sorry pete...you might be tolerant but i don't see why we need to pay up to £8 to withdraw EUROS from within our own economic community.

Most of that £8 is a currency exchange fee. Intra-EU or not if I withdraw euros I'm still exchanging currency so even though I'd rather not pay one a currency exchange fee isn't that crazy.

I just noticed I neglected to punctuate my last sentence (maybe inspired by walkin's e.e. cummings homage.) It should read more like:

Intra-EU or not, if I withdraw euros I'm still exchanging currency, so even though I'd rather not pay one a currency exchange fee isn't that crazy.

pete, i checked my latest euro withdrawal from a bank's cash machine in the EU and it's even worse than i initially reported.

natwest charged me a total of £11.44 for the privilege of a €300 withdrawal. Four withdrawals were done on this holiday all from different cash machines operated by major banks and the charges were nearly identical. so i've spent nearly £50 on withdrawals WITHIN THE EU 'unified' economic community...not some exotic foreign exchange.

the bank's schedule of charges reads:

>>>>>>
Exchange Rate Transaction Fee (ERTF) of 2.75%

Plus a further 2.00% of the Sterling transaction amount (minimum £2, maximum £5).
>>>>>

perhaps you never noticed this screwing. banking and commerce across the eu remains a joke! i would not argue that this is 'just a foreign exchange'. how much £/€ exchanges do these banks do? our banking marketplace can't figure out how to do this without charging £11? but the answer lies in the consumer. as long as they accept this as a fact of life, you can't blame the banks for charging it, i guess. the average european consumer is not sophisticated enough in financial matters to even notice this rip off, never mind question why it needs to be this way. sad but true.

Why shouldn't the banks charge for providing a service?

The mark up is from the interbank rate, i.e. the wholesale money market rate. Of course retail costs more - that's how the banks make their money and why the provide that service at all.

This may shock you, but when you buy a loaf of bread from the corner shop they are probably charging you more than they paid for it. How can this be the EU!?!?

I guess if you are determined to interpret everything as 'proof' of your belief that all Europeans are ignorant you'll see what you want, like pictures in clouds.

P.S. to actually answer the OP's question: in dozen or so trips I've never been charged a service fee by an American bank ATM.