly to it?
Edward Evans7 said:No, because the account receiving the funds is based in Belgium. So, the IRS wouldn't even have a paper trail for this; they wouldn't even realize the money ever passed through the US.
Sent from my iPhone 12 using Reddit
Thanks, I really needed to hear that. If that’s how things actually work, it’s going to be pretty damn hard for tax agents to come after us freelancers—especially those of us just scraping by on a few hundred bucks a month.
ironcyclist58 said:I don't see it that way. You should be held to the exact same standards as if you were banking right here in the States.
Alright, let me try rephrasing this so I don't sound like an idiot. Can the IRS actually track me down through a Wise transaction hitting an ATM if I skip out on the taxes? I’m looking to move some funds—is there a paper trail that shows money actually entered the country in that scenario?
I’m pretty much a total newbie when it comes to this stuff, so could someone break it down for me? If I have money on my Visa card, say I go to an ATM and withdraw some cash, am I actually obligated to pay taxes on those funds? I mean, I get various payments hitting my Wise account from different jobs I do.
I don't know what things are like in your neck of the woods, but here in the States, you can't escape it. It feels like every single step you take, there's some obnoxious ad popping up for Viagra, Kamagra, or whatever other junk they're peddling these days.