I called all the banks here in Canada to ask about the fees they charge when using a debit card (ATM card) in Europe. On top of charging the regular exchange rate, they charge a percentage for administration PLUS $3.00 or $5.00 per transaction depending if you have a PLUS or a Cyrrus

I find that using an ATM or Debit card in Europe is the most expensive way to go.

Number one choice should be using your credit card for purchases and if you need cash, exchange your money at a bank (you might get a better rate for your canadian money at an European bank but I did not check that part.

The cheapest way to safely bring cash is travelers check but because of the popularity of ATM cards it's not used as much anymore. As a result, lots of merchants do not accept them and you must go to a bank to exchange them for cash (some banks will exchange them for free some others charge fees)

<b>NOW HEAR THIS</b>

Look around, and you can find credit card issuers who don't charge any markup on foreign currency purchases whether credit or debit, don't mark up ATM withdrawals, and don't charge a fee. Some even absorb the network fee, so your cost of doing business abroad is: zero. Capital One is a brand that is mentioned frequently.

And to state that &quot;if you need cash, exchange your money at a bank&quot; is just flat wrong.

Capite?

Thanks everyone! great advice.

I think i will take 100 Euros from the US itself (for my better half's peace of mind) and look for an ATM before exiting the airport in Rome.

Gotta call my bank and ask them the following Qs:
1. Tell them my itinerary
2, Daily Limit
3. Who is in their Partner network
4. What are the various fees?
5. Which phone number should I call if i need to speak to them? Are those numbers manned 24x7?

Thanks again!

The biggest problem you're likely to encounter with that plan is finding someone at your bank who knows the correct answer to any of those questions. Everyone you talk to will be happy to answer them, but their answers will almost certainly, in my experience, be wrong. I don't think there is ANYONE at my bank who is authorized to speak to customers who has the faintest idea what their rates are.

Scotiabank in Canada does not charge a transaction fee for using The six banks in the Alliance - BNP Paribas, Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank/Deutsche Bank 24, Scotiabank and Westpac.

My question for any bank would be...if there is no transaction fee, do you still use the bank exchange rate (not sure of the proper term...counter rate?)...or a different rate for foreign ATM transactions. Someone pointed out that banks don't break out the fees, but rather bury it in the exchange rate.

Second point.. I would question wether traveller's cheques are &quot;the cheapest&quot; way to carry cash. What exchange rate is used?

Well it might be argued that TCs are the cheapest way to CARRY cash, but they certainly aren't the cheapest way to GET cash. People are fooled by the famous &quot;no fee&quot; promise, but don't realize that a 7 to 12% mark up on either buying them or cashing them is pretty standard. They don't call that a &quot;fee&quot;, but I do.

I usually get about $100 in euros here just as a way to hedge against Murphy's Law. I want some small of cash on hand just to cover Murphy's Law -- the ATM network is down, someone unplugged the ATM, the ATM doesn't speak Bank of American, whatever -- but more importantly as a hedge against jet lag. I can't sleep on planes to save my life so I always get to Europe groggy and sleep-depped, so having one less thing to worry about and remember to do is always a plus.

The screwing that I'm getting on the exchange rate alone (&euro;1=$1.36 as of today) more than renders the surcharge that Bank of America charges irrelevant.

Just spoke to BankAm. Here's what ive found out for Italy: The following banks' ATM's will not charge ANY fees for cash withdrawal (i hope the agent i spoke to is right!):

1. Banca Antoniana
2. Banca Nazional Del Lavoro
3. Cariplo
4. Cassa Di Ristarmio Di Virona
5. Deutsche Bank (even though this ATM would be in Italy not Germany)

Can you please please look at my other post and offer suggestions on that also? Thanks!

In Florence last year, I think it was a Deutsche Bank ATM we used with our B of A ATM card and still got charged fees. Maybe it's new, but I never heard of Italian banks being affiliated with B of A.

P_and_J: I don't know anything about the first 4 banks on your list (hopefully NeoPatrick will see your new question since he is w/ BofA and spends a lot of time in Italy)

But for Deutsche Bank -- I know for a fact that the BofA agent is wrong there. DB ATMs are only free to BofA customers in Germany. In Italy, Bof of A definitely will assess the fees. I suspect the agent was also wrong about the other four banks - but don't know for sure.

Prat and Jazz,
No italian bank will charge you for using thier bankomat. The charges come from your bank for using an out of network ATM.

Henry

Thank heavens my credit union does not charge any fees for my withdrawals, even from other machines. AND my debit card also works as a credit card. I can use it either way. And in fact, at one large grocery chain, it will only take it as a credit card.

I bought some Euros off of a friend yesterday whose daughter recently returned from European trip. :) NO fees! :) We looked up exchange rate and it was an even trade. :)

Off to Paris/Italy in less than 6 weeks...WOOOOHOOOO!!!

yes - to clarify my point - none of those banks would charge you (or anyone else - BofA customer or not) to use ATMs. The fees will all be from BofA.

Janis and Henry: I understand that the Italian Banks will not charge any fees, but my impression from the BofA agent was that even BofA will not charge me anything.

Having said that, I do doubt if that is true...well, the joys of travel :) i will find out and share it with everyone.

Prat and Jazz,
This is from the BoA website:
Use your ATM card or Check Card within our Global ATM Alliance in the countries shown with no fees.

Barclays (United Kingdom)

BNP Paribas (France)

China Construction Bank (China)

Deutsche Bank (Germany)

Santander Serfin (Mexico)

Scotiabank (Canada)

Westpac (Australia and
New Zealand)



Henry

Went to the Deutsche bank website and found sites in Italy. Can I can use my BoA card at these locations with no fees??
http://tools.deutsche-bank.de/cc/loc...n/welcome2.do#

Sorry, but no. They used to do that and I was surprised that last year they started charging for the &quot;partner banks&quot; when not in the &quot;home country&quot;. So there will be a charge of $5 from BofA to withdraw from a Deutschebank in Italy. Trust me -- I did this about 6 times this summer.