Foreign Currency Usage Limits on Credit Cards

[zoom rader]

Back to plantation economy, well done to the red mis government.

[zoom rader]

cnc3 did a whole segment on the cut.

it strange because everybody they interview saying things getting worse and the economy slowing down. people cutting back on frivolous purchases. the demand increase not coming from the economy. so... who is the demand coming from? where all the forex going?

people working in the bank telling me is capital fleeing the island... people who have money abandoning the country and setting up elsewhere.. going Guyana, US and Canada. Capital making companies outside and sending wire transfers to pay their foreign subsidiary.. easiest thing to do is swipe a credit card to pay rent and buy start-up supplies...

why everybody jumping ship? things really getting bad on the island, not just with crime but the economy getting dead slow too. nowadays place looking empty like it was during covid, which insane..

imbert not going to fix this by raising OPT... capital controls is the answer, which is what this dropping of the US$ credit card limit is.. capital controls.. on you tho, not them...decided by the bankers and their friends..

frivolous purchases? Not true ,

Mas bands are sold out for Carnival 2024 and it not foreign ppl.

Trinis still happy to spend and vote red mis government

[Mmoney607]

So people can't just get an additional credit card to make up for the cut?

[The_Honourable]

So people can't just get an additional credit card to make up for the cut?

Not that simplistic.

Unless you are pre-approved, you have to go through the application process all over again. If you already have a credit card, there is no guarantee you will get a 2nd one. Even harder if you have loans of any type outstanding with the bank or any other financial institution. If your credit score got wrecked during the pandemic, no chance.

Banks already know that persons who conducts forex heavy transactions will attempt to get around the forex limitations on credit cards by applying for another one. Approval of a 2nd credit card would be, or already started to be curtailed.

[paid_influencer]

i shoulda be a banker oui

[neilsingh100]

The USD limit is going to be restricted per person so would not make a difference how many credit cards you have with a bank. As is the practice now exceptions are also made at the discretion of the bank (i.e. high net worth individuals and politicians with have much higher USD limits.)

[Mmoney607]

The USD limit is going to be restricted per person so would not make a difference how many credit cards you have with a bank. As is the practice now exceptions are also made at the discretion of the bank (i.e. high net worth individuals and politicians with have much higher USD limits.)

They could get a card from another bank

[The_Honourable]

The USD limit is going to be restricted per person so would not make a difference how many credit cards you have with a bank. As is the practice now exceptions are also made at the discretion of the bank (i.e. high net worth individuals and politicians with have much higher USD limits.)

They could get a card from another bank

After the credit card application is completed, they run a credit score on you with Transunion. The report shows all your previous and active credit facilities. So if you have a credit card at one bank and you think that is just to get another card at another bank, it's not that easy and will only allow you if they see you are managing all your debt properly (no defaults, no delinquent debts, paying on time, and especially your income is much higher than your expenses).

You can beat the system a bit if a family member you trust (and also trusts you) applies for a CC.

[Chimera]

The USD limit is going to be restricted per person so would not make a difference how many credit cards you have with a bank.

that inside info you have about something that going into effect?

cuz if thats true then i royally screwed and gonna close up shop and go Guyana
is only credit card USD i surviving on

[eliteauto]

The USD crunch seems real, had a guy book a room at the Hyatt a few weeks ago and he offered the taxi drivers 8:1 on $USD, he was able to buy $35K in a couple hours

[Mmoney607]

The USD limit is going to be restricted per person so would not make a difference how many credit cards you have with a bank. As is the practice now exceptions are also made at the discretion of the bank (i.e. high net worth individuals and politicians with have much higher USD limits.)

They could get a card from another bank

After the credit card application is completed, they run a credit score on you with Transunion. The report shows all your previous and active credit facilities. So if you have a credit card at one bank and you think that is just to get another card at another bank, it's not that easy and will only allow you if they see you are managing all your debt properly (no defaults, no delinquent debts, paying on time, and especially your income is much higher than your expenses).

You can beat the system a bit if a family member you trust (and also trusts you) applies for a CC.

