[SimonRowberry]

Aye, you make some fair points, Lugano.

I am just never comfortable having too much cash on me. There’s also another issue – it’s a hell of a sight easier accounting for card payments than remembering to get a receipt every time you pay cash for a business-related expense. I often don’t get receipts for cash payments (or sometimes can’t get them), so I guess every year I’m a good few grand down in terms of cash payments I’ve made on business, which my accountant is reluctant to let me reclaim without a receipt. It’s life, I guess.

Simon

[PatJordan]

Lugano,

I have only seen this thread now. For what it’s worth, I think £3,000 in mixed currencies isn’t all that much for somebody who travels internationally asa matter of course. Surely security personnel are trained to recognise regular flyers: surely a selection of FFP airline cards, Hotel programmes indicate that the holder is a seasoned traveller and not someone who is carrying an inordinate amount of cash for nefarious purposes.

Indeed, many Hotel chains are dubious of those who prefer cash to plastic cards, maybe their policies need revision too.

[MartynSinclair]

LuganoPirate – all the concerns you write about, I recognise as the way I felt a couple of years ago. Technology forms part of international travel and once I accepted that, I felt comfortable in using the internet and other electronic vehicles to control my finances (home and abroad).

The nearest comparison I can give is the changing patterns of booking hotels and airline tickets. Once upon a time, calls went straight into airlines and direct to hotels for prices, booking and reservations. Whilst this hasnt stopped, most of the savvy deals are now through the internet (airline/hotel websites or 3rd party brokers).

The way we handle money and credit cards has now changed – when I embraced whats available – I got it to work for me rahter than the other way round.

Most ATM’s I use are in hotel or airport foyers. I feel far less vunerable paying by debit/credit card rather than cash and as Simon mentioned, at least with plastic you have an accounting trail for expenses.

I too have far too many pieces of plastic, but only advise the ones I am about to use for travel when needed, usually at the airport via the internet. Its so easy and far quicker.

With regards to your 30 minute delay and threats etc (including copying your business cards) I would be interested to hear a fuller version of events. To request a copy of all your personal contacts and receipts for the cash, somebody must have had due reason to make that request. I presume you were given a form 5090 when you were stopped. If you feel that you were unfairly treated, there is always the opportunity to obtain a fuller explanation as detailed on that form

[stevescoots]

It depends for me on where i am going. In Europe maybe about 200 euro worth. In Asia about 150 pounds worth of local + 100 USD, same in South America. USA about 200 USD. travel with 5 cards, carry 3, Visa and mastercard in Wallet, Amex in bag, others I leave where i am staying in the safe. I use cards all the time in Europe and US, in Asia i prefer cash to bargain with and they like to take the card away to process which i hate. As for the treatment by UK customs, nothing new I am afraid. i have been stopped many times and spoken to like a criminal before even opening a bag.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Martyn Sinclair

Malta has to be very careful with regard to terrorism, e.g.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_648 – a hi-jacked flight ending in large scale bloodshed at Malta International Airport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathi_Shaqaqi

A murder carried out, allegedly by Israeli agents, in the middle of our prime tourist area.

Air Malta was also blamed for shipping the bomb that brought down Pan Am 103, although they sued Granada TV when they made this allegation in a documentary and won a substantial out of court settlement.

Scottish TV recently repeated the allegation, causing a strong reaction from a Scottish politician and the father of one of the victims, RIP.

http://lockerbiecase.blogspot.com/2010/08/scottish-mp-takes-air-maltas-side-in.html

You may not realise that we are only 2 hours 15 minutes flight time away from the middle east and that is far too close for comfort, when the illegal behaviours of some terrorist groups and certain governments are considered.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

NTarrant

“Disgusted – sadly the UK is seen as a soft touch from those that want to flee their own country. Case in point why do they risk life an limb to cross the channel when they are in France. I doubt they are arriving on boats into secluded harbours in Malta.”

You could not be more wrong, Malta bears the highest burden, pro rata, in the EU and they do indeed arrive in secluded harbours, as well as by being intercepted by the AFM (Armed Forces of Malta) and others.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100304/local/maltas-migration-burden-biggest-in-eu-study

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5227038,00.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2009/06/m.html

[MartynSinclair]

Once again Disgusted you turn the posts into a political diatribe to justify or in this case critisize the UK for its stringent stance on the movement of financial transaction including cash.

If you consider the the alleged elimination of a confirmed and self admitted muderer (this was your link, not mine) by an as yet unidentified Governement agency as an act of terror, in Malta, then it only reinforces why Malta should enforce stricter checks and perhaps check your dustbin occassionaly to see if anything is being hidden.

