Pacific transit // money transfers, making payments, etc

[boatsisboats]

Hello all.

We head out the canal in February and are trying to understand about banking- from the boat. Bare with me...
I have understood from other cruisers that (with Starlink or beachbar wifi) many financial institutions won't process simple bank transfers from afar. Yes, I could use a VPN, but they don't always work and I have not tried to do this from this far out of the country before.

For those that have crossed the Pacific sorta recently - Did you have issues with your banking? Can you make a Venmo payment to someone in the states while cruising far abroad? Can you make a credit card payment? Can you make a digital payment or balance transfer?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Trevor

[PaulSommers]

I recommend a long call with your bank(s), and some experiments with actual small transactions before you set out. This is a constant frustration of cruisers and other expats living outside the US. You can find other threads on this Forum relating to this topic. We use a Charles Schwab account for obtaining cash from ATMs while we are in Mexico half of the year, as Schwab Bank refunds any ATM fees at the end of each month. Payments to third parties can be a real hassle. Venmo - definitely not if you are outside the US, except possible if a VPN fools your bank's software re your actual location. I received money through Venmo at my US account from someone in Mexico who also had a US bank account; he was probably using a VPN to disguise his actual location. Zelle works - I have paid Mexican marina fees while in Mexico from a US bank using Zelle (April and May of this year), and I was not using a VPN. However, the marina in question has a US bank account, so that may be why it works. To make larger payments such as buying a house in Mexico, I had to use wire transfers (this was before Zelle) and we resorted to listing the phone of a daughter in the US as the recipient of a two-factor authentication text, then getting her on the line in a Zoom call at the same time as the on-line interaction with the bank; the text went to her, she told us the code and we entered it into the bank's online system. Others on this Forum have discussed getting permanent VOIP phone numbers so that they have a US phone number. That may or may not work with two factor authentication schemes requiring receipt of a text message. If you are staying in country X for a while, get a local phone number, and then try to get that phone accepted by your bank. They may or may not accept a non-US phone for their two factor authentication processes. Another option that may work is a USB security key - a small device that plugs into a USB port on your computer. Upon request for a two factor authentication code, you press a button on the security key. In my experience this works with some processes at my main US bank and not for others. That variation and the issues with non-US phones for text messages are why you need a long conversation with your bank and then experiment with actual transactions before you leave for really remote places. A trusted relative, friend, or lawyer back home may also be able to do certain transactions on your behalf. Again, questions for your bank. And expect whatever you set up to change while you are on your cruise - security for financial transaction is a rapidly evolving field, with one certainty - new threats will emerge and the financial institutions are forced to react.