After learning this lesson the hard way more than once, I wanted to find a solution to taking out money abroad that kept me insured in case of robbery or ATM malfunction (which is quite common). The answer is Visa. Before leaving home, follow these easy steps to a more stress-free money withdrawal process.
First, pay your Visa off fully. So if your limit is $10K, make sure that it says you have $10K available with nothing in the process. Then, transfer the desired amount onto your Visa, say, $3K. Your Visa will show a negative symbol, and next to it, it should now say the amount you transferred + the limit. So for this case, it would say $13K. That $3K is your money to withdrawal and use without the worry of interest. Besides a fee from Visa (usually $5 per withdrawal), you can take that money out and it is fully insured. Additionally, Visa will work at ATM’s almost always whereas debit cards can have difficulties.
