Hi

I've been told that it costs much less to change $ to E in Italy at a bank's forex desk than at the plentiful forex shops on every corner.

Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks

That is probably true, but it is even cheaper to withdraw Euros cash, when you're in Italy, with your ATM card.

Learn what your maximum withdrawal amount is..usually there is a fixed charge for all amounts. Your bank may not charge for conversions but the local ATM will have a charge. Calculate how many EUs you will need. Draw that amount. You may be more comfortable at a bank desk than at an ATM box. Soe banks have ATM machines in the bank..

Hi Tinus,

The least expensive way to get euros is from an ATM machine.

Some banks are less expensive than Foreign Exchange booths, but they are still 5-10% higher than an ATM.

It is my experience that the local ATM's in Italy do not charge a fee for currency conversion. The only fee I have heard of is from the customer's home bank in the U.S., and many of those banks have no fee. You can check with your home bank about your daily maximum withdrawal limit and raise it if necessary.

You're going to get a worse rate at any foreign exchange desk than you will at an ATM. ATMs and credit cards are the way to go.
Nikki is correct. It's your bank that'll charge a fee for an ATM withdrawal, not the European bank.

I also use ATMs for cash exclusively when I travel for the best rates.

I really don't know how all those exchange booths haven't priced themselves out of existence yet. And I'm reading that banks are performing fewer exchange services (ie devoting fewer personnel for the job). Unless the ATM net is down or NONE of your cards work (very unlikely), there is no reason in 2004 to exchange money.

Three archaic phrases used in Italy:

1) What time is the next chariot?

2) Where can I get a deal on a new toga?

3) Where do I exchange currency?


ATM - ATM - ATM - ATM - ATM

I use ATMs exclusively while traveling. I would take out my max amount and use the cash and credit cards. I did however find in Venice sometimes the ATMs did not accept my American ATM card and I tried several locations. I tried again the next morning and it worked. I would however not carry too much cash at one time.

I remember back in the "good old days" AKA "A Fist Full of Traveler's Checks" wandering around Rome with my dad one morning. We spent about an hour going from bank to exchange place looking for good rates. Then, the transaction at the bank took a half-hour. Then it was time for lunch. What a productive morning in the Eternal City!

Yes but does anyone actually KNOW the answer to the question?

Assume I don't like cards. Or I've won a fistful of cash gambling outside the Eurozone. Or I live somewhere with a really lousy banking system. Or I'm an ordinary Russian (or an Italian frontaliere who doesn't want his Swiss franc earnings traceable). Whatever the reason,I arrive in Italy with real money.

Is it really the case that those big banks, stuffed to the gunwales with overpaid idlers, really, really, offer better value than the wide boys with no overheads?

Or (as I suspect) do those wide boys - as happens in Romania - offer a much better rate than they declare in public for those with the persistence to haggle properly?

As with the poster above, now I'm curious the answer to this question. Are the rates the same, a little, or aLOT different in a normal bank from a sidewalk currency exchange booth. Anyone know?

Th last time I brought TC's to London (1997), I was able to cash them at a bank for free at an exchange rate slightly lower than the best offered at the many exchange booths.

The last time I brought TC's to Paris (2000) I got the best exchange rate at the post office. The banks woouldn't cash them.

Ooops,

I also got better rates for exchanging cash in the UK, France and Italy from those banks that would do the exchange.

I haven't exchanged dollars to euro in Italy, so can't answer your question, but I have in several other European countries and I can't think of any country where the bank gave better exchange rates than some foreign currency exchange company--but I've only done this in less than six. Perhaps they do in Italy, I can't say, but it is not a rule. A lot of banks don't want this business and won't even do it, and banks have a lot higher overhead than those hole-in-the-wall currency exchange companies. A lot of currency exchange companies have pretty good rates as that is their business and they can do well with a low margin as the staff doesn't get paid much, and low overhead, as I said.

The obvious answer is just to go there, look at the rates at the various places, including banks, and compare them. Be sure you are comparing the appropriate rates (buying $, selling euro, not vice versa) and include any flat fee if there is a separate one on top of the exchange rate. It's easier to compare when they just roll all charges into the exchange rate, which is common in a lot of places.

Is it true that Italian ATM's don't let you withdraw more than 250 EUROS per day, no matter what your US daily limit may be? I have tried to withdraw more than EUR 250 to limit surcharges, but have never been successful. My ATM bank card issuer says I may withdraw up to US$750 equivalent in any foreign currency, but I've tried in Italy at several machines, and EURO 250 is all I'v been able to get. Other experiences?

I have run into that 250 limit a lot in Italy, but have been able to reinsert the card and get another 250 immediately. On the other hand I've withdrawn as much as 500 € at a time at more than one Italian ATM.

Geez, thanks, Patrick. I have not tried to immediately withdraw more. That may do the trick. Are you home keeping dry these days? Martha (Rome June 2004)