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Which ATMs in Paris to draw money from?

Hi,
We are from Canada. We are planning to draw money from ATM in Paris for our trip in France. Which ATMs and which companies to draw from? Which ATMs will give us low fees? Thank you so much.

Posted by
8169 posts

The Banque National de Paris chain; but you should if you have not ask your bank how much it will charge you in fees for taking money out of a foreign bank

Posted by
28167 posts

I don't believe ATM fees are much of a thing in France (though they are very common in some other countries), but in any case all you need to do is read the screen on the ATM. You'll be warned about the exact amount of any extra fee the ATM will charge you, and you can then cancel the transaction if you want to.

You are more likely to face after-the-fact fees from your bank, so as suggested above, you should ask your bank now about its policy.

Equally important: Perform all ATM withdrawals and all credit-card transactions in euros. If you agree to have the transaction conducted/recorded in dollars, you are giving the ATM/hotel/restaurant/store the right to use whatever exchange rate it wants, which is guaranteed to cost you extra money. I encountered a lot of ATMs in France that offered me the opportunity to have my withdrawals recorded in dollars. Just say No.

I suggest that you read the Money section of the Travel Tips linked in the left panel on this screen.

Posted by
2710 posts

French bank ATMs distribute euros, nothing else.

As your cash request is sent to your bank and approved, there is an entity such as Maestro, Sirrus, or some other that will convert the euro request into dollars charging a fee of around 1%. Your local bank may or may not add additional fees.

It´s not the French bank ATM that charges you fees, it is your bank and it is they you should ask about costs.

Posted by
8322 posts

Just make sure you withdraw money from bank ATM's and not non-bank ATM's. That's the best you can do.
We just use credit cards everywhere for purchases, meals and rooms. You can get by with relatively few ATM withdrawals when traveling, as we use very little cash.

Posted by
2673 posts

I believe Canadian banks have quite different rules/fees than American banks, so most of these replies from Americans may not apply. Contact your bank in Canada.

Posted by
2710 posts

French bank ATMs do not charge fees and it does not make any difference if you are from the USA, Canada, or Mozambique.

Posted by
8573 posts

the important thing is your own bank policy. Some US banks for example don't charge fees if you use their partner banks but do charge them for other banks. And as others have noted, their may be some confusing gobblydgook on the machine that you are asked to accept; that is usually asking if you want to withdraw in Dollars rather than Euros and is always something to reject as you will pay change fees twice that way -- it is fairly described as a scam. This used to be rare in France (standard in Spain) but we are finding it on ATMs in Paris now. If they ask if you accept a particular exchange rate, simply deny and proceed with the withdrawal.

We use ATMs at post offices which in our experience usually give 20s whereas sometimes bank ATMs give mostly 50s which are not convenient. Some banks gives you a choice on mixed bills rather than 50s. 50s are convenient if you are paying rent in cash but not for walking around money.

Posted by
36 posts

One hint about ATM withdrawals anywhere. If at all possible, go to an ATM during banking hours close to the open bank. We were in Spain last year and took too long to retrieve Euros from the ATM. The machine took the money back. We were able to go into the bank and explain what had happened. The nice lady in the bank said that if their nightly ATM balance was over that amount of money, they would put it back in our bank. The transaction was completed that night. I hope this information helps.

Posted by
1194 posts

Hi from Wisconsin,
Try Deutsche Bank. Even thought heir reputation is failing. Here in the US they are mixed up with not such great people.

But in Spain, they were the only one not to charge for a withdrawal. Others were charging...well maybe what it costs to have cash sitting around in boxes. But 6% seemed high to me.

wayne iNWI

Posted by
2916 posts

As others have said, French ATMs don't charge fees; any fees come from your bank. So the answer to your question is: Any bank's ATM, as long as it's really a bank ATM. And as someone mentioned, if possible use an ATM at a bank branch that is open, in case something goes wrong. I don't always pay attention to that advice, partly because we spend most of our time in villages and small towns, and there might be only 1 or 2 ATMs there at most.

Posted by
636 posts

If your ATM card is from Band of America, they have an agreement with BNP Paribas no to charge you a fee.

Posted by
797 posts

Hi M, I am Cdn and bank at CIBC. Others have already mentioned, it is my Cdn bank that charges. I did discuss this with them and there was no way around it with the debit card I use. I was considering banking elsewhere bit when I talked with ATB, same charge. I do try to take out the largest amount, often machines have limits, so if the machine denies me, I try 50 Euros less. I stick with large banks as a few smaller ones do charge a fee at the machine. Big banks are BNP Paribas, HSBC, Societe Generale, there are more that I cannot remember,

Talk with your bank about the charges. Have a great trip.