This thread is about carrying cash and the reasons behind the strict border checks. Lets understand the reason why cash is carried and then you will see the connection between cash / anti terror laws – and the need to sometimes question people who may be going about their business within the law, but are acting within a specified profile that means questioning.

Personally, I have absolutely no problem with this and as a traveller both for business and personal reasons, whatever I carry, cash, medicine or any other item that could be contencious, such as a gun magazine – if somebody at security or birder control wants to ask my reasons for having this on me, I have absolutely no issue.

[NTarrant]

Disgusted – I stand corrected regarding them arriving in secluded harbours, but the articles featured hinge on relativity to the size and population of the countries mentioned including Malta.

I don’t know if you have seen Sangat near Calais when it was open and the woods where they now wait you will understand the concerns of people in the UK. I have seen first hand what goes on.

Anyway I think we are going off the subject slightly, but it is all relative

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

NTarrant

You are absolutely correct, when you say it is relative. 58 million UK population versus 400,000 here, the scale is very different, but the impact is high for both countries, the EU says higher for Malta.

I am sure that UK citizens are just as concerned with the situation in the UK as Maltese are with the situation here.

Yes, I did see Sangatte and I have seen the woods – have you seen a boatload of 50+ Africans being towed into Malta?

50 may not seem many to a big country, but the impact on our economy is significant.

This is not a competition, I just wanted to make the point that Malta is challenged too, if you ask the Spanish about the problems with the south of Spain and the Canary Islands, they will be quick to state the impact is high, too.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Martyn Sinclair

You said “The anti terror laws are in place for obvious reasons, the UK is a bigger target than say the Island of Malta, hence the sad need for these laws.”

I was replying to that point, specifically, to show (sadly) that we have had serious incidents here.

So I fail to see how…

“Once again Disgusted you turn the posts into a political diatribe to justify or in this case critisize the UK for its stringent stance on the movement of financial transaction including cash.”

I quoted three examples of terrorism, two confirmed to be by Arab perps and one by agencies unknown (alleged to be Israeli on Wiki.)

You then say

“If you consider the the alleged elimination of a confirmed and self admitted muderer (this was your link, not mine) by an as yet unidentified Governement agency as an act of terror, in Malta, then it only reinforces why Malta should enforce stricter checks and perhaps check your dustbin occassionaly to see if anything is being hidden.”

This is the most ridiculous thing I have read for a long time; in Malta, we call a gunning down in the street a murder, in this case apparently one terrorist being taken out by another unidentified set of terrorists – if it walks like duck, quacks like a duck, then Occam’s razor says it probably is a duck. How is this not terrorism?

People who hijack aircraft, blow up others and gun down others in the street are criminals/terrorists to my mind and I would be happy if none of them visit this country.

For your education, we do not have household dustbins in Malta.

[MartynSinclair]

Going all around the houses Disgusted, irresepctive of your waste disposal system, this is exactly the reason why people get stopped and questioned in the UK, even if they are acting within the law.

If you are carrying Euros 9,999.99 in cash you do not have to stop and tell Mr. Customs that you are carrying that amount. If you are stopped and it is found, and you are asked and you can not explain why, absolutely right further questions should be asked.

If people are concerned, dont carry the cash!

Ps – I am more than happy to discuss the economic and travel consequences of the Middle East conflict along with the character of the self confessed muderer, terrorist and supporter of homicide bombings) Fathi Shaqaqi, but on a thread more suited to the question.
Feel free to email me antime on <a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected] but please can we keep these threads as they were intended, about discussion on the subject. Thank you very much indeed. Martyn Sinclair.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Martyn

“If you are carrying £9,999.99 in cash you do not have to stop and tell Mr. Customs that you are carrying that amount.”

Incorrect, this would be committing an offence.

I think it would be better if you knew what you were talking about, before making such assertions.

[VintageKrug]

I would STRONGLY recommend you do not post your email address on a public forum.

Apart from the usual oddments being able to contact you directly, “bots” scan the internet for such email addresses and then bombard you with even more spam than might otherwise be the case.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

VK, you are right, on top of which an email address is helpful to identity thieves.

[MartynSinclair]

Thanks for the advice VIntageKrug. I/we have always operated in a clear, transparent and very open manner. As a company we encourage all employees to use ISP’s with personal names for personal communications – hotmail is a good vehicle for this and it is outside of our company servers.

I have absolutely no issue with my personal email being in the public domain.

PS – as harsh as some of our exchanges are Disgusted, I am sure you did not wish to imply I was a thief (check your last posting!!!)

[Author]

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