mingtsainy

I'm going to Zurich and Lorrach (Germany) and Mulhouse (France) for Spring break. I plan to withdraw money from the ATM machines there instead of bringing money with me.

Does anyone know what the ATM withdrawal fees are in Zurich, France, and/or Germany?

Curious

In Europe, you pay no charges for ATM withdrawals. You may pay charges from your bank for out of network withdrawal. Check with your bank for charges.

Curious

suze

Fees come from your bank at home, not the one in Europe.

mingtsainy

Thanks for the responses, guys. I called my bank this morning and they said they don't charge for "outside" ATM withdrawals. The charges come from the bank that owns the ATM machines.

Apparently, my bank is one of the few banks in NYC that doesn't charge fees for using other ATM machines.

nytraveler

No - many banks don;t charge for out of network withdrawals - Citibank for one. the only time you're charged is if you use a commercial ATM (in a drugstore, deli etc) and those ATMs always tell you the amount they charge before the transaction.

Intrepid1

Every ATM I have ever used throughout Europe, regardless of where it was located, has ALWAYS stated the "charge" that will be levied BEFORE the transaction could be concluded.

Have you researched the two ways that change bureaus, etc., make their money on currency exchanges? They either give a bad exchange rate and chare low commissions or none at all, or give a better exchange rate and charge a high commission. Either way and with those possible ATM withdrawal charges you are going to come out ahead by using ATMs for your cash.

Patrick

Author: Intrepid1
Date: 03/03/2005, 03:37 pm
"Message: Every ATM I have ever used throughout Europe, regardless of where it was located, has ALWAYS stated the "charge" that will be levied BEFORE the transaction could be concluded."

I'm curious what you mean, Intrepid. Since no banks in Europe charge any fee for using their machine, I'm trying to figure out what this message would refer to. Or are you saying you used a commercial (non bank related) machine somewhere -- like one in a casino or store?

Michael

I just picked up BofA's Personal Schedule of Fees, and in it I learned that as of February 14, withdrawals from an ATM in a foreign country will be charged $5, up from last year's $3. That's 5% on $100, which could be a normal withdrawal since ATMs are ubiquitous in large cities.

But if the money is withdrawn from a bank belonging to the Global ATM Alliance, no fee is charged. These banks are: Santander Serfin, Barclays, Scotiabank, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Westpac.

mingtsainy

I'm the originator of the post. I'm in Mulhouse now. I withdrew some money (Swiss Francs) in Basel, Switzerland yesterday and the ATM machine did not charge me any withdrawal fee. I withdrew more money (Euros) in Mulhouse this morning, and also was not charged anything.

Am looking forward to go home and find out what MY bank in NYC charge me for making withdrawals in Europe. Talked to my bank before I left and they said they don't charge anything either.

*keeping my fingers crossed*

payant

The banks may be parsing your statement. They do not charge for the withdraawal but they may exact a 3 percent fee for a foreign currency transaction--the actual act of exchange rate conversion. Citibank does this on all their mastercard cards as of March 1, 2004 according to the mailer they sent me.

sandi

payant - you're referring to Credit Card purchases and there is a very very long thread on that.

mingtsainy is referring to ATM machines, which provide the best rate of exchange; and European banks don't charge a fee. It's your bank back home that might assess a fee and that's what has to be verified before leaving home, or not!

To date, I've never paid an ATM fee overseas, anywhere, or been charged by my bank stateside.

mingtsainy

I was the original poster of the message so I thought it is only appropriate of me to tell you guys my experience now that I'm back from my trip.

My local (NYC) bank charged me $1.25 for each foreign ATM transaction. The exchange rate was pretty decent -- $1.35/Euro and $0.88/CHF.

And the Swiss and French ATM machines/banks did not charge me a service fee for using their ATMs.

Thanks for all your responses.

mandavilla

Hi Everybody,
So, I'm wondering which banks might charge the least fees for using ATM machines in Europe. Minstsainy's bank sounded reasonable.

Do any of you have ATM cards with larger banks that charge reasonable rates?

My bank is locally owned & expensive to use ATM cards overseas, so i'm needing to affiliate w/ a larger bank.

THANKS

walkinaround

"European banks don't charge for cash machine withdrawals"?????? Sorry but natwest in the UK charges about £8 ($15) for a typical withdrawal from a continental (non-uk) bank. The "fee" should be assessed by looking at the published ex rate vs what was deducted from your account. the original poster seemed to get a decent deal by the way."

Patty

mandavilla,
I bank with Citibank and they waive ATM fees for all of their higher balance accounts. I think it starts at $6000+ combined balances.

mandavilla

Thanks very much! I'll contact Citibank.