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ATM transaction fees

My bank ATM charges a 3% transaction fee and I am sure the bank in Italy will do so as well. That seems kind of high to me. Is this my only option for getting Euros? I was trying to find what the fees would be if I went to a money changer or bank, however I am assuming then I would have to bring my cash with me and probably not a good idea in terms of safety. May I have your recommendations on getting cash for a two week trip in Rome and Tuscany? We have prepaid for several activities and entrance fees already, hotels will all go on credit card. I am trying to figure out how much cash I will be using and how often and considering these transaction fees. Most people say not to bring more than $150-200 in Euros to start. I am good at hiding and protecting cash because I have don this on many India trips. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just change more money before I go and go on my trip with more in cash? We can lock it up safely and use money belts. What is the best way to do the cash thing in Italy please, thank you!

Posted by
8261 posts

You have a few options.
1. Get a better bank for travel. (This takes a long term approach and does involve some time) You should be able to find a bank that refunds any ATM charges worldwide. Charles Schwab is one.
2. Don't go overboard on getting cash. More and more places are taking credit cards. I agree, don't bring more than 150-200 euros to start. You will still be paying fees by getting it in advance, but it might reduce your stress a bit.
3. You are on vacation. If you find that you need more cash, just use the machine and let it go that there is a fee. Sometimes you just have to pay when traveling.

Posted by
5955 posts

The ATM fees are just the cost of doing business

Best way to get cash is with a debit card at a Bank “ATM” during banking hours.

A money changer is the worst option

We do bring a small amount of euros with us so we don’t need to fiddle with getting cash right away

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

Posted by
5508 posts

I don't mean to sound flip, but I'd get a different bank account. If I use affiliated banks/credit union for ATM transactions, I don't have a transaction fee. Usually there are symbols on the back of your card indicating affiliated banks. If you don't want to completely change banks, set up an account with another bank to use for travel. I've got money at Wells Fargo that I set up years ago for obtaining foreign currency. I no longer use it for that purpose, but I keep it there because now I have a couple different accounts with ATM cards. Though I can't really recommended Wells Fargo, I do not pay transaction fees on that account when I withdraw funds as long as I use an affiliated bank.

We usually save about 100 euros when we return from trips and then we have that to start our next trips. A couple years ago when we went to Italy we only had about 10 euros to start and we had no problem finding an ATM to withdraw funds. We always use ATMs affiliated with banks and we watch for a transaction fee and would terminate that transaction if we see one. We also try to withdraw Euros during bank hours.

We use our credit cards as much as possible selecting the local currency (usually euros) for the transaction. Between us, we typically only have 100 euros and typically do not carry that much around. You will find credit cards to be accepted most places.

We were just in Sicily and used UNICREDIT to obtain euros from their ATMs.

It is rarely cheaper to obtain foreign currency from home. Once I realized I was getting a poor exchange rate at Wells Fargo even though I was a customer, I stopped getting currency in advance. Certainly don't use the money changers at the airport.

Posted by
23178 posts

...My bank ATM charges a 3% transaction fee and I am sure the bank in Italy will do so as well..... More than likely the bank in Italy will not charge anything. Sometime it has been reported, but I have never experienced it, that a bank ATM will charge a user fee of 1 to 2 euro. If you obtain foreign currency in the US you will pay upwards to 10% in a combination of fees and poor exchange rate. Even with a 3% fee, that will still be the cheapest way to obtain local currency. You need a better bank or a credit bank. If you have time you should look into obtaining a second ATM card. It is just smart to have a second ATM card tied to a separate account.

Posted by
694 posts

Both Carol and Christine have given excellent advice.

Since CC’s are more widely accepted and your larger expenses-hotel, tours, etc., have or are going on CC’s, I could see you needing to go to a Bancomat once or twice at the most.

Take out the most you feel you need to get through a week, then one more time to finish your trip. There are limits at a Bancomat, but I am not familiar with those limits-maybe 250E per time?

Alternately, do get 100-200 Euros from a source such as Currency Exchange International before you go and then you may need only one trip to the Bancomat. Keep in mind fees at CEI are more than 3% per transaction when figuring their exchange rate is higher than the posted daily rate of exchange. Plus they charge an additional $5 for the transaction.

