Instructions on how to open a bank card for abroad – in most countries where tourists can now reach – and this is mainly Turkey and the countries of the “post-Soviet space”, presented the Tutu.ru service. Moreover, each “design instruction” is accompanied by a live story of a tourist who tried to do this.
Recall that among the sanctions imposed on Russia, Visa and Mastercard payment systems “left” the country – as a result, holders of such cards can no longer use them abroad, pay for foreign online services and purchases in foreign online stores. The payment system “Mir” is under sanctions, and the situation with it in most countries of the so-called “civilized world” is exactly the same.
Instructions for countries from Tutu.ru are as follows:
Armenia:
There are several banks in the country where foreigners open an account and a card. Each has its own terms and conditions. Thus, an account is opened in Ameriabank only for long-term rental housing. In Unibank and Id Bank, the approach is simpler: you will need a Russian passport, an extract from the Russian bank for the last few months, a questionnaire indicating the source of income and occupation. At the same time, Unibank services are expensive: AMD 50,000 (12,500 ₽) per year. Id Bank is much cheaper: 12,000 AMD per year (~2,553 ₽) + opening an account 12,000 AMD and 8,000 AMD – card fee (about 5,000 ₽ in total).
An application for opening an account is considered within 1-3 working days. If approved, you need to come and sign an agreement, pay for opening a main account (in drams, euros, dollars or rubles). Linking an additional account in another currency to the card costs another 2000 drams (500 ₽). Commission for withdrawal always and everywhere 3.5%, for depositing into a foreign currency account – 0.5%. At Id Bank Armenian ATMs, depositing AMD in cash is free of charge. You can make transfers from Russian cards through the IdPay application. The card is issued within another 1-3 business days. In total, after the first visit to the bank, you have to wait about a week.
“The lines are big. At the reception, he clarified the conditions – they say they open it to Russians with a passport and with a certificate of income or a certificate from work. For this, a bank statement came up from the Sberbank application (this is a statement on the movement of funds in the account for the last three to four months) – the report was sent to the bank employee by e-mail. You also need to fill out a questionnaire with questions about who you are and how you earn,” Maxim Pisarev, translator, told the service.
Georgia:
Large banks in Georgia that open accounts for foreigners are Credo and TBC Bank. Lilya H., product manager, announced further rules for the service: “The queues at Credo are very long. The process takes about half an hour, but not all operators work to open an account, so there is a risk of spending the whole day in the branch. They ask for passport and data:
- local phone number;
- local address of residence and registration address in the Russian Federation (but for some reason they didn’t ask me, although I offered them);
- mode of activity;
- amount of income;
- where will the income come from (in my case, they were satisfied that I was temporarily unemployed, but I plan to work remotely for a US/Europe company in the future);
- marital status and family composition.
This information is not verified in any way, but I heard a couple of cases that they asked for a work contract. You do not need to fill out anything on your own, just sign the application. They immediately give the login and password from the personal account.
After opening an account, they are asked to replenish it by at least 30 lari (about 1000 ₽) – this is taken into account as the cost of issuing a card. The account is multi-currency, you can open it in lari, dollars, euros or rubles. Maintenance – 1 lari (~30 ₽) per month and another 1 lari for notifications. An unnamed card, if available, is issued immediately at the department, a personalized card will be made and delivered to the selected department within 5 days. “It should be borne in mind that the rules for opening an account and receiving a card are changing very quickly now. For example, the other day I heard that Credo began to ask for an employment contract or a certificate of employment to open an account,” she added.
Turkey:
“We read in local telegram chats that you can open an account and get a Turkish bank card without a residence permit or a large deposit. I got a special tax number on the official website and came to the Ziraat Bank branch in Antalya. They didn’t let me issue an invoice – they said that a rental agreement was needed, and extracts from booking services were not suitable. As I understand it, this is purely a matter of luck: the contract may not be asked, and even in the next window in one branch. If there is an agreement on hand, then opening a Ziraat Bank account is as easy as shelling pears,” Vadim, an IT specialist, assured the service:
Latvia:
Here you can create a wallet and get a European card without opening a full-fledged account. Wise (formerly Transferwise) is an Estonian service for transferring funds between foreign currency accounts. About 50 currencies and 40 countries in which they are represented are connected to it. “If you are left in Europe without a card, only with cash, then in Wise you can get a physical card and make an account for yourself, and with the help of friends, replenish it and then pay for urgent purchases,” advises Alexander Vorobyov, editor-in-chief of the Perito travel project. It then issues the following instruction:
- Register on the Wise website, download the application. I indicated Russian citizenship, but I gave the address of residence in the European country where I am now.
- A virtual card is immediately created, you can add it to Apple Pay (I did not check it with Google), but first you need to reset the phone settings and set one of the European countries. I chose France.
- A physical card costs €6, and here is the first ambush: you will not be able to pay for it yourself with any card, you will have to ask friends with a European card for help. €6 is not returned.
- I paid for the card on March 9, it arrived in one of the Baltic countries on the 15th. Dropped right into the mailbox.
- To get access to a full-fledged account, you need to deposit €20 on it. Here again, you will need the help of a friend: he will replenish the account, and you will give it in cash.
- Everything works, you can pay, replenish and receive.
He also warned tourists that “this is not a full-fledged account, but a so-called ersatz”, “so try not to arouse suspicion with your transactions.” “Spend and replenish little by little, do not keep large amounts in the account. Wise monitors suspicious transactions closely and promptly and promptly requests confirmation of the transfer of money or paper proof of your right to stay in the country (utility bills and the like).” He added that the service is “ideal only for urgent purchases (air or bus tickets, etc.).”
Uzbekistan:
In the country, you can open an account in dollars or euros and get a card for it. To do this, a foreigner needs a temporary registration – it is given when checking into a hotel. When renting an apartment, it is also necessary to require official registration – for its absence in Uzbekistan they are severely punished. “With registration and your passport, you go to the bank. I went to Kapitalbank – in my opinion, the most digitalized and modern bank in the country. The bank has an electronic queue. There were about 30 people in front of me at the card operation. Several windows are working, as a result, 40 minutes have passed from the entrance to the bank to the operator. For registration, you only need a passport and registration, you can even for a couple of days. Cards of four systems are offered: UzCard and Humo – in soums, Visa – in dollars, Mastercard – in euros,” said Timur Yusupov, editor-in-chief Tutu Pyuzhetov. He also said that the cost of issuing the simplest Mastercard card is $2.5. Visa is $5. “At the same time, there is still some kind of “insurance deposit” – the amount that will be automatically debited from the account upon opening. They debit €10 from Mastercard and $5 from Visa,” he added. He also said that Kapitalbank has a convenient Apelsin application, through which “you can pay for a bunch of everything, top up your mobile phone balance, transfer a day from card to card, etc.”
At the same time, tourists – and even citizens living in Russia who suffer without the opportunity to shop in foreign online stores, etc. – are warned that there are “schemes” on how to issue a foreign card that is not subject to sanctions abroad “from their own sofa”, but there is a risk of running into scammers. We are talking about the recommendation of a Swiss bank Dukascopy. It is stated that its clients can remotely open accounts directly from Russia with the possibility of replenishment up to $2,000 per quarter. Read the details in the article “Russians were told how to remotely open an account abroad.”
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: 40th, 50th and 60th ages.”
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