ATM at the Zagreb airport with decent exchange rates?

There are two parts to withdrawing cash from an ATM machine. The first is any fees charged by the owner of the machine, and the second is the exchange rate. My understanding, supported by this quote from Bank of America's website is that the exchange rate is not set by the owner of the ATM, but as follows,

"The exchange rate for international purchases and foreign ATM transactions is set by Visa® or MasterCard®, depending on your card's logo. This exchange rate is either the wholesale market rate or a government-mandated rate on the day before the date the transaction is processed."

The exception to this would be if you made the big mistake of asking for dynamic currency conversion. Always decline any offers to charge you in dollars.

The local ATMS do vary in the amount of fees they may charge for their service. This is easily circumvented by having a good travel debit card, such as those issued by Charles Schwab Bank that reimburse any ATM fees charged world wide. You never have to worry about searching for the "right" ATM, you just get your cash and go.

So, no answer yet?.

https://www.zagreb-airport.hr/en/passengers/at-the-airport/facilities-services/currency-exchange-atm-s/118

The answer is, use the first ATM you see, they will all have the same exchange rate for an ATM withdrawal. (roughly about 1%)

A use fee may vary, but it appears all ATMs at the airport are operated by IN Kapital currency exchange, so likely they will offer DCC. Decline DCC, see what the fee is, if you feel too high, search for another ATM in town.

Anymore, since you really do not need much cash, paying a fee once is not a big deal in the overall travel expense picture, if you have a card that reimburses the fees, then not a concern at all.

I forgot one comment: There are two parts to withdrawing cash from an ATM machine. Actually three, your bank may charge an "out of network" or "Foreign transaction fee" on top of the ATM owners use fee and the network (MC/Visa/Other) conversion fee.

Based on sad personal experience, I urge you to jot down how many forints [should have said "euros" here] you plan to withdraw from the first ATM you use. I am not usually mathematically challenged, but I was so brain-dead after my overnight flight that I botched the mental calculation and withdrew ten times as much money as I wanted at the ATM I used in Budapest. In the end my error wasn't a problem, because I was spending several weeks in Hungary and a kind bank clerk agreed to change the excessively large notes dispensed by the machine into smaller, more useful denominations. If not for those details, I'd have been an unhappy camper; it can be quite costly to convert foreign currency to US dollars (though probably cheaper in Budapest or Zagreb than back in the US).

Since it appears that IN KAPITAL is not a bank, it would seem that the exchange rates would not be very attractive. Thoughts?

Unless you agree to Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) as part of the ATM withdrawal, there is no conversion done at an ATM. Do not EVER accept the DCC proposal; it will cost you money even at a bank ATM--frequently around 7%, but it can be more). You'll ask for some quantity of kuna [no, euros] and the ATM will send that record through the banking system to your bank. The banking system makes the conversion at about 1% less than the interbank rate, which is an unbeatable deal. Where the ATM can get you is by imposing a transaction fee, which you're correct to anticipate at a non-bank ATM in an airport. Any ATM fee will be disclosed before you conclude the transaction, at which point you can simply cancel the withdrawal and walk away if you want to.

Even bank ATMs may charge fees. The number of banks doing that seems to increase a bit from year to year; it's getting harder to find ATMs without fees. But if you for some reason need to withdraw a good bit of money (you probably won't need much, so be careful about the amount you request), you can easily lose more money than you pay in the form of an ATM fee by accepting the DCC suggestion; don't fall for any offer to "lock in your exchange rate at this (miserable) figure".

The fee your own personal bank may charge you for using another bank's ATM is yet another way to let money slip through your fingers.

You may see similar offers to perform purchase transactions in dollars rather than kuna [nope--euros now in Croatia] when you pay for things with your credit card. Just as with ATM withdrawals, you want to conduct your business in euros so the cost to you is only about 1% of the interbank rate rather than whatever amount the greedy merchant/hotel/restaurant may be hoping to siphon off.

Acraven Zagreb hasn't been in Hungary since 1920. The OP will be using Euro. But 1.000 forint is about $3 right now.

Scott, the exchange rates will be the same because your bank sets the exchange rate. Perhaps I was too verbose with my answer since this still is not clear to you.

1. Insert Card
2. Enter PIN
3. Select Cash Withdrawl
4. Do not slect DCC or if the choice is "Do you want to be charged $27.98" Or "Do you want to be charged 25€" Choose the 25€ as that allows your bank to do the exchange rate.
   
5. Read that you will pay 4.75€ in fees and agree.
6. Collect cash.
   
7. Have a heck of a great holiday

Thanks, Mr. E. My story about being brain-dead in Budapest (I also fell flat on my face on the sidewalk, and there was no alcohol involved) derailed my thought process. I hope I've made all the necessary corrections.

acraven, Hope you recover from your fall quickly!

Acraven, next time call me and I'll make sure you stay upright. Or we go down together.

Thanks, Mr. E.

Not to worry, Mark, it was years ago. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's falling without breaking bones--not necessarily without spraining ankles and messing up glasses, though.

Thanks, everyone. I'm trying to avoid the poor value that Euronet, Travelex, and similar providers are for tourists.

Are you doing it once to have some cash in your pocket, or will this be a life style? For a little piece of mind cash the fees don't matter.

I'm staying at a hotel for four nights that wants to be paid in cash.

Thanks, everyone. I'm trying to avoid the poor value that Euronet, Travelex, and similar providers are for tourists.

Just to reiterate, even with Euronet and Travelex ATMs you will pay no different currency exchange rate than a Bank ATM, or any ATM, it will be in the range of 1%.

You will certainly be offered DCC at both Euronet and Travelex, but you likely will at many bank ATMs as well. The key is knowing you are being offered DCC and declining it. So if they offer to do the transaction in US Dollars, or are telling you how much the transaction will cost in US Dollars, that is DCC. Choose to do the transaction in local currency and you will be fine.

Many ATMs will also charge you a fee, that will be disclosed before the end of the transaction, you can either accept it or cancel out. But, for the few times you will use an ATM these days, paying the equivalent of 3 or 4 Dollars is probably not a big cost impact for the convenience.

Whatever your bank may charge, if any, you likely will not get out of.

I'm staying at a hotel for four nights that wants to be paid in cash.

That could be a topic for its own interesting discussion.
"wants to be paid in cash" or must be paid in cash?

Depending on how much is involved you may run into issues with how much the ATM, your bank or both, will let you take out in a single transaction or per day.

4 nights x $150 = $600. Add $10 in Euronet fees makes yout room $152.50

Not to sidetrack, but the Charles Schwab debit card is an amazing piece of plastic to have your wallet for foreign travel (or just in general). Great exchange rates, and no ATM fees.