Does anyone know if there is a charge made by the ATMs in USA for withdrawing cash? I know that I won't be charged by my bank in the UK. Due to travel to USA in October and would prefer to use debit card rather than travellers cheques if economical.

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I know that I won't be charged by my bank in the UK.
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which bank?!?! i bank with 2 of the larger uk banks and both charge about £7-8 per cash withdrawal...even within our 'unified' economic community of the EU! so i can't imagine they are free across the ocean. is this part of a bank's alliance or am i misunderstanding what you mean when you say 'charge'?

I have seen notices on some bank ATMs in the USA that there is no charge to people using ATM cards from other countries--even though they do charge people who use ATM cards from other USA banks. I don't know whether or not this applies to all banks' ATMS.

Of course, non-bank ATMs will charge.

We were never charged by the US banks for withdrawing money at an ATM when we were there in May.
We avoided ATMs in petrol stations and the like, that are private ones, not bank connected. I suspect that those would have charged us.
Our own bank did charge it's usual €5 transaction fee for foreign withdrawals.

In one of the few decent things done by the two largest shared teller networks, cirrus and plus, when this asinine how dare you use my ATM fee was instituted, cards issued by banks outside the USA are exempt from the fee....

However, some machines provide a service without going through cirrus and plus, and these machines will charge for their services.

That is the reasons when Americans go to Europe and use the bank ATM's, they are only charged as much as their banks wish to rip them off for. The European bank doesn't charge but somehow machines outside banks manage to evade this important consumer protection.

There are 2 types of ATMS - bank ATMs (in the bank or attached to outside) and commercial ATMS.

Commercial ATMS (in stores, hotels, etc ) are money-making propositions for copanies that do just that - and charge everyone for withdrawals - from 99 cents up to $3 per transaction.

Bank ATMS do not charge if it's your own bank (bank - not branch) bur often do if the ATM is from another bank (usually $1 to $3).

The only way to get cash free is from your own bank or as cash back with a purchase. For instance, if you use an ATM at the market you can usually get up to $50 cash back with the purchase. But do check with the store first, some do this and some don't.

There is another way to get "free" cash with a debit card (as opposed to an ATM card)...

Go into the bank and ask for a visa (or mastercard) cash advance....the issuing bank is not allowed to charge for this and your bank, the one that issued the debit card, have varying policies regarding cash withdrawals disguised as a cash advance. Emphasis this is being done with a debit card with the visa or mastercard logo on the front and some banks do charge their debit card customers for this (although the charge is in line with what they charge for ATM withdrawals; but policies vary). Again the bank you use is not allowed to charge for this.

i bank with 2 of the larger uk banks and both charge about £7-8 per cash withdrawal.

God knows which bank you are with then as none of the big high street banks make any charges for ATM withdrawals in the UK, which was the OP's point I think.

At US ATMs you will receive a warning just before your transaction of what the fee might be. You can choose to accept the fee and continue or cancel the transaction.

I think the point is that this ATM card would be from the UK, not an American one. IN that case, there should be no fees from US bank ATMs as they have a statement on them saying so. This is the network agreement xyz is referring to above, and that's why Americans don't get charged by European bank ATMs.

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God knows which bank you are with then as none of the big high street banks make any charges for ATM withdrawals in the UK, which was the OP's point I think.
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although i didn't expicitly say it, if you reread my post, you will see that i'm talking about using a UK bank account to withdraw cash in the EU (outside of the UK, obviously). and, more importantly, if you reread the OP, you will see that she's talking about being charged by her UK BANK for withdrawals in the USA.

and my banks are the first and second largest banks in the uk. they (and almost all banks in the uk) charge extortionary fees when doing withdrawals in other EU countries. but it's a mystery to me why people here lay down and take this and then come here and talk about how wonderfully unified and efficient the eu is!

btw, someone once mentioned a building society that doesn't charge like this. don't know if this is true but if it is, it is the exception, not the rule.

Walkinaround asked if it was true that one building society in the UK still did not charge for withdrawals made from ATMs abroad. Yes it is the building society concerned is the Nationwide. I've double checked on this before my trip to Switzerland.

thank you tipsygus. it blows my mind that uk banks still charge us so much for withdrawals within the EU. talk about a backward banking system!

Walkin - European banks also charge for withdrawals outside the home country. It depends on the bank what they charge. We used the card for our bank which charges only €5 per transaction, but another of our banks charges nearer €10. Banks don't charge for giral transfers in Euros, but do charge for the use of foreign ATMs. It is such a small amount on the cost of a holiday it really isn't worth getting your knickers in a twist about it. Just withdraw large sums at a time to reduce the charges.
Given that some UK banks charge for the use of their ATMs if you have a different bank's card I can't see charging for a foreign transaction is so evil.

Many USA banks charge the proper amount for ATM withdrawals, even at foreign ATM's.

The proper amount of course is $0 or £0 or €0 or CHF0 or whatever.

How dare they charge you to access your money when they hold it and pay next to no interest.

I wouldn't use a bank that charges me anything to access my money.

...as a matter of fact, there are several banks who will even reimburse you for the asinine fee some banks charge you for having the aduacity to use their machines.

Wow, thought I would be lucky if I got one reply!! Firstly, I have to admit that my 'bank' is in fact Nationwide (and yes, it is a building society) - sorry, I didn't state that and caused confusion. It seems that using my debit card is a good option. I don't mind paying a small fee (none is better of course). I'll take all your comments on board. Many thanks for your help.

Maybe walkinaround should name and shame his banks if he really is being charged £8 per withdrawal? I thought the Halifax was bad charging £1.50!

pete...i referred to them as the top 2 banks by size in the UK. so that would be HSBC and RBS (through the natwest brand).

and yes, i really am charged that amount by these banks. varies between about £6-8 depending on the amount of the withdrawal (part of the charge is fixed and part is a percentage based charge). i'm sure i can do better by shopping around but the fact is that it is the norm for uk banks to charge the king's ransom for 'foreign' withdrawals...even when 'foreign' means within our own EU! shameful. this is in the dark ages and suggests that the idea of a unified trading block called the eu is a joke.

At least it's getting cheaper!

You're initial post read like you were seeing an £8 ATM fee - I didn't realise you were including the currency exchange mark-up as well.

I'm sure any confusion was unintentional.