true or false, ATMs in Europe do not charge fees?

I've only been charged by my own bank, not by the ATM owner-bank.

I'd go so far as to say most ATMs don't charge. And I also wouldn't like to generalise about all of Europe.

In my little bit of Europe, the UK, I don't know of any bank ATMs that charge and any ATM that does charge must, by law, notify you of the charge before you commit to the transaction.

I have been charged by both my own bank in both UK and US and also by the banks in Italy, Greece, Spain.

I am from USA. No European ATM (bank-based) has ever charged me for an ATM withdrawal in the past 12 years of travel.

Anyone who has been charged for a European ATM
1) did not use a bank-based ATM
2) perhaps is using a European bank?

Go with the Credit Union account, as long as your debit/ATM card has Plus or Cirrus on the back.

GENERALLY in the UK an ATM operated by a financial institution - including banks, building societies & supermarket chains - will not charge for withdrawals.

If the ATM is operated by a private company then they will charge a withdrawal fee BUT you will be told what the fee is before you withdraw any money

Bank ATMs don;t charge fees. Commercial ATMs (that you find in stores etc) DO charge fees - just as they do here in the US.

Assuming you use a bank ATM you may be charged a fee by YOUR bank for an out-of-network withdrawal (but then I would change banks) and you will be charged a % - usually 1 or 2% over the Interbank exchange rate - for exchanging the currency.

Thank you for all the responses. This helps me make my decision. My Credit union does not charge me anything just the interbank rate, no extra fees, no out of network atms etc. HSBC charges for using out of network and if I use HSBC bank, will charge 3% over the interbank, so I think I will put all my money in the credit union.

I wouldn't put all your money in the credit union. I'd have some available in each account, in case one ATM card has problems. I think credit union cards have caused trouble for some people, although yours is likely fine.

yes, exactly, no reason not to take the advantage you have of potentially two ATM cards, in case of problems with one. Just know the fees and use the one with the best deal as often as possible, but don't close down your other account or remove all your money from it, anyway.

I've used ATMs in Spain several times, in various cities, and never was charged a fee for that use by the Spanish ATM (just commenting on Spain as someone else said Spain charged). I've never been charged an ATM fee in any European country by the ATM, only by my own bank.

I was considering that....mostly because you never know, cards could get lost etc etc, but HSBC has this cool feature where I can transfer money from another bank to HSBC for free ($3 the other way) although the transfer does take a lot of time, but would be a last resort option...so I figure if anything I can always transfer the money to either account. I will leave some money on the HSBC account just in case, and I did use my credit union card in italy and barcelona, so hopefully it will be good in Paris too. Thank you again!!

<<< Commercial ATMs (that you find in stores etc) DO charge fees >>>

I've never found an ATM in Asda, Waitrose, M&S, WH Smith, Tescos, Sainsburys etc that charged for withdrawals

The ATMs you find in small stores generally will charge - as will the ones found in pubs, clubs & petrol stations (though in each case I know of exceptions)

I feels the distinct need to interject a note of warning about credit union debit cards or ATM cards.

I have a debit Master Card issued by a local Federal credit union.

The card has PLUS and STAR on the back and the Master Card logo on the front.

THE CARD FAILED TOTALLY IN SWITZERLAND. In Scotland it worked at only some of the banks.

In Switzerland, I tried every bank in Interlaken that I could find, including Credit Suisse and the Raiffeisen Bank. No luck anywhere.

In Germany the card worked the one time I used it.

I have no explanation why the card was unacceptable in Switzerland. My Bank of America ATM card, with its $5.00 off-net fees, worked just fine. It has the same symbols on the back: PLUS and STAR - nothing else. So the absence or presence of PLUS and STAR do not explain the failure.

Moral: Have an alternative way to obtain folding money in Europe.

ATMs in UK do not charge fees either on my UK or US cards. I use Bank of America which has a tie-in with Barclays. Smile UK can be used at Post Offices.

However in Europe recently I have had charges levied by both Bank of America and Italian/Spanish/Greek banks when withdrawing cash at ATMs attached to banks.
Tell me your secrets for avoiding this.

Do you think maybe it is because you have a UK ATM card? I don't think European bank ATMs are allowed to charge an ATM fee to an American card, but maybe they are allowed to charge to a UK card.

It's the same situation in the US, in reverse. US ATMs are not allowed to charge ATM fees to foreign ATM cards, but they can charge them to US cards from other banks than the one sponsoring the ATM. US ATMs have notices on them saying this -- at least ones run by banks do.

The basic ATM rules in Europe are meant to cover European users.

For example, in the euro zone, all transactions are charged at exactly the same rate as in one's home country in the euro zone. Use of ATM's in France is free, so there is no charge to use an ATM in any country of the euro zone. My own bank charges nothing for bank transfers, so my bank transfers anywhere in the euro zone are free.

Naturally, this does not apply to "outside parties."

In the past I have found that if my credit union cash/debit card didn't work in one bank's machine it WOULD work in another so as was mentioned above, try it in more than one machine just in case and if there is another machine close enough to use.

