Hi again -- As posted elsewhere ... I will be living in the Netherlands for ~ 4 months (Jan - Apr).

I recently learned -- to my surprise, since it touts itself as global -- that Citibank has no branches or ATMs in the Netherlands, France, Germany, or pretty much any of the places I am likely to travel. The Citi rep suggested just using my ATM card to withdraw money, incurring the 3% foreign exchange fee each time. Clearly that is suboptimal.

I am considering opening an ING Direct checking account here in the US. My thought is that, since ING is a Dutch bank, there should be no extra fees to use my ATM or debit card. However, I'm having a hard time figuring out whether the account would be valid in the Netherlands or not. Would a Mastercard debit/ATM card issued here by ING Direct be valid in the Netherlands?

Thanks!

A few years ago I used my ING Direct card from Canada at ING ATMs in The Netherlands. It worked fine but I was not dodging any fees. In fact it was a bit cheaper to use my CIBC card than the ING card.

If your money is in US$ you are going to have to pay SOMEONE to change it into euros. Opening an ING account wouldn;t change the currency in it. Using you regular ATM won;t cost any more - unless you bank is especially expensive.

If your bank charges fees, look for one that does not. My credit union function as my bank when I travel abroad because neither its credit card nor its ATM/debit card charge more than the 1% Visa charges, and I get that 1% back. I am basing this on what http://www.xe.com/ccc/ reports when I plug in the numbers.

Are you <i>sure</i> it is 3% for ATM withdrawals? I know it's 3% for cc purchases, but I thought citi charged less for their ATM transactions(no personal experience - just from reading other threads). If so, check w/ other banks -- some don't charge 3%. My credit union for instance charges 1% and a very few banks/accounts charge nothing.

But even at 3%--that will be cheaper than most other options.

<i>Are you sure it is 3% for ATM withdrawals?</i>

If its BofA, I believe that it is $5 per transaction plus a 3% fee.

correction: If it<b>'</b>s BofA

",i>If its BofA, I believe that it is $5 per transaction plus a 3% fee.</i>"

What does BofA have to do w/ anything? The OP was asking about citibank and that is what I responded to . . . .

oops -- to be totally accurate, the OP was talking about citibank -- not '<i>asking</i>' about it. She asked about ING but mentioned the 3% citibank thing. And that is what my answer referred to . . .

forgot about the original bank.

ING America will charge you whatever they charge you for foreign withdrawals I suspect. It is operated as an independent subsidiary of ING.

Why not contact their customer service and ask before opening an account with them.
Otherwise stick to what you know.

More and more shops in the Netherlands are switching away from cash transactions so it may be worth investigating whether you can open a Dutch bank account, with a Dutch card. Then you can use it for ticket machines, pay in shops with it and the like. You can then arrange for a wodge of money to be transferred to that account monthly.
YOU will probably be asked for proof of registration with the vreemdeling politie and your passport when you open a Dutch account.
You do know you have to register with the Vreemdeling Politie (foreigners police) don't you?

http://tinyurl.com/29fwpq6 explains a bit about opening a Dutch account.

hetismij
The Vreemdeling Politie can only register you if your stay is for 90 days. This is for 4 months. How they get around the Schengen visa question I don't know. But longer stays in NL must be registered at IND That is what I know as the foreign police.
http://www.ind.nl/EN/index.asp