Will it be possible for me to exchange U.S. dollars for euros in banks in small towns in France? Will there be a service charge on top of the bank-favoring exchange rate? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

>Will it be possible for me to exchange U.S. dollars for euros in banks in small towns in France? Will there be a service charge on top of the bank-favoring exchange rate? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Yes, if you really, really insist on carrying US cash with you you will have to pay an exchange rate very favourable for the bank (but not for you).
However, if you simply use the bank machines for the cash you need you will get it at almost interbank rate (plus a small fee on top, like 3-4 Euro).

My French relatives say banks don't change money anymore since the Euro. Check the post office where you might be able to change money. The best way by far to change money is at ATMs, taking out of you at home checking account just like you'd do in the States - optimal rate of exchange, just your local bank fee usually. So why carry dollars around, which are hard to change these days it seems.

Technology has made travel a lot easier. As others stated, bring your ATM card linked to a checking account back home, have a 4-digit pin, and you will be fine. Some people will buy a few euros at home so they can land and not need to worry about finding a bank machine right away. Traveler's cheques are also becoming less prevalent. Credit cards (VISA and Mastercard) are also useful, but the costs may be higher.

That French banks don't seem to change money was proved in Orleans, a large city of some 100,000 plus where i often stay for long periods - last year no bank in town, even the Banque de France would change money - only the post office had an exchange. Yet ATMs were on every bank and these you can get dollars out of. Train stations in Paris have money exchanges as does the airport but these often offer predatory rates and fees. I suppose the American Express, once a de rigeuer stop on American tourists itineraries seeking an optimal rate on their travelers cheques still changes money.

Hi B,

One more vote for leaving your USD at home and using an ATM card for when you need cash.

The last time I carried TCs or cash for exchange was 2002 because I was told that ATMs were not common in small towns. However, I quickly found that to be untrue (UK, Italy). Even the tiniest town had ATMs. I used only ATMs then and came home with the TCs/cash.
In 2007, the ATMs are certainly even more common.

A siempre: no fee ATM and no/low fee CCs - local real world example - late Sunday AM, the interbank rate was 10.94MXN/1USD.
My no fee USAA ATM got me a 10.914/1 exchange a few minutes later on the "swipe" ATM machine at Banorte here.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

And now that you are presumably sold on the virtues of using ATM machines, in case you're wondering how prevalent they are in small towns, the nearest small town to my Dordogne hamlet, with a population of about 5,000 people, has 9 ATM machines.

I think ATMs are also the way to go, but for them and exchange services (not necessarily banks, there are other options), you are going to be limited in small towns. What is your idea of a small town? I just wondered because some people refer to major metropolitan areas that way (like Aix, Montpellier, etc.) and there is no problem exchanging money in them, if you must. I haven't exchanged money in a bank in a zillion years, but most don't want that business and leave it to the exchange bureaux in France.

I have never heard that banks refuse to change money in France..... How do you suppose we do when we Europeans travel to non-Euro countries? I just changed Euros into Swiss Francs last month.

However they are reluctant to change §100 bills because there are so many fake ones in Europe.

My local BNPParibas bank in Southern France has a busy exchange counter. Of course they take a commission but it's less than in one of the exchange bureaux

And in some very small towns, I wouldn't even count on finding a bank!

Mikemo, if USAA charges no fee for overseas ATM withdrawals, why do they say in the depository agreement that Visa/MC charges a 1 percent currency conversion fee and that USAA passes it on to the account holder, and lists it on your statement?

Don't get me wrong, I think USAA has a very good deal, but if their depository agreement is correct, it is not free. I'll gladly pay a 1 percent fee for currency conversion service from a bank that is so convenient for people who travel or move a lot.

Alas, I thought I had also read that non-members are no longer eligible to use USAA FSB? Is that so?

"And in some very small towns, I wouldn't even count on finding a bank!"

Or an ATM or even a post-office !

To reiterate St. Cirq's point...Even the tiny Dordogne village of Daglan (pop. ~500) where we stayed this summer had a bank w/ an ATM. Came in handy, too!

In Mikemo's absence: It's my understanding that all ATM foreign transactions are subject to the one percent currency conversion fee imposed by Visa and MC. USAA doesn't tack on any <i>additional</i> conversion fees, which can reach three to four percent with other banks. I believe that you are correct in that you have to be a USAA member now to hold one of their credit cards, whereas in the past this wasn't a requirement.

When Mikemo finishes his margarita, he may add his commments to the thread.

To clevelandbrown, ATM/debit cards are not the same as credit cards. The former withdraw your money immediately (more or less) whereas the latter await your payment for a month or more. With the right bank or credit union, you can get no-fee ATM withdrawals at a very good exchange rate. And Visa/Mastercard credit card conversions at a good rate + 1%. Or even 0%, I believe, at Capital One.

Although I haven't exchanged currency at a bank in eons, French banks that provided that service always had a &quot;Change&quot; sign outside. Perhaps they still do.

Unlikely that you'll find a bank that exchanges currency in a small town. Highly likely that you'll find an auto-teller. Post offices often have auto-tellers, too.

&quot;&quot;&quot;To reiterate St. Cirq's point...Even the tiny Dordogne village of Daglan (pop. ~500) &quot;&quot;

Read it again St Cirq said 5000 not 500

Yes, but one ATM in a village of 500 is roughly the equivalent of 9 in a town of 5000. Which just means that bitteen is hardly likely to find herself/himself stranded anywhere without access to an ATM machine.

Which reminds me - my own experience has been that Sunday mornings in France I can rarely withdraw money from an ATM machine. Must be US banks are doing some overnight reservicing or something. At any rate, it's always wise to get cash on Saturday if you're going to be in rural France needing euros on a Sunday morning.

And I must say, the banks I frequent in the Dordogne are still happy to do dollar-to-euro cash exchanges. I don't do them because you have to stand in line and pay silly fees to get cash that way, but there are still plenty of tourists in line doing that every time I go to a bank. Not sure why my experience has been so different from PalenqueBob's.