As most posters have said - European bank owned machines do NOT charge. Your home (issuing) bank probably will.

Certainly that's the case for Australian issued cards - where just one card issuer does not charge for foreign country ATM withdrawals.

I don't know about fees, but be very careful in Italy using ATM's. In Florence, a branch of Bank of Italia close to the train station shorted me $50 euros. And even with their security cameras and my friends witnessing everything, they denied my claim. They were the rudest people I have ever encountered and totally humiliated me by inferring that I was lying. Thankfully my own US bank that issued the card investigated and refunded my money. I do not recommend using ATM's in Europe! Use travelers checks instead.

Whenever an ATM malfunctions and gives nothing or the wrong amount, you must make a written complaint to the bank, and the bank cannot even investigate until the machine is reloaded with money and all of the electronic transactions are verified.

I hope that you didn't think, Gayle, that a verbal complaint would receive immediate action and a crisp new 50€ note. I don't know of any bank in the world that would do that.

Gayle, I'm sorry that you had such an unpleasant experience with an ATM in Italy, and understand why you might now prefer travelers checks.

However, your experience is only one in many many thousands of successful ATM transactions reported by experienced travelers; to suggest that TCs are overall a better choice is just contrary to all evidence I've seen.

On April 12, 2008, I used the ATM inside the Banca Toscana in Florence,Italy. BANK OF AMERICA charged a $5 Withdrawal Fee AND a $3.96 International Transaction Fee for the same transaction. No charges were levied by the Toscana Bank in Florence.
When I telephoned BANK OF AMERICA, I was informed that in order to avoid withdrawal fees you must only use banks affiliated with BANK OF AMERICA. That information can be found on BOA's website where it will list those affiliated foreign country banks.
Is there a US bank that does not charge ATM fees for using any bank throughout the world?

yes, there are a few, but I don't see people changing their entire banking relationship to avoid a couple ATM fees a year -- or will they.

SOme Arkansas bank does (Metropolitan National or something). Charles Schwab bank does (levies no ATM fee). My bank does not either (Chevy Chase in MD). Actually, they just refund on your bill any ATM fees levied. I'm sure there are some others, I think that has been some marketing gimmick lately, I've noticed it in the paper where I live.

That does NOT mean they don't charge a foreign transaction fee as a percentage of the amount, though, just no ATM flat fee. My bank unfortunately just started levying a 3 pct foreign transaction charge, even though they don't have an ATM fee. Charles Schwab has a 3 pct foreign transaction rate, I believe.

I'm not clear on what Capitol One does (and they don't have many banks, but you can get an ATM card with a MM acct). They don't have a foreign transacation charge, but they might have an ATM charge. Travelnut recently posted and said they did ($1.50, as I recall), and I thought my original agreement with them said that also. HOwever, I thought their current website says they do not, and I found an agreement modification from them that seemed to imply that had changed to zero. So I was surprised when Travelnut said he/she recently got levied one by Capital One.

I'd worry a heck of a lot more about the conversion charge than the flat withdrawal fee which you shouldn't need to pay but a few times on most trips. If you always withdraw a small amount, though (which I don't), they could be about the same, I guess. LIke if you always take out only about the equivalent of US$100 or so.

Just returned from Paris and Netherlands. i can't emphasize enough to have two card alternatives. Firstly, i was robbed immediately and could now give a tutorial on all the right and wrong things to do for security. (All things i knew and for some jet-lagged reason broke my own rules) Anyway, to the point, please have a backup card associated with a different system (the Cirius, Plus thing, etc.)located in a different part of your belongings, preferably on another person. (Getting replacements and/or wired money takes longer than you would think,at least two BUSINESS days because of office hours and 9hour time diff). ATMs seem to be the best way to go. cashing US traveler's checks and US $100 bills is close to impossible(even at a bank). we encountered machines at train stations that only took a specific system, Master(something)-a European system,not Master Card. as mentioned, this evidently wasn't a bank machine, but note it was the only machine in train station and they only take cash. strongly recommend: go mostly with the one you've found to be the best deal, have another option, and if sometimes you must pay fees, accept it as necessary, and have a good time!
Remember to advise all of your financial institutions exactly when and where you are travelling or else those cards probably might not work for you anyway.

I agree with Christina. I have an account with Bank of America for the last couple of years and I have no intention of changing banks because of the ATM fees. Unless one travels abroad a lot, for the casual traveler who goes to Europe (or any overseas destination) once a year, how bad is the damage? Even if you use the ATM 5 times on your trip, it adds up to $25/year.

OTOH, Bank of America is plentiful here in the US, and I certainly travel w/i the US a lot more than I travel abroad. Plus, we use their online bill pay to pay all our bills, which saves us $ on stamps.

Lastly, the Bank of America "Museums on Us" Promotion is now back. Just one visit to the MFA in Boston saves me $17; or $15 to the Bronx Zoo; or $14 to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

njconnie...

There are many banks that do not charge ATM fees for withdrawals from the machines that belong to other banks...some are on the web..some credit unions don't either.

