Back from Africa. How are you paying the bill to the PH?

I bring cash in a money belt I bought from CAA store (our version of AAA). So comfortable I forget I have it on and that causes delays if airport security has the walk through x-ray machine. However, I don't have a beer gut to deal with like most guys my age. The most cash I will travel with is $2K. Removing the money belt and replacing it at security is definitely a hassle but I can usually manage. I do it right there in front of guards. Walking into a washroom with a bunch of cash in hand would be asking to get robbed.
 
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375Fox said:
I was robbed in route to Zimbabwe somewhere between Qatar and arriving at the hotel.
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I wear a money belt under my clothes.
 
BigSteve57 said:
I remember the travel agent saying we could open a bank sccount at a bank in the country of our hunt. Our hunt was in Namibia and I investigated it. The idea was you would open an account, fund it, use it while in country then close it once back home. I didn’t do it but considered it. Might have made more sense if I planned repeated hunts there. Anyway, food for thought. Anyone done this?
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I would suggest avoiding this. For tax purposes, an American really doesn't want or need a foreign bank account. I worked and lived overseas. To avoid having a true bank account, most US expats had a prepaid debit card. I think the issue is the IRS will give you closer scrutiny if you have an overseas bank account.

Wire transfers are really easy, and for international transfer my bank and credit union charges $35. I can do it all online.
 
WIRE TRANSFERS BEFORE FOR DEPOSITS AND AFTER FOR FINAL PMT. NEVER HAD TO LEAVE MY HOUSE. SIT HERE IN COSTA RICA ON THE COMPUTER AND SEND THOUSANDS$$$ WHAM-BAM-BOOM. OUTFITTERS AND TAXIDERMISTS.
 
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I have a US-German bank that has IBAN. I use it for all my hunt payments.
 
rsmurray said:
I had bag robbed of Courteney boots an dum bastards left $2500 cash I had inna sock
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Man I’d be pissed about them stealing my boots that’s low man really low…I mean there’s this kid I sat next to on the last flight you can take him! He’s free! Annoying little shit he wouldn’t go out and play on the wing why they couldn’t steal him I have no idea? (His fat mother sure all sorts of litigation on straining your back just trying to pick that up)
But he’ll just steal the kid he won’t be missed I’m fairly sure…..so glad to get off that flight and leave him there :ROFLMAO: :A Outta:
 
Take cash for tips and wire the balance. Just got back Wednesday at noon and wired the balance by 3:00. Bank charges 50.00 to do so.
 
4th trip to the bank. I used a wire transfer. The Safari Co. has a American bank account. It is so simple. To most people!

My bank made it just about as hard as possible. You have to make an appointment. You can't just walk in. Keep in mind that I did a lot and still do have some business banking there. (I sold my company 2 years ago, so I no longer have the same commercial service people there). I have made wire transfers in the past for much larger sums.

"We need to verbally hear him recite the account number" "That is an ACH routing number not a wire routing number"

I know it says ACH number, so I looked up the routing number for their bank, and this is it@@#$$%^**

Well "sir, you can't just look up a bank's wire routing number on google"

Well, I just did and it says that that American bank only uses one routing number for all it's wire transfers.

"let me tell you all about ACH payments for business"

No thanks, been there, done that, don't need to hear it.

After 40 minutes with two women telling me they are just trying to protect me from fraud by paying some unknown person in a foreign country, one of them asked...
"Have you ever met this person"
"We don't think this is a legitimate business"
"When are you going to Africa"??

I said J-H-C lady, I told you and about 5 other people in this bank that I have returned from Africa and I just want to pay my F-ing bill!

Here is me with a picture of my PH and his family, we have met. In Nashville USA. We spent weeks together in the bush. It's not an internet scam. Here is a picture of the elephant that I shot with the man I need to pay, these are his account numbers!

"Ahhhhh, so you already went on the trip, hmmm, OK, just sign here so we can make the wire transfer", click, sent! Done!

I have never seen such a baffled bunch of people in my life. I keep playing it over wondering if somehow I confused them? I did tell the bankers that I had been there and returned.

That and the vehicle breakdown on the way to the airport, missing flights home, was the hardest part of hunting in Africa!

Here is a pic of two .416 Barnes bullets recovered from the buffalo. Just because.
 

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I typically pay my deposit using a wire.

Deposits are almost always Day Rates + License Fees + an amount I expect to pay in Trophy Fees. I don’t pay everything but I’ve never once shot less than this “Trophy Fee Deposit”. None of the PH’s I’ve hunted with have asked for this, though I know it can be common in places like Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, etc on a big deposit.