Just drop the limit on the republic card so you only at the US limit of 5000 then apply for a credit card elsewhere for the other 5000 that was cut

[paid_influencer]

The USD crunch seems real, had a guy book a room at the Hyatt a few weeks ago and he offered the taxi drivers 8:1 on $USD, he was able to buy $35K in a couple hours

wda he would do with 35K in usd cash tho

cyar put that amount in the bank (bank would seize it pending investigation)
cyar cross the border with it (customs would seize it)
cyar pay any legit places with it (they would have the same problem as above)
cyar spend it here either

so what is the point, unless is some serious black market scene to buy guns or cocaine or young girls from the mainland

[Chimera]

The USD crunch seems real, had a guy book a room at the Hyatt a few weeks ago and he offered the taxi drivers 8:1 on $USD, he was able to buy $35K in a couple hours

wda he would do with 35K in usd cash tho

cyar put that amount in the bank (bank would seize it pending investigation)
cyar cross the border with it (customs would seize it)
cyar pay any legit places with it (they would have the same problem as above)
cyar spend it here either

so what is the point, unless is some serious black market scene to buy guns or cocaine or young girls from the mainland

Lol you can do all of those things with that money.

[pugboy]

so them taxi drivers never had an outlet for their usd cash?

on the ground it have plenty circles where the usd does spin in
a lot of the vene taxi/boat usd fare paid to locals spins right back into paying for drugs and guns

above the ground, like scrap iron dealers, that usd probably dont reach back here directly

[eliteauto]

Taxi drivers would sell USD to meet their daily expenses, buy vehicles ( many used to buy USDM cars) take vacations, save in US accounts, etc. There are many outlets, but many are older so they tend to keep it as cash vs. depositing it, especially when there is no guarantee of accessing it when they need it.

[MaxPower]

Xmas around the corner.

All who was planning on online purchases to sell locally and buss price on the people will have it hard.

Rel small business people asking around who have USD in their credit cards and asking them to make purchases for them..at a price of course. If any of allyuh get ask, 8.5 nothing less…make a lil change for d chrismus

[AlphaMan]

I suspect Pennywise is also a large user of forex also..

[thecloud1234]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

[paid_influencer]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

ppl having major problems getting USD since like 2017
ppl using credit cards for forex because the bank isn't selling any directly.
(they are selling USD, just not to everybody. welcome to trinidad, btw)

the whole using credit-card for forex thing was/is a relatively recent hack work-around for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) to continue doing business after the soft caps on USD sales were implemented. with the credit card limits cut down from $10,000 to $5,000, plenty SMEs will to have to cut down operations too.

major ocean freight liners sometime last year or the year before stop taking TTD payment. even those billion $ multinationals cannot convert TTD to USD, so is not just SMEs suffering.

ironically, the workaround that many SMEs used last year to pay freight charges was via credit card. so now that cut too.

what we getting really is the further consolidation of the local economy into a few hands. it was happening for the last 5 years and this is a continuation of that, any apparently we like it so

[triniterribletim]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

Being intimately familiar with several folks in the auto industry, it was hell to actually get USD for foreign wire transfers before this. They were already relying heavily on credit card online USD transfers. This is going to put even more of a stranglehold on them.

[bluefete]

Imbert smiling because he taking care of HIS and Rowley business. They will not be affected by any problems with US$. NONE!

But dotish lower level Trinis will skin and grin their way through this as usual not understanding how they have been royally skrewed.

As Zoom says .........

[triniterribletim]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

ppl having major problems getting USD since like 2017
ppl using credit cards for forex because the bank isn't selling any directly.
(they are selling USD, just not to everybody. welcome to trinidad, btw)

the whole using credit-card for forex thing was/is a relatively recent hack work-around for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) to continue doing business after the soft caps on USD sales were implemented. with the credit card limits cut down from $10,000 to $5,000, plenty SMEs will to have to cut down operations too.

major ocean freight liners sometime last year or the year before stop taking TTD payment. even those billion $ multinationals cannot convert TTD to USD, so is not just SMEs suffering.

ironically, the workaround that many SMEs used last year to pay freight charges was via credit card. so now that cut too.

what we getting really is the further consolidation of the local economy into a few hands. it was happening for the last 5 years and this is a continuation of that, any apparently we like it so

The TT dollar only has the value people assign it down here because of the government set exchange rate. No one will take it anywhere abroad. Believe me, I've tried. It's definitely one of the biggest obstacles to trying to start a life abroad when your assets are one market crash/devaluation away from losing a lot of value. I think that devaluation is a matter of when, not if, and the real rate may be somewhere closer to 9 TTD for 1 USD. There's going to have to be some economic pain eventually, you can only tread water for so long.

[AlphaMan]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

Being intimately familiar with several folks in the auto industry, it was hell to actually get USD for foreign wire transfers before this. They were already relying heavily on credit card online USD transfers. This is going to put even more of a stranglehold on them.

Are you still in Trinidad or Brazil?

