054|365 KBS Korean Banks Suck ~ Random

054|365 KBS Korean Banks Suck ~ Random, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Random

It gets me riled up every time. I've been living in Korea for over three years now, I have a job with one of the largest companies in Korea, I have perfect credit history and they still refuse to give me an international debit card or credit card! (And most other foreigners for that matter)

It's discriminatory. They feel I'm more likely to run off with debts than a Korean because I'm foreign. I haven't lived in Canada for over 3 years, all that time an official non-resident, and yet I have both a Visa and Master Card with a combined credit limit that goes into the tens of thousands. Sometimes my biggest motivation to learn Korean is so that I can argue with bank tellers in situations like this.

But I haven't even touched on the most ridiculous part yet. The will give me a Visa provided I put down a $1000 deposit. And guess how much my credit limit is then... $1000. So I asked what the hell the difference is between a credit card and an ATM card in this country. The difference is, you can take out money / buy things with it in a foreign country, up to the amount you deposited, and you can pay interest for borrowing your own money. Thats right! If you take out a cash advance, or neglect to replenish your account by the end of the month than you can start paying the bank 20-22% interest.

I can't make sense of it. The only reason I haven't started stashing my cash in my pillows yet is because Korean Bank at least have good bill payment services, low transaction fees and zero monthly fees going for them. Better than I can say for Canada.

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 2 o'clock shot into a reflective umbrella in front of me. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 at about 6 o'clock, directly behind my head fired at the wall. 1 Sunpack SB22 @ fill power at about 10 o'clock with red gel lighting the right of my face to make me look even more angry!

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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