At ATM's in France, do you put in the amount you want in euros or dollars( my daily limit is quoted in dollars by my bank) so I just wondered. The last time I was in Europe was in pre-ATM days.

Would you ask for the amount in euros or dollars at an ATM in the U.S.?

You plug in a number just like at home - but the number is €

In Moscow, you can ask for dollars, rubles or euros. I bet, Michael you did not know that.

The question was not stupid and did not deserve Michael's response.

Some posters need to remember that there was a time when they weren't such know it alls.

The only thing stupid is to not ask questions if you don't know.

And some of the answers given by the above-described know it alls are what is stupid.

Elizacat, you ask for your money in euros and your bank will convert it into dollars when it debits your account. If you want to check how your account is doing while you are in Europe, just set up your online banking before you go.

Depending on the type of account in your bank, you are sometimes charged a fee for withdrawals. Generally, it is better to make fewer withdrawals taking out large sums when you do. Be careful to look around before asking for a bunch of money as thieves can stake out tourists anywhere and ATM's in tourist areas might be easy targets.

Because I generally home exchange in Western Europe, I leave most of the money in the house after making the withdrawal and just have in hand what I need for the day.

A couple of years ago I met a lady in Italy who thought the ATM was giving her an even exchange of dollars for euros. I told her that's impossible as the euro is worth more than the dollar and she replied, "Well I punched in $100 and it gave me €100. I explained to her that when she entered the "100" amount, she was asking for euros, not dollars, and when she sees her bank statement, she will see that €100 cost her around $120.

I've met other people who were unsure, so this is a good question. It's much better to learn this now than to be surprised by your statement when you get home.

You have to do the math yourself. For example, if your daily limit is $500, you could probably withdraw 350-375 Euro per day. No $$$ withdrawal in France -- they only dispense Euro.

FauxSteMarie,

I did not know that, and I would never ask for other than the country's currency because I would have no way of knowing if there is a charge for anything but its currency, akin to DCC.

We didn't even think about the bank fee when we first got to Germany last month - our first trip, so we were newbies. We'd go to the ATM - I'd take out 100 euro from my account and my husband would take out 100 euro from his account, then a couple days later we'd do it again. Then a lightbulb went on in my head about possible transaction fees, so we started taking more money out at a time, alternating accounts rather than a small amount from each account. Fortunately the blunder only ended up costing us around $25, but it was an extra $25 I'd have rather not given to the bank - LOL.

I didn't ask for anything but rubles in Moscow, but it was possible to get other currencies, which I thought was weird, but Russia's economy is weird too.

J_Correa,

I believe that you are from SF. Next time, before traveling abroad, open your travel account with the SF Federal Credit Union. It does not charge any fee for ATM withdrawals abroad. We close the checking account (you can only use your ATM card against a checking account) and leave a minimum in our savings account until the next travel cycle.

Thanks for the replies. I thought that would be the way it worked but wasn't sure. If I use BNP Paribas ATM's, my bank won't charge me but they said BNP might. Does anybody know what BNP's fee is?

BNP will not charge, but you will not find it everywhere in small towns.

Thank you, Michael. I will be primarily in Paris but also in Amboise so I'll hope there's one there.

If you can find BNP - great. But if one isn't nearby, use any bank ATM. French Banks won't charge you anything and your own bank will only charge a nominal amount. So don't fret too much about finding a specific bank.

I had no trouble finding BNPs anywhere in France. It sounds like your bank is Bank of America, and yes it is indeed free if you use BNP.

Michael - thanks for the advice. I am actually in San Jose, but I am sure that the local credit unions have something similar. I will look into it before our next trip.

I also like to use BNP for withdrawals in France. My home bank, Bank of New York, charges $6 for foreign withdrawals. One really nice thing about the European ATM's (well France and Italy) is that when you insert your card, the machine responds with English prompts.

Two questions -- Michael, why do you recommend closing your checking account between trips? I learned the hard way that an ATM card attached to my travel savings account won't work in Europe, so I too opened a checking account specifically for overseas ATM use. But I keep it open and love stashing odd checks into it!
Also, am I the only one who had to look up "BNP" to see it refers to "Banque Nationale de Paris also known as BNP Paribas, a French bank."

nyse,

I recommend closing the CU checking account between trips because the minimum deposit to avoid monthly fees is $1000, and I can get a better interest rate than what they offer. I have a regular checking account at the BofA to use in the States, and that's because I would have to pay a fee to withdraw money from my CU account unless I use another credit union, which is not always possible and is generally inconvenient.

It seems obvious to me that you would get currency of the country you're in while using an ATM, but I do have to admit to not knowing which country I was in at one point. We were in Bruges (Belgium) in 2000 with seeral hundred other Miata/MX5 drivers celebrating the 10th anniversary of the car. There appeared to be only one ATM in the centre of Bruges - really - which always had a lineup, and so we were short of money. So off we went on a rally, getting gloriously lost, along with at least 50 other cars. Found a town with a restaurant, but no money, so we went to the ATM. I did notice that the amounts we were offered seemed a little strange, but we chose one - only to discover that we had crossed the border into Holland, and now had a fistful of guilders, with about an hour to spend them. Luckily we have Dutch friends in France with whom we were able to do a little foreign exchange. There's a lot to be said for the Euro.