<BR>Do the ATMs give the daily Interbank Exchange Rate which I see listed on a site like Oanda when you use them to get foreign currency? <BR> <BR>My local bank quoted me a price yesterday of $188 fr 300 CHF and the Oanda site listed $176 for 300 CHF. They said these rates were for million dollar exchanges and not for the small amounts I needed. Would the ATM charge me approximately the $176 or the Interbank rate for that day? Thanks for any information you can provide.

I used ATM's in Switzerland in '98 and '99, and in Paris in '99. After I got my bank statements, I looked at the exchange rate. If it was not the "wholesale" exchange rate, it was very close. <BR> <BR>As a general rule, banks that sell foreign currency here in the USA do it for about 5% more than the same amount would cost you in a foreign currency. <BR> <BR>My strategy is to have a few dollars in foreign exchange on me when I arrive, a small reserve of travelers checks just in case, and two ATM cards. My ATM cards are the major key to unlocking the money vault. The small amount of currency is purely for convenience and the traveler's checks are for an emergency -- like the ATM isn't working, I don't have any local money, and my train leaves in 15 minutes.

Let me amend a sentence: <BR> <BR>The cheapest way I can get foreign currency is to use an ATM card after I arrive. If I buy foreign currency in the USA, I will pay 5% more for the same amount. <BR>

I believe that with ATM's - - which we all agree is the best rate you will ever get - - there is still a spread of about 1% in each direction, buy and sell, from the interbank rate.

The above posts are correct. They confirm the ancient economic principle of "there is no free lunch." To cover costs of operations and provide a modest (no...miniscule) profit of operating an ATM, there is a very modest spread charged. You get less than the interbank exchange rate because you simply are not entitled to it. In effect, you are buying retail while banks charge each other wholesale because they deal in enormous blocks. ATMs are a bargain compared with any other mode of exchange for the retail customer.

Does anyone know if there are ATM's at airports?

On the surface, Dawn's question might seem ridiculous. Of course, there are ATM's at airports. EXCEPT - - to the best of my knowledge, at Beauvais (BVA) airport (NW of Paris), I believe that there is truly no place to change money, nor any ATM. There are several car rental counters, so this was very surprising to me, but maybe it's true at other little airports as well.

ATM rates are a lot closer to Interbank Rates than those for exchanging currency are. ATM is an electronic transaction; no storage of foreign currency, no counting, no banding, no security. Bank employee loads the ATM a couple of times a day with cash; everything else is electronic. Overhead is minimal, so they don't have to 'charge' as much (same reason banks are starting to charge for using a teller). The rate you get when charging something on a credit card is also very good - absolutely NO currency is involved, so the rate is even better than getting cash from an ATM using your bank card. <BR> <BR>Every major airport, in my experience, has an ATM. I'm with Bob on this; I like to have walkin' around money in local currency when I land. After all night on a plane, then fumbling through customs and immigration, trying to herd all the girls together and make sure no one's lost, finding a bathroom...I need a coffee really bad and I'm in no shape to look for an ATM (I wouldn't be able to understand the simplest of instructions at that point anyway). As Bob pointed out, too, if your local transportation (shuttle, train, etc.) is leaving in 15 mins, you don't have time to find an ATM to pay for it.