A way to get cash for everyday expenses in Chile

[nobancsnoproblems]

I am a Russian citizen living in Chile, don't have a Chilean id yet so‌ can't use local banks. I receive salary as a contractor from a US company.

The problem is that Mastercard literally cut me off from a way to get a cash‍ to pay for rent, buy bread. I used a card issued by a Russian bank⁠ and it's not working for a time being outside of Russia.

So far I found⁤ only 3 ways to get cash:

1. A bank account in other residency. Dukascopy.bank -⁣ the most convenient, but 2.5% fee for cash withdrawals. I am still in the process⁢ of opening, but looks ok for now.

2. wise.com > p2p crypto I.e. buy stablecoins︀ with wise through p2p
a. > cash. Sell crypto to cash locally. Haven't found anyone︁ yet and doesn't look safe.
b. > cash Sell crypto to WesternUnion and such. FEE︂ is huge probably and I have to go to the office.

Am I missing anything?︃ Something like Moon - Shop Online with Cryptocurrency would be great, it allows to buy︄ a prepaid Visa card with bitcoin, but the card works only with US merchants.

1000$ monthly expenses.

 

[Martin Everson]

You tried Italbank in Puerto Rico?

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

Looks good but‌ the tricky part is that while I’m waiting for my visa (3 years) I’m in‍ a grey area between a tourist and a resident. They would probably require Chilean tax⁠ id
That’s why I’m using a Russian passport with Chilean proof of address

 

[Martin Everson]

Oh

You can only⁠ try. If they ask questions you can't answer then abort application.

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

Looks like I can do that, but their card is more expensive then ducascopy -‌ they take 3% on withdrawals and any non US payments,

 

[noname]

Why don’t you try register Bitsafe and apply for their MasterCard to deliver Chile. Then‌ get paid to Wise USD convert it to EUR balance and send it to Bitsafe.‍ Finally withdraw in Chile on ATM with Bitsafe card.

 

[JamesDonkey]

I can't find this - what countries does Bitsafe accept users from?

Can they be trusted?⁠ Positive experience?

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

Thanks for the tip, that's what I needed, I am ongoing verification.
Any other services like⁠ this which accepts Russian documents? Preferably with USD, not EUR

 

[daxbr]

I'd look into wire transfer services like western union (but not neccesarily wu) that allows‌ u to pick up small amounts of cash daily with passport from local associates with‍ monthly limit without kyc. This kind of setup works very well in Argentina.

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

Based on their fee calculator, they eat 5% at least
https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/send-money/app/price-estimator

 

[daxbr]

Please read carefully. I did say: like western union "but not neccesarily wu".

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

They all the same, unfortunately.

 

[kkein]

how about wiring the money to someone local and asking him/her to cash them out?‌

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

That's a temporal solution. As I am completely legit, doing‍ that might just attract unnecessary attention of local tax agency.

I confirm advcash worked -⁠ I verified with my Russian passport, then asked them to verify the residency and used⁤ a photo of utility bill with my Chilean address. Unionpay is available to order.

Bitsafe simply rejected my application.

 

[noname]

Payoneer. It is used by freelancers worldwide. They ship their debit cards worldwide and‍ have USD virtual account and in other currencies too, but you can get paid by⁠ companies only or marketplaces not by individuals. But this service support is really bad and⁤ they have weird rules, very selective to which users can use all features and for⁣ someone else they restrict without clear reason why. Anyway you can try it too since⁢ you don't have many other options from what I know.

Advcash on their homepage advertise get paid by employers or affiliates, and when you contact their︄ support they will tell you its not allowed to receive transfers from any other people,︅ friends, relatives, any businesses including exchanges and financial platforms. You must be the sender of︆ any transfers and use bank account in your name. If you think to use Wise,︇ Revolut, Paysera and other EMI they told me they can't guarantee transfers will successfully be︈ received. What a service..

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

I'll check Payoneer. I successfully received salary on wise, so that worked at least 1‌ time.

 

[nobancsnoproblems]

advcash approved unionpay card with my Russian passport and chilean utility bill.

 

[daxbr]

Great, let us know how the card works in Chile. Dont forget about‌ a backup, and a backup of backup.

 

[troubled soul]

1)Why do not use the Gift card for︇ monthly expenses?
Just go to Buy Gift Cards & Top Up Airtime with Bitcoin, Ethereum,︈ USDT, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin

 

[KOTF]

Well now you have an even bigger problem. No more dukascopy Card