Entrepreneur empathises with struggle for restricted forex

YOUTH entrepreneur Keron Rose says he understands the concern that people have over the restriction on the use of their debit cards to make US-dollar withdrawals overseas and US-dollar spending limits on their credit cards.

Rose, who is an information communication technology (IT) specialist and columnist with Newsday's Business Day magazine, said he has sought to address this problem for himself by seeking alternatives to access US currency.

He has advised other people to pursue similar strategies.

In an e-mail sent to some customers on October 30, Scotiabank said it will reduce the US spending limit on its credit cards and restrict the usage of its Visa debit card for overseas transactions from December 1.

In a credit-card notice posted on its website dated July 15, RBC said it planned to reduce the foreign-currency spending limit for its credit-card customers effective September 1. The total monthly limit was reduced from the equivalent of $51,000 (US$7,500) to $41,000 (US$6,000) or the maximum of the account’s credit limit, whichever was less.

Last September, Republic Bank advised customers of changes to come into effect in that month

This involved the US-dollar limit on its credit cards being reduced from US$10,000 to $5,000 per cycle.

In a comment via WhatsApp on November 4, Rose said most bank cards have fully worked outside TT.

He added it was only "Scotiabank and RBC that gave you a little bit of US dollars to be able to use at an ATM outside of TT."

Rose, who is now based in Thailand, said he anticipated many years ago, that the kinds of challenges being experienced now with respect to foreign exchange (forex) could become a reality.

"Because I saw this coming years ago, I set up all of my stuff outside of TT. So that way I am not hampered whenever I travel."

Rose said his strategies involved using mechanisms such as WISE, PayPal and opening external bank accounts, which had allowed him to access US dollars without experiencing the challenges other people currently face in accessing forex locally.

"I ensured that my clients were paying me in those platforms outside of TT.

"However, this is a problem for everybody who maybe conducts business in TT and they are living abroad."

He added that pensioners who live abroad but still collect pensions locally and students who are overseas, take loans and have their families send money to them, are challenged by the restrictions in accessing forex.

"There is no facility to get the money to them."

Rose shared some messages he received from people who having trouble accessing forex.

One message said, "That is unfortunate. At least you're providing options to move money out. I was fortunate to have my property sold to a US buyer and I specifically asked that they pay me via US cheque."

Another message said, "I am limited here though, with the amount of money I can convert every month because my Republic card has a US$5,000 limit."

In an interview on November 1, Rose said he wrote an article about how he generates and keeps his forex. Posted on his website, it's titled: How I navigate the forex crisis in TT.

In it, Rose said, "In TT, accessing foreign currency has become increasingly challenging due to the ongoing forex crisis and strict credit card limitations.

"As local banks continue to restrict US dollar transactions, many people struggle to meet personal and business needs outside of TT, whether for online shopping, travel, or essential overseas payments."

Rose was hopeful his advice could help other people to find "practical ways to access and manage foreign currency more efficiently."