What to do with US$ cheques.

Got a couple of dividend cheques this week in US$. Only a modest amount but I hate being ripped by our banks so looking for an alternative than simply banking them.

A more seasoned traveller than I suggested buying a "travel card" in USD. Later in the year Mrs Fish and I are going to Darwin so we might as well hop over to SE Asia. We're not big spenders so they would cover much of our out of pockets if we did that.

Can anyone expand on this idea?
 
Hi Sunfish

Most of the large banks will let you open USD denominated bank accounts, e.g. HSBC will allow you to open a USD denominated account with a minimum deposit of USD$1,000.

You can then get a card attached to the account that will allow you to draw cash where ever you may be. Details of this account are available at:
http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/foreign-currency

No I don't work for HSBC ;-)

Cheers, Paul
 
Have to disagree with Lofty - all the major Australian banks won't do USD bank accounts, other than NAB and their fees are ridiculous.

HSBC on the other hand, now they're a multinational, they came up in my searches too and are probably exactly what you want. I don't work for them either but wholeheartedly recommend based on other people's experiences :)
 
Two 'potential' ideas, however both require larger somes of capital for it to be justified in the scheme of things.

(a) utilise an australian domiciled full broker (this leaves one open to full tax consequences). I use this option, and i get all overseas dividends paid to me either in a US$ nominated account or an AU$ nominated account (with the proceeds translated at wholesale rates less about 50 basis points)

(b) utilise an overseas domiciled full broker. I'm not talking about this option further on the internet.

There are NO charges.
 
I also think HSBC is the best/easiest option if your cheques need to be banked before drawn on. I opened an acc in hong kong which was painless and allows transfers/deposits of major currencys. It's called Smartvantage but don't think HSBC branches in Oz have it.. i can only logon thru the hong kong porthole. Has a few nifty services that come with it.
https://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/banking/sva
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