E Trade Bank doesn't charge a fee, Charles Schwab Bank doesn't charge a fee, USAA doesn't charge a fee...several banks even refund the fees charged by American banks on American cards for having the audacity to use their machines..

I respectfully disagree with those who allow outlaw banks such as Bank of America to nick them $5 to withdraw your money from a foreign ATM....open up an account with any of the banks that don't charge these fees, which have accounts that have no minimum balance requirements and before your trip, transfer into the account the money you might think you need...then you can make small withdrawals from ATM's as you need cash (of course, if you're smart and use credit cards for all purchases large and small, you own't need very much cash)...when you return from the trip, take the money out of the travel account and return teh balance to $1.01...

I wouldn't use my main bank account for such withdrawals anyway...should the ATM or debit card be compromised, your main account can be raided and while you will eventually be reimbursed, you will need a new checking account number and will have to re-program automatic payments (a pain) and while the process is goiong on, your outstanding checks will turn to rubber.

The Bank of Santander doesn't charge a fee for using their ATMs, but it does appear to be using the DCC (Dynamic Currency Exchange) to let you know how much you're receiving in your own currency, in my case US Dollars. The exchange rate they used in the ATM transaction amounted to 5 points above the official exchange rate for that day. Not a "fee", but a good profit for doing nothing. This was on top of BofA's usual $5 "foreign exchange fee".

Get a VISA Platinum check card from Charles Schwab. They will reimburse you for any fees.

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/home/account_types/brokerage/schwab_one_with_ic.html

Regarding prior postings about Charles Schwab and Bank of America:

I DID, in fact, change my banking solely because of the fees that BofA charged me for foreign travel. Please note, this is not their usual "out of network fee" - which is $2.00. They charge $5.00 only for ATM withdrawls in foreign countries - just the time when you are least likely to find a BofA. I do understand that I could look for their partner bank but I prefer to withdraw money whenever I want to and not have to look for a particular bank.

I changed to Charles Schwab - the high yield investor checking account (currently paying about 2%). This account charges NO fees for ATM withdrawls at any bank. They refund any fees charged by the bank you used for your withdrawl. It offers free checks and free bill pay (so I still save on stamps). And they do not charge a foreign conversion fee. We used our cards in March in France and, best as I can tell, the amount we were charged was the rate listed on sites such as xe.com. They have no minimum balance so it can be your extra account if you still want to keep your local bank. The only downside is they do not have branches so you make deposits either by mail or by depositing into your local bank and then doing an online transfer to your Schwab account. I understand that Fidelity offers the same type of account and both of these banks are highly rated by our local radio "budget guru".

FALSE!! Not only are you assessed a fee by your bank at the Europe ATM but the bank that the ATM is associated with in Europe will also assess you a fee. My ATM fees in Italy have consistently been about $8.00 for each transaction - $5 from Bank of American(my ATM bank) and $3 from the Eu ATM bank. I have now opened a Fidelity Investments special account that has ATM no fee as well as check writing privileges associated with it. However, I WILL be assessed the fee by the Europe bank.

PS - if you are in a city that has a partnership with your ATM bank in the USA - for example, Deutchbank/Bank of America - you will NOT be assessed a fee by the Eu bank. I've never had such luck!

I have had one experience thus far using an ATM in Paris. The day we arrived (30 April) I withdrew 300 euros.

My credit union charged $1.50 for using a non-network ATM--in the US, all Co-op Network ATMs, everywhere, are considered in-network, so we have never paid a fee before. The conversion rate seems to be less than one-half cent more than the "closing" dolloar/euro rate for that day. The Paris bank whose ATM we used did not charge a fee.

Ms. Bear says I should be more specific: The Credit Union conversion rate was $0.0027 (about 1/4 cent) above the closing official rate.

Given the fluctuations in the rate during the day, it may well have been the actual rate at the time the transaction was made.

Christina - I don't have a MM acct, just a free checking acct, so maybe that is why I got a $1.50 charge.

Giannetta's experience is the first I have ever heard of a European bank assessing an ATM transaction fee for an American ATM card. For years here on Fodor's, posters have always reported no fee imposed by a European bank.

I was under the impression that EU law required fee-free bank ATM cash withdrawals for foreign ATM cards, but if this is not the case, we should all be on the lookout for this practice because once one bank gets away with it, the others usually follow suit.

We've never paid any per transaction ATM fee at any bank owned ATM in Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, or the Czech Republic. Our home bank doesn't charge us anything either (PNC). Note that not all ATMs in Europe are bank owned--private machines can and do charge a per transaction fee.

kayd...

It's not eu law....the rules of the two largest shared teller networks (Cirrus and Plus) do not allow the charging of the so called convenience fee by any member for a card issued out of the country..you see this same notice on USA ATM machines...if you are making a transaction through cirrus or plus, the ATM owner is not allowed to charge a fee for using the machine...some privately owned machines in Europe seem to have figured out a way around this rule but if you use a bank's machine, you will never be charged with a foreign ATM or debit card.