Personally, I think 250E might even get you through the 2 weeks unless you are 3-4 travelers.
Enjoy!

Posted by
19659 posts

This leads directly into the next question. Does my credit card provider charge foreign transaction fees? Many charge up to 3%, but you can get ones that charge less than 1%. CapitalOne is one such big credit card issuer that does charge minimum foreign transaction fees, that are solely the cost of using the Visa or Mastercard networks. So check what your credit card foreign transaction are and bring ones with minimum fees on your trip.

Posted by
5508 posts

Before I leave on an international trip, I contact my ATM and Credit cards to let them know I will be traveling and to double check on transaction fees and any travel benefit changes. The last time I traveled I found out that a card I used to use a lot when I traveled now does not have rental car insurance.

Also, I take photos of the front and back of my credit and ATM cards.

Posted by
4324 posts

Charles Schwab has cheap simple accounts you can open online with no ATM fees. As others have noted, for ease and protection just use credit cards as often as possible and pay them off upon your return.

Posted by
6386 posts

My Bank of America debit/atm has no fees which is the only reason I got it. Its partner bank in Italy is BNL D'Italia. Use its atm and there are no fees. Once, in Belgium, I was charged an atm fee and it was refunded. As other have suggested, get a different bank card. Ensure your credit cards don’t charge a transaction fee either. Neither my CapitalOne nor Citibank cards have a fee.

Last time I used currency exchange international to get currency, there was a coupon on its website that saved me the $5 fee a previous poster mentioned.

Posted by
8378 posts

sereneyoga, no one that you do an exchange with, will do it for free. Anyone who sells you euro, can set their own rate, as there is no official, government monitored exchange rate. They can charge whatever they want, and they do. My bank will say they will sell euro at "a competitive rate", which is in fact several percent higher than the published interbank rate you see in the paper. They also charge a flat rate fee for every transaction. All that is legal. You just have to weigh the costs and shop around as best you can. I dont want another bank or card just for foreign travel.

Yes, I was charged flat rate fees of 5€ per transaction at multiple bank bancomats (ATMs) in Italy. My card doesnt reimburse those fees, so its just part of the cost of doing business. I just take out the max each time, in order to reduce the number of times I need to use the service. You get a better rate (as long as you don't choose conversion to USD at the ATM) because VISA (or whoever) can negotiate better rates at their level than you can.

Not all banks will change money for you, if you're not a customer. I only use money changers if I had a small amount of a third countries currency I needed to get rid of.

Posted by
3039 posts

I use the Schwab bank account for cash withdrawals. There is no fee for withdrawals. The Schwab people probably give a slightly inferior rate for the transactions. For us, they are free.

I use the Chase Sapphire visa card for purchases. Again, no fee for conversion.

One additional point that has not been mentioned: Watch out for the "dynamic currency conversion" screen. I believe that you can decline this, which you should do. I believe that bankomats associated with actual banks are safer.

Posted by
542 posts

Just a word of caution: You should consider both foreign transaction fees and exchange rates. When I asked my bank about their no transaction fee policy, the representative told me they don't necessarily use the most favorable exchange rate. In other words, they make a profit on the exchange.

Posted by
2274 posts

"... they make a profit on the exchange"

Of course they make a profit, banks are not a benevolent society.

Having said that, I've checked both cash withdrawals and CC charges against the daily Visa exchange rate calculator and they use the same base exchange rate.

Today's Visa calculator rate from EUR > USD is

1 EUR = 1.045099 USD - % Mark-up over European Central Bank Rate = 1.56 @ 0.0% bank fee

1 EUR = 1.071226 USD - % Mark-up over European Central Bank Rate = 4.10 @ 2.5% bank fee

Posted by
136 posts

We were in Italy for 15 days in late May / early June. While we felt the need for cash and had some euros, I cannot think of an instance where it was required; we simply choose to use them because we had them. Bring some cash with you or make one withdrawal from an ATM at a bank if you will feel better, but you are fine with a credit card. And yes, check that your credit card does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Posted by
120 posts

get a bank with no transaction fees.
then keep your reciepts, my bank reimburses me when the Italian ATM makes a mistake and charges a fee.