[bluefete]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

ppl having major problems getting USD since like 2017
ppl using credit cards for forex because the bank isn't selling any directly.
(they are selling USD, just not to everybody. welcome to trinidad, btw)

the whole using credit-card for forex thing was/is a relatively recent hack work-around for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) to continue doing business after the soft caps on USD sales were implemented. with the credit card limits cut down from $10,000 to $5,000, plenty SMEs will to have to cut down operations too.

major ocean freight liners sometime last year or the year before stop taking TTD payment. even those billion $ multinationals cannot convert TTD to USD, so is not just SMEs suffering.

ironically, the workaround that many SMEs used last year to pay freight charges was via credit card. so now that cut too.

what we getting really is the further consolidation of the local economy into a few hands. it was happening for the last 5 years and this is a continuation of that, any apparently we like it so

The TT dollar only has the value people assign it down here because of the government set exchange rate. No one will take it anywhere abroad. Believe me, I've tried. It's definitely one of the biggest obstacles to trying to start a life abroad when your assets are one market crash/devaluation away from losing a lot of value. I think that devaluation is a matter of when, not if, and the real rate may be somewhere closer to 9 TTD for 1 USD. There's going to have to be some economic pain eventually, you can only tread water for so long.

In 2018, the IMF told Imbert it should have been TT$10 - US$1

Lord knows what it should be by now.

[paid_influencer]

at this point the PNM will never devalue.

they going to keep 'soft' foreign currency controls in place so we have a tightly managed economy

an economy managed by, and for the benefit of, the bankers, the business cronies and the politicians, in true banana republic style

[zoom rader]

at this point the PNM will never devalue.

they going to keep 'soft' foreign currency controls in place so we have a tightly managed economy

an economy managed by, and for the benefit of, the bankers, the business cronies and the politicians, in true banana republic style

An entire nation is enslaved.

Education gone
Job gone
Taxes up

Yet still this what people vote for.

Stupid country filled with Stupid people

[triniterribletim]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

Being intimately familiar with several folks in the auto industry, it was hell to actually get USD for foreign wire transfers before this. They were already relying heavily on credit card online USD transfers. This is going to put even more of a stranglehold on them.

Are you still in Trinidad or Brazil?

In Brazil. Don't think I'll be returning to Trinidad for the foreseeable future.

[adnj]

Besides Pennywise - Pricemart had issues with USD in the recent past.
Can you clarify if bonafide importers are having problems to get USD as was the case in 1983 to 1991?
When you need car parts, essential medicines , computers does anyone anticpate shortages?

ppl having major problems getting USD since like 2017
ppl using credit cards for forex because the bank isn't selling any directly.
(they are selling USD, just not to everybody. welcome to trinidad, btw)

the whole using credit-card for forex thing was/is a relatively recent hack work-around for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) to continue doing business after the soft caps on USD sales were implemented. with the credit card limits cut down from $10,000 to $5,000, plenty SMEs will to have to cut down operations too.

major ocean freight liners sometime last year or the year before stop taking TTD payment. even those billion $ multinationals cannot convert TTD to USD, so is not just SMEs suffering.

ironically, the workaround that many SMEs used last year to pay freight charges was via credit card. so now that cut too.

what we getting really is the further consolidation of the local economy into a few hands. it was happening for the last 5 years and this is a continuation of that, any apparently we like it so

The TT dollar only has the value people assign it down here because of the government set exchange rate. No one will take it anywhere abroad. Believe me, I've tried. It's definitely one of the biggest obstacles to trying to start a life abroad when your assets are one market crash/devaluation away from losing a lot of value. I think that devaluation is a matter of when, not if, and the real rate may be somewhere closer to 9 TTD for 1 USD. There's going to have to be some economic pain eventually, you can only tread water for so long.

In 2018, the IMF told Imbert it should have been TT$10 - US$1

Lord knows what it should be by now.

The last numbers that I saw last year were better. The real effective exchange rate was about the same as the black market rates: about 7.6 - 8.5 to 1.

https:www.trinidadexpress.com/business/local/imf-t-t-dollar-overvalued-by-20-4/article_417e18c0-a330-11ec-8e57-6b0a7bf992f6.amp.html

[pugboy]

black market rates are 7.5 - 8 ?
how much the chinese groceries paying ?

[MaxPower]

I think that devaluation is a matter of when, not if, and the real rate may be somewhere closer to 9 TTD for 1 USD. There's going to have to be some economic pain eventually, you can only tread water for so long.

And even after all that, Carnival goes on.