Remittance is one of the main props of the Jamaican economy. It is the second largest earner of foreign exchange next to tourism. So it is fair to say that money transfer in Jamaica is big business, and there are no shortage of players. Their rates, service, opening hours and efficiency may differ, but they all charge a fee; it is how they make their money.
Here I will outline a method of transferring money that is more cost effective and convenient than Western Union or any of the other players in the transfer business. This assumes you are sending or receiving cash from one person fairly regularly.
TRANSFER MONEY FROM THE US TO JA
1. Get your spouse, father, mother or whomever is minding you to open a checking account with Bank of America.
2. Have them get and activate the check card and send it to you via FedEx or with someone who coming down. (Do not tell that person the pin number)
3. Go to any Scotia ATM and withdraw to your heart’s content. You can also use the card as a debit/credit card.
BONUS: Scotia Bank has a foreign exchange ATM in Liguanea where you can actually get your money in US$ and avoid “tiefing” exchange rates.
NB. If the account goes below the minimum limit of $25 (have them verify this amount) It will attract a charge so do not go below this minimum balance as the fees are fat ($35.00) I think. Alternatively, you can have them use a savings account to provide overdraft coverage, although this will attract a $10 charge for each transaction. Bottom line, avoid the fees or this is not free or in fact cheaper.
TRANSFER MONEY FROM JA TO THE US
In the unlikely event you want to send cash to someone in the US.
1. Create a Scotia Bank account and get them the Scotia ATM card.
2. They then go to any Bank of America ATM and withdraw the money.
NB. I am not sure what Scotia Bank’s minimum is to keep an account active. Figure that out and have them keep that in the account at all time. Also be aware that the Scotia card will not work as a debit/check card in the US.
CONCLUSION
This may work for other banks, but I have only done this with BA and Scotia. If you use a BA card in NCB there is a $5 US charge. The card will not work in a RBTT ATM.
The reason this works is that BA and Scotia are a part of a global alliance, and so member banks’ customers can use each other’s ATMs at no charge.
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