DrupalPicchu 2014 Finances

Kickstarter will be great now, because there is people willing to contribute now, and you know money changes hands so quick.

Chipin and Flattr and great for scholarships, we need to make them have a more active role IMHO. Scholars are people that already achieved something or have a solid proposal for new awesome stuff. Let's make them be in front-page, proposing new ideas, congratulating them for their awesome contributions to Drupal as software project and/or community.

Paypal allows credit/debit card payments, this one is great for entrance tickets reservations. Electronic money is easier now and will be a lot easier next year.

To transfer money to Peru from a U.S. Bank account that gets paid via PayPal, the cheapest and most effective way for small amounts (up to $5k) is to do it through Xoom.com. For $1k it will cost around US$14. We've tried different methods so far, including MoneyGram, Western Union, etc., but Xoom.com has worked the best. As far as the recipient of the money goes, he/she doesn't need a local bank account anywhere in the country to pick it up. All you need to do is provide your DNI (ID card) or Carnet de Extranjeria (kind of like the greencard in the U.S. for expats) at the counter of the local branch once the money is ready for pick up. Passports are not accepted to pick up money transfers, since they are not considered legal IDs (I know freaking weird laws). BCP offers a preferred exchange rate for amounts over $500 as of today.

For larger amounts, a traditional wire transfer will work best, pretty much due to the cost. For international wire transfers up to $35k, you'll end up paying around $40-$50. Even between $5k to $35k, it will be better to use a wire transfer. A couple of things though is that for a bank transfer the recipient needs to have a bank account, and of course, the transaction can take up to a week.

For us Peruvians is better now to get paid in the local currency (Peruvian Soles) since the devaluation has been affecting US Dollars and Euros for a while, and there is no indicator that those currencies will get back to their parity levels circa 2000. So, to protect the event funding, it will be better to get founded (tickets, sponsorships, etc.) in Peruvian Soles and pay vendors in US Dollars. But, since tickets and sponsorship are more likely to be done in US Dollars, it will be safer to keep an exchange rate adjustment factor of 5% to 10% to your overall budget.

Our company has bank accounts in Peru and the States in case you folks need help with that. We also have a pro merchant account with PayPal.

Please, do let me know how I can be of help.

Best regards,