The old "ATMs at Heathrow" question

While it is true that the least expensive way of getting local currency is from an ATM at your destination, it's always a good idea, in my opinion, to have some local currency in hand when you land. Getting a couple of hundred pounds from your local bank will cost you a little more, but it eliminates the hassle of trying to find a machine, the stress of hoping it works (they do occasionally malfunction), and doing it all while somewhat jet lagged. To us the small amount extra it cost to have money in hand when arriving is money well spent. Just an opinion.

All the ATMs at Heathrow are owned by Travelex. The ones at Paddington are not bank owned unless things have changed since last December.

There is a Barclay's Bank ATM on Spring street which is a 5 minute walk from the station.

But, acknowledging that this is an old question, those Travelex ATMs have been tested and proven to charge standard exchange rates. Don't choose a transaction displayed in anything other than GBP, the local currency. See Larry's post.

Thanks! I'm leaning more and more toward getting a couple hundred pounds before I leave on the trip.

I thought the Paddington station ATMs were bank ones. Natwest or RBS? In any case I did not see excess fees or FX rate being charged there. This was last may.

One time there was a machine there with FREE plastered all over it. I noticed no one using it and a line to use the others. Out of curiosity I went to check it out. It was going to use an FX rate of about $2 per GBP, the going rate was somewhere around $1.55 per GBP at the time.

Found it. Picture of ATMs at Paddington. This is what I remember but may not be accurate now.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stationsdestinations/HotspotDetails.aspx?stdCode=SMEPAD&fullsize=35049

If you saw an exchange rate then the problem was not the type of operator of the machine in particular but because it was using Dynamic Currency Conversion, which you decline no matter how dire the warning they might give. Banks are as guilty of this as anyone. (DCC also happens with ATMs in the USA, although residents of course don't see it.)

Incidentally that is an old picture of Paddington and that area was redeveloped a year or more ago. Most inside the station these days are Raphaels Bank, which are more of an ATM specialist than a bank these days.

Over half of the ATMs in the UK are run by independents - indeed banks have been getting out of running ATMs apart from their own branches. They make their money from the inter-bank fees which you don't normally see. Those in out of the way convenience shops or in bars may directly charge but it is pretty rare elsewhere on the high street.

I stand corrected. Reviewed some iPhone photos taken at Paddington. I can see some NatWest Bank cash points.

Not to throw a bucket of cold water over this debate, but do any of us need cash any more.
The trains machines take debit and credit cards,
London cabs take cards.
I don't arrive with any cash at all and manage to have lunch, load up cards for the tube and bus, get groceries
all without ever having to have any cash.

I do get cash out of ATMs, but only to minimise my bank charges.

By the way, most Londoners no longer have any cash, exampled by when
photo tour when in London in March and neither the other attendee
or the tour guide carry any cash on a regular basis. Cards are king.
And, yes avoid any cash exchange.

regards

England is not quite as cash-free as say the Scandinavian countries but you can go a long way with just a credit and/or debit card (and unlike some of the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands there are no issues with not being the 'local' brand of card). Contactless helps as well. London taxis now all take credit cards without surcharge although that may not be the case with all private hire cars (minicabs).

Re: "... but do any of us need cash any more." Technology is great when it works. And we use credit cards a lot in Europe. Unfortunately there are malfunctions from time to time using credit cards. We've had it happen in Europe four or five times in the last fifteen years. But we've never had cash malfunction. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.

I did not know that the cabs in London will take credit cards; thanks!
Thank you, everyone, for your input. I'll be mulling it over!

Sandra, not all cabs in London take credit cards. Some do, some don't. When we were in London last May, we rode with one cab driver who did take credit cards, and one who did not. Later in the trip, when we took a train to Salisbury and then a cab from the train station to our hotel, that cabbie wanted cash.

We get pounds from our bank here before we leave for London. We each take about 300 pounds. It's just convenient to have that much cash in my money belt even though we know the majority of places in London take the cards. We know that when we get money/pounds from our bank there is a cost involved, and that the least expensive way of getting local currency is from an ATM at your destination. But we just want cash in hand when leaving for London.

Things move on and past experience can get stale quickly. All TfL licensed taxis have needed to take credit cards from October 2016. Although checking up they have still been allowed to put on a small surcharge whereas the original proposals had this at zero - and fares went up a bit too to pay for the technology.

This of course does not necessarily extend to other licensing bodies.

Just an update on this one: I ended up getting $250 in pounds from a local bank so that I had money in my pocket when I arrived in London. My sister has an account at one of the few banks around here that will provide foreign currency.

After that, I went to various NatWest ATMs in London, or just used my debit card.

I was glad to have the cash in hand, though.

Agree with TC. Recently in Lisbon, the metro ticket machine took my Chase Card with no problems the first day we were there. The remaining days, no card we had would work for us or the ticket machine attendant, not even the debit cards, in any machines at other metro stations or rail station.