Check deposit in foreign bank?

[Anonymous]

Quick question: I'm going to an overseas wedding and want to give the couple money as a gift. Can they deposit my personal check in a foreign bank? I could give cash but want to avoid having to exchange it.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

No way.

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

They most likely can, but it's usually a pain in the arse to do, the money is held up for awhile, and there's a rsik the bank will mess up. Since this is a wedding present, you should deal with the minor annoyance of exchanging money rather than put the annoyance onto the giftee.

You could 1) exchange money and give cash or 2) buy a gift card/gift check in their country. Just went to a wedding overseas and got a gift check for the couple's favorite store. FYI you will have to pay a foreign transaction fee on most credit cards. Am sure there are more options others will share.

[Anonymous]

I send my personal checks as gifts for my nieces and nephews for birthdays/christmas. It takes time to clear 20+ days but as long you write their names right and date it right (dd/mm or mm/dd), there is no problem.

[Anonymous]

You can just hit an ATM there, no need to exchange money. Your bank will probably give you a better rate than most. Might have to do it a few times if you're planning on giving thousands though.

[Anonymous]

We send checks as birthday gifts to another country. It does take a few weeks for the cash to enter their accounts but otherwise is OK.

[Anonymous]

No. It takes weeks and costs money to cash in a foreign check. Cash is better. But I know that in Canada they can easily cash US checks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can just hit an ATM there, no need to exchange money. Your bank will probably give you a better rate than most. Might have to do it a few times if you're planning on giving thousands though.

Do this.

Further, if you know it's going to be a lot of money or your bank might get weird about you withdrawing money from a foreign location (mine does sometimes), let them know you will be abroad from X to X dates and that you know you will need to withdraw a large sum (if you already know what it is, great) while there.

[Anonymous]

They can, but it is a PITA.

Why don't you just withdraw money from an ATM when you are there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can just hit an ATM there, no need to exchange money. Your bank will probably give you a better rate than most. Might have to do it a few times if you're planning on giving thousands though.

huh?