ATM exchange rates
 

What sort of exchange rate will I get when I withdraw from my US checking account at an ATM in Europe? Is the rate anywhere near what's quoted in the NY Times?

Your bank will get the interbank rate (ie the one in the business section).

You'll get lower - what it will be will depend on your bank - but it's nearly always better than changing money / TC's UNLESS your bank has a minimum FIXED charge for withdrawing money & you withdraw small amounts of money each time

So if your bank charges $2 per withdrawal & you withdraw the equivalent of $10, then you've lost 10%, but if you withdraw $100 you've lost 1%

Try 20% & 2% - but you get the idea

Both my bank and credit union charge a 1% mark-up over the market exchange rate. I believe is the usual charge by most banks, although I can't say it applies across the board. My credit union only charges $1 per withdrawal, and my regular bank charges nothing if I use a partner bank. The best advice I can give is to call your bank and ask this question. And don't be surprised if the first person who answers doesn't have a clue.

You will find the ATM is the cheapest and most convenient way to exchange money.

I was surprised when I returned home this year to find that my bank, Bank of America had for the first time added 1% to all my ATM withdrawals in Europe. However, after careful examination I found that the rate they charged me was reduced by 1% from the XE rate as compared to the XE website and to all my credit card withdrawals on the same day. So while it appeared they were adding 1%, in fact I was not paying anything.

On the other hand, I did finally get a confirmation that when using their partner banks not in their own countries, BofA does charge their $5 fee (in my case after two free withdrawals per month). In other words, when I withdrew from Barclay's in the UK there was no charge. When I withdrew from Barclay's in Spain, or Deutschebank in Italy, there was a charge.

My primary bank is B of A, that's why I also have my credit union account. The credit union ATM comes in quite handy when I'm in a country where B of A doesn't have any partners. Also it's good to have a back-up ATM card in the unlikely event your primary card has a problem.

The banks about a year ago lost a class action suit and have begun listing fees they used to bury in the exchange rates or in the past they may never have listed the exchange rates.

ATM transactions in Europe generally clear through either the cirrus or plus networks...cirrus is owned wholly by mastercard, plus by visa...transactions clearing through these shared teller network are converted using the usual mastercard or visa rules which is 1% above interbank....for the most part this is simply passed along. There are some banks (Chase for example) who now add as much as 2.5% to this for a total of 3.5%...after all what would a bank be who missed an opportunity to stick it to his or her customers with asinine fees.

Can you imagine paying all those fees and on top of that getting screwed by an additional 3% for Dynamic Currency Conversion? WOW!!! ((b))

Budman,
The places that tried to push DCC on me used a 5% mark-up!