Before your trip
- Confirm your contact information is up to date so we can contact you if we detect unusual activity.
- Turn on international usage for your debit card in card controls if you’re traveling outside of the United States.
- Make a list of important international phone numbers for reporting lost or stolen cards.
- Talk to your bank before you leave about how to send a wire when you’re abroad. Some banks require you to enroll for wire transfer services prior to travel.
- Make sure you have wifi or cellular service overseas if you plan to access your accounts while traveling.
- As digital technology differs by country, consider taking physical credit and ATM cards with you if you typically use a digital wallet.
- Ask your card companies about foreign transaction fees, fees for withdrawals at an international ATM, your card’s compatibility with international ATMs, and your daily card limits to make sure they’ll fit your needs.
During your trip
- Consider taking copies of key documents with you. This can sometimes help speed up the replacement process, if needed. Be sure to keep copies separate from the originals.
- For help with your personal account, use these international access codes to call us toll-free from outside the U.S. You can also reach us through the Wells Fargo Mobile® app.1 Please note that outside of the U.S., Wells Fargo does not have offices that provide service to personal or small business customers.
After your trip
- Contact your bank about buying back any unused foreign currency cash. Wells Fargo can often buy back unused foreign currency cash at any of our branch locations. We don’t buy back all currencies and buy-back rates differ from rates for ordering cash. We don’t buy back coins.
Analysis
This is a Wells Fargo article giving clients tips on how to handle money when they go abroad. I find the most interesting thing in their suggestions to be just how adamant they are about doing as much as possible to prep before your trip so that things are easier for you whenever your trip inevitably goes wrong. I found two things particularly interesting. (1) They recommend carrying copies of key documents with you while abroad so that should you need a card replaced, you’re prepared. I’m wondering if there’s a way to have all of that information already uploaded to a system so you don’t have to carry such sensitive information with you? And (2) Wells Fargo offers to buy back physical cash if you have any left over at the end of your trip. However, they don’t buy back all currencies, and they have varying rates, and they don’t buy back coins. So… if you have a small amount of coins from a not-so-popular country, it seems like you’re out of luck. I wonder if there’s something that can be done to make that process easier?
Source
Wells Fargo. (2023). Tips for managing money while traveling abroad. Tips for managing money while traveling abroad – Wells Fargo. https://www.wellsfargo.com/foreign-exchange/international-tips/
