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Cash:
I have found that most major metropolitan areas are now equipped with ATMS that are connected to a/the global network. Depending on the level of technological development of the country to which you are travelling, this makes at least this one step of the fieldwork, easier, less time consuming, and cheaper.
Over the last ten years this has been a significant improvement to obtaining foreign currency. There was a time when money changers charged large fees to exchange cash, both here in the States and in many foreign countries (eg, Thomas Cooke) and you were basically dependent on these kinds of money merchants who also just happened to be few and far between. But now simply waiting until you are in your country of fieldwork and using the ATM in the airport or at a city center is actually possible. I 've done it in many European countries, Mexico, and Canada. My bank charges a small fee for using an ATM that was not attached directly to their branches but that $1.00-$2.00 fee is a huge improvement from the couple of percentage points charged by money changers and I didn't have to look very far to find one. Caveat: I was not able to do this in Ethiopia where the electronic network is not available. (Sarah Orndorff, New School for Social Research)
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