check cashing in Italy
 

I have a check made out to me from a governmental entity in Denmark. The banks in the USA want to charge a large fee for me to cash it. I'm an Italian citizen with an Italian passport, but have only an American address right now. I'm going back to Venice in October. Since I don't have a bank account in Italy, will I be able to cash this check in Italy, or must I cash it in the US and pay the exorbitant bank fee?

Cashing foreign checks is always expensive. There are tremendous fraud risks and it sounds as though you don't have a bank here in the USA, so why should they take a risk unless they're well paid?

If you have friends, colleagues, an employer or someone you trust, ask them to deposit the check to their account and, when after some period of time, they can give you the cash. There will still be foreign transaction & processing fees, but they are likely to be less for a banking customer.

I would not wait until October. The chance of any bank cashing an "old" check decrease rapidly with the passage of time.

i do not know what an exorbitant fee is. are you talking 10% on a $10,000 check? or 5% on a couple thousand dollars? is the check in us $, in euro, or danish krone? are you talking to BA, C, jpm, wfb, or a smaller customer service type bank?

why would you not pay an exorbitant fee in italy? sounds like a check in euro. if it is in krone, say so.

Check Cashing
 

It is a E3000 check made out by a University in Denmark. I am an Italian citizen but have mostly grown up in the US. Thankfully, for the last few years I've been able to go back and live in Venice for about a quarter of the year. I rent an apartment when I am there, don't have a stable Italian address, and continue to bank in the US and take Euros out of the ATM or use a credit card while there.

Since the dollar was always losing value, every time I went back I would take out about E2000-3000 before leaving, figuring it would save money as the dollar deteriorated. During the last few years the Euro has gone from 148:100 to 121:100 now, so I've been losing money quarterly by trying to hedge this bet.

Now, I have this check and the USA bank after the exchange rate and fees wants to give me what amounts to about 110:100.

This is obviously not a "break the bank" issue, but after losing hundreds betting against the dollar, I'd just as soon not lose more. The bottom line is, with my Italian passport but with my US address, can I walk into a Venetian bank and cash a check made out by a University from Denmark?

Extraordinarily unlikely that any bank anywhere with which you do not have a relationship is going to cash a check for you.

When looking at your US bank, consider the difference between the exchange rate and the fees. The former are going to be approximately the same wherever you go. The fees may vary.

You also used the term "cashed." That means something different than deposited when it comes to fees. Have you asked the bank what the fees, not exchange rate, will be if you deposit the check and wait until it clears and it's clear it's not a forgery?

Lastly, have you considered asking the Danish institution whether it might wire the funds to you? Outbound to the EU, a $3,000 wire transfer to a bank account would only cost approximately $25 from most US banks.

Any chance the U of Denmark banks at an int'l bank that happens to have a branch in Venice? If not, then no, this isn't going to happen.

I second the suggestion to see if you can arrange a wire transfer instead.

Check Cashing
 

Thanks for the advice. I think the message is clear. I should just take the check to my local bank, and take the loss, otherwise, I'd never get it cashed.

you might as well bite the bullet at cash it here. The cost/fees to set up the account in Italy plus time and their fees/delays on the check are not worth it.
Might as well get it done here. You could shop for a better bank in the US but you often have to have direct deposit to not pay fees.

Good luck.