Posted by
5697 posts

To my mind, the ATM fees are a very small part of travel costs -- I look for a bank close to my hotel, during banking hours. Convenience counts

Posted by
776 posts

French post ATMs are another source for fee less withdrawals.

Posted by
11507 posts

Hi , Canadian here .

I pay no fees for atm withdrawals in France , from my bank or theirs . There are accounts at some banks that do not charge foreign withdrawals fees - the one I have is called Select Service at the TD . Keeping a certain balance and you get the most benefits including no month fees

Posted by
2413 posts

hey hey math robot
lots of info here about withdrawing euros from bank machines. lots of talks about fees, ask your bank. some people may open an account at another bank or credit union, it’s not that big of a fee to me to worry about. I’ve spent $$$ fir this vacation to enjoy without worrying. I also choose an amount like 80 or 75 euros so it’s small bills not one big bill, works most of the time. use my credit or debit card for other purchases. I worked many years in retail, many times large bills (50 or 100) and they buy something for $1-2 to change it. I wouldn’t do it and I understand why businesses don’t want to. you will get lots of opinions on this issue, pros and cons, it’s just my feelings. also I get 100 euros here at home before going, one trip landed went to airport ATM, out of order and other had a line so long. not worth a headache, worry, grey hair and stress. some are Travelex in airports with big fees be careful. go to a ATM within a bank and banks hours in case an issue. have fun and enjoy Paris. don’t forget to sit at an outdoor cafe, glass of wine, people watch cuz I’m in Paris. we will be there for 8 days end of September.
aloha

Posted by
96 posts

|f you have a Scotiabank account, you can use BNP Paribas and I don't believe you get any fees. You can also use Tangerine the same way, they are part of Scotiabank. Just don't forget your PIN like I did! I opened the Tangerine specifically for travel, then when I got to a Paris I forgot my PIN. I tried too many times and my acct was blocked. Lucky I had another debit card to use!
Enjoy!

Posted by
12315 posts

I preferred getting money from Carrefour stores ATMs and Lidl Bank/Stores ATMs. Both ask how you want your money. In France, you will do much better with no higher than 20 euro notes; tens are better. Many machines I ran into say they'll take 20's but, in reality, won't take more than a ten. If you try to hand a bakery a 50 euro note for a 2 euro breakfast first thing in the morning, you're sure to be frowned at if not turned down.

My bank charges at flat one percent for a foreign withdrawal. Eliminating the need to carry extra cash to avoid per transaction charges (e.g. Wells Fargo $5 plus 3 percent per transaction). I'll typically get 50 euro at a time and ask for 5-tens.

Posted by
2916 posts

If your ATM card is from Band of America, they have an agreement with BNP Paribas no to charge you a fee.

Bank of America has 2 ATM fees for a transaction; I believe it's currently $5 plus 3%. Using BNP Paribas only gets rid of one of those fees. At least that was the case last time I checked. I used my BOA debit card all the time in the US, but not internationally. For that I have a fee-free TD Bank card.

Posted by
2710 posts

Currently, using a Bank of America debit card is probably the most expensive way for anyone to obtain euros at an ATM.
No one, except customers at the big, bail-out banks, pays both a fixed and a variable fee to use foreign ATMs. The fact that Band of America waives their onerous $5 fixed fee when using BNP ATMs is hardly exciting news when virtually no one else ever pays a $5 fee for any ATM withdrawal, no matter where the withdrawal is made.

Posted by
4088 posts

I have looked long and hard for a Canadian financial institution that does not charge fees for withdrawal of foreign currency. No luck. The Globe and Mail newspaper several months ago ran a small list, all of very small institutions I'd never heard of, which means setting up a separate chequing account remotely might be more hassles than it's worth. The major institutions -- and as the original poster knows, Canada is dominated by very large centralized banking -- are fairly uniform in their fees and exactly the same rate of exchange. The difference arise in other fees for maintaining the chequing account, such as monthly transaction charges, minimum balance, etc. It's worth shopping around on that score, and worth having ATM cards drawn on two different banks for security. To minimize the cost, use a French bank machine and draw out a substantial amount at one time. I don't think purchase of goods with a debit card is as common, but in Paris a store or a restaurant is as likely to offer you a credit card machine as has become common in Canada. (Your bank may charge you for that, too, so read the fine print on your account.)