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Receiving money from Paypal or Moneybookers in Brazil is a problem.  Taxes and bank fees cut a good slice of it. 

So one idea I had - I wonder if I can do that with Moneybookers - is, next time I travel abroad, have the money I want to cash sent to a bank or maybe a Thomas Cook office.  This would be (I wish) like if someone back home had sent me extra funds to spend during my trip, like any wire transfer.

Do you know if this is possible?  Can I have MB send me these funds to a bank that I don't have an account with?  Does any other fee than it would normally charge apply?

Of course, if I cash US$ in Europe, I know I have to pay money exchange fees, but that would be the same if I exchanged US bills.

Regards,
Adelaide

or consider an offshore account??  Not sure how hard it would be to set up but if you had an offshore account and credit card, you could use the CC locally and pay it off with the offshore account.  there would still be forex conversion but the credit card companies are reasonable.

This is kind of what I do.  I dont need the money for day to day living so I get it directed to my home country where I use it to invest for my eventual return.  The reason for this is that I send money home anyway so their is no point gonig through multiple exchange rates USD -> GBP -> NZD.  I am note avoiding any bank or taxes (just conversion fees).

latex,

Thanks for the tips, I'll try Itaú (I have an account with them).  However I believe Uruguay is more flexible regarding money transfers than Brazil (it's mostly our laws, not the banks themselves).

Stepunk,

Spending with Paypal is a good idea, but gladly I'm starting to make more than I am willing to spend in merchandise, not to say that import taxes can be quite high (we're taxed for anything above US$50, except books).

CJ,

I thought of a foreign account, I wonder however how expensive fees may be and if there are any restrictions.  I understand you are from UK, living in NZ but receiving your payments in a UK account, is it so?  Do you have a postal address in UK?  Are you a UK citizen?

I know a guy who receives his earnings through a Brazilian tade company that has an office in USA.  For what I understand, he transfers the money from his Moneybookers account to this company's in USA, then the Brazilian office pays him here, charging 7%.  Not totally a bad deal, but I think this may not be legal.

Regards,
Adelaide

You got it back to front. I am an NZ citizen currently in the UK.  Postal address in NZ is my parents where all my NZ mail goes to including my bank account (ie. my bank before I left NZ).

The problem would be to find a bank to set up with that offers low/zero fees and will let you do it.  I know it is a hassle to set up an account in the UK but they are fee free.  they also allow offshore accounts.

Kiwirob - I wouldn't recommend you do this to avoid income tax, just as a way to avoid getting ripped of with fees (or transaction taxes).  There are more legitimate ways to avoid tax that straight out evasion.