I typically also travel with cash as well for tips and some trophy fees. I’ve traveled through Zim with more than $25k (declared upon entrance and exit).

Any remaining balance is paid via Wire Transfer. Just did it with Zambeze Delta Safaris with no issues.
 
Wire transfers through Bank of America, Fidelity, Schwab... all a PITA.

This last trip, for a one-time $31 fee I opened a USD business account with Wise (wise.com), preauthorized the recipients (one bank in Bots, another in RSA, all USD), and used both the website and Wise app to make multiple transfers. I funded the Wise account via ACH with no fees, and international wires transferred in 48-72 hours with fees to me at <$9 per wire. No phone calls to a bank's call center to verbally authorize the wire, no 3rd degree at a bank branch, no exorbitant wire fees.

Don't want to do USD? You can open accounts in up to 25 different currencies, IIRC. They will handle FX, too. All up to you and what your needs are.

Highly recommend. Wise is how I plan to handle all international payments from now on, starting with Argentina in March.
 
farmer_john said:
Just curious haw hard/impractical would a Credit card be to use?
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In South Africa it’s relatively easy. Other African countries like Zimbabwe the card companies don’t like to process for the outfitters and charge them huge processing fees.
 
I booked through WTA, I just pay them with a credit card. When I return from the trip they bill me for any extra trophy fees I may have collected and pay with a card.
I just need to take cash for tips and travel.
 
Tdruck said:
4th trip to the bank. I used a wire transfer. The Safari Co. has a American bank account. It is so simple. To most people!

My bank made it just about as hard as possible. You have to make an appointment. You can't just walk in. Keep in mind that I did a lot and still do have some business banking there. (I sold my company 2 years ago, so I no longer have the same commercial service people there). I have made wire transfers in the past for much larger sums.

"We need to verbally hear him recite the account number" "That is an ACH routing number not a wire routing number"

I know it says ACH number, so I looked up the routing number for their bank, and this is it@@#$$%^**

Well "sir, you can't just look up a bank's wire routing number on google"

Well, I just did and it says that that American bank only uses one routing number for all it's wire transfers.

"let me tell you all about ACH payments for business"

No thanks, been there, done that, don't need to hear it.

After 40 minutes with two women telling me they are just trying to protect me from fraud by paying some unknown person in a foreign country, one of them asked...
"Have you ever met this person"
"We don't think this is a legitimate business"
"When are you going to Africa"??

I said J-H-C lady, I told you and about 5 other people in this bank that I have returned from Africa and I just want to pay my F-ing bill!

Here is me with a picture of my PH and his family, we have met. In Nashville USA. We spent weeks together in the bush. It's not an internet scam. Here is a picture of the elephant that I shot with the man I need to pay, these are his account numbers!

"Ahhhhh, so you already went on the trip, hmmm, OK, just sign here so we can make the wire transfer", click, sent! Done!

I have never seen such a baffled bunch of people in my life. I keep playing it over wondering if somehow I confused them? I did tell the bankers that I had been there and returned.

That and the vehicle breakdown on the way to the airport, missing flights home, was the hardest part of hunting in Africa!

Here is a pic of two .416 Barnes bullets recovered from the buffalo. Just because.
Click to expand...
lol that’s why I use a separate brokerage account for just Africa since banks are so bad at this
 
Huntforever said:
Has anyone heard of the authorities stopping someone or searching for cash hasn’t happened to me once in any of my trips?
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I was stopped once in Frankfurt and my money was counted. Simply because I had it in a money bag inside my shirt and took it off to get through security. The security person, let’s be politically correct, asked what that was. A quick check and all was good.
 
I always do an international bank transfer for all PH payments minus tips. I don't like paying the costs associated with the process, but it's bank to bank with no hassles.
 
Teampowpow said:
I’m curious how the outcome was? I’m worried they’ll try and steal it as well, only been to Mozambique and they definitely keep their hands out everywhere you go…
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So this was done stateside on my way to zim. I was in the jetway almost to the plane when guys with badges pulled me out of the line, took me outside on the tarmac and started questioning me, where i was going, who I was meeting, how much money I was carrying. I dont remember if they searched my carry on. After the questions, they took me back in the jetway and let me be on my way.

I had no problems in Zim.
 
Check.

**JP Morgan Wire Transfers are always relatively simple and easy.
 
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