Do I need an Italian bank account?

Question

Hi folks,

I am CANADIAN and am going to Italy for a few months and am wondering if I should bother opening a bank account.

I will have a few thousand CDN dollars saved up to go but have been told that my interac card may not work.... and that I may just want to use my visa card. I just don't know how I would pay the VISA bills though if my card doesn't work. I'm thinking online banking is an option?

I was also told I may want to use travelers cheques to pay my rent but my bank isn't 100% on what the best option would be!

Should I open an account there? What kinds of info would they need from me?

Any advice would help.

Answer 1

Get ahold of visa and request a couple of cheques. Visa will have cheques you can use that take the money from your visa if you need cheques to pay rent. There will also be places you can buy money orders if needed. If there is no interac available then there will still be a local bank somewhere in your area. You may have to go right into the local bank to withdraw money from your account but you will still be able to get money out. Most hotels have an interac machine and there aren't too many places you can go where you won't have some kind of access. If you are only going to be there for a couple of months then there isn't much use in opening an account when you can use both your visa and your debit card. I would definitely set up online banking though before you go. Even if you only log on once a month and pay bills thats all you need but make sure you log off your bank account if you are using any public place to do your banking.

Other than that have a great trip!