THE!!! Best International ATM rate - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**marc873** · 10-02-2007, 06:40 AM

So, I heard about this elsewhere, and it NEEDS to be shared here. For those of you familiar with Paypal, you are going to love this. I have a Paypal acct. already etc... Paypal allows you to use there debit card internationaly for $1.00. Thats it!!! You can also link you personal bank acct. to Paypal, and when using an ATM, paypal drafts it from you checking acct. for free. Or if you choose, you can make a large deposit into paypal and debit it out as you go on your trip. The debit card was free, and has no fees at all. Feel free to ask me any questions, but I know last years, I accumulated approx $120 in international ATM fees, and that SUCKED!!! Not this year baby. $1.00 each time

**mbo108** · 10-02-2007, 07:47 AM

Nice find Marc. I just called my bank to tell them I'd be in Iceland in November and they let me know about a new program they have. They always used to reimburse me for ATM fees that other banks charge. Now they will reimburse me for all foreign ATM fees as well. I just have to keep my receipts and fax them in (their computer system hasn't caught up yet).

My bank is a small one called TDBankNorth by the way. Its only in the US Northeast.

**omisan** · 10-02-2007, 08:03 AM

Ooh good call. I'm going to have to look into that.

I was about to drop my Washington Mutual (US) account because of all the off-network fees they were charging me, especially overseas, but this last trip I noticed they were giving me *amazing* exchange rates, and even with the 1% fee tacked on, it came out to be better than the going exchange rates. Weird, eh? My other cards, on the other hand, were screwing me. Whereas all told I was paying *less* than the going rate of $2.02 per GBP in London the other week with WaMu, I was paying well over the rate at $2.08 the few times I used my other cards. YIKES.

**c0urt** · 10-02-2007, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbo108

Nice find Marc. I just called my bank to tell them I'd be in Iceland in November and they let me know about a new program they have. They always used to reimburse me for ATM fees that other banks charge. Now they will reimburse me for all foreign ATM fees as well. I just have to keep my receipts and fax them in (their computer system hasn't caught up yet).

My bank is a small one called TDBankNorth by the way. Its only in the US Northeast.

regions here in the woutheast does that, but only if you ask for that feature

**noke_travel** · 10-02-2007, 09:10 AM

bank of america is part of the 'global atm alliance' with the following banks and allows for fee free use of atms. (not sure if there are any hidden costs though.)

Barclays (United Kingdom)
BNP Paribas (France)
China Construction Bank (China)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Satander Serfin (Mexico)
Scotiabank (Canada)
Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)

**marc873** · 10-02-2007, 09:47 AM

Yep, I use BOA too, but I am rarely in included countries.

So I did get my Paypal debit card in the mail, and activated it. I can set the amount of cash available every 24hrs. I chose $400., And up to $3000.00. To me, this is just damn perfect. To only pay $1.00 per ATM withdrawl internationally is NICE

**juliagulia** · 10-02-2007, 12:49 PM

But does that include the fee the international bank would charge you?

I just got screwed over in Greece. I did all my finances the day before, so a lot of my prior charges weren't in yet, and I had no idea how much BOA was charging me when I used the Greek ATMS (I only knew what Greece was charging me). The last day was horrendous (luckily, we were traveling to Germany by the time I realized I had no money, and I had a friend who lent me money for food).

**maracle** · 10-02-2007, 01:24 PM

I totally forgot you were on your trip julia....can't wait to see some photos!

Paypal sounds like a good plan, my bank charges $2 for ATM withdrawals in dollars and $5 for withdrawals in other currency.

**juliagulia** · 10-02-2007, 02:52 PM

Well, I got back QUITE a while ago (

), but I have yet to get those pictures up...

**freespiritz** · 10-02-2007, 03:28 PM

I've had a PayPal Debit for a year now...I use it to buy stuff online because they give you a 1% cashback for transactions not requiring a PIN. So for that 1400-dollar plane ticket, it's nice to get at least a few bucks back!

I haven't used it at an ATM yet though. I'm pretty sure in Central America my other card was only charging me the 1% international fee without any extras tacked on.

Also if you activate the money market feature in PayPal you get 5% interest on your PayPal account, which ain't too shabs! I haven't been able to get mine going thanks to an unverifiable credit report (blah) but hey, you guys should.

Edit: money market rates are also now down to almost zilch ie 0.06%

**marc873** · 10-02-2007, 07:53 PM

From what I read and understand, there are no other international fees only the $1.00 fee. Even from other banks. I read about other travelers elsewhere who have been using it with success as well.

I know BOA killed me in Greece, every ATM withdrawl was like almost $10. total fee.

**Elizabeth** · 10-02-2007, 08:05 PM

wachovia only charges 2 dollars for a non wachovia ATM withdrawl, and a small percentage

some people told me they were paying $5 for every atm withdrawl, so i was very pleased with wachovia, but paypal may be even better

**joe7f** · 10-02-2007, 08:44 PM

So Marc, do they offer you the spot price as the exchange rate?

Let's assume we are in London and the currency markets are trading the GBP at 2USD. Would PayPal charge $1 and offer that rate or is it $1 at a rate of 2.08 USD per GBP?

--Joey

**marc873** · 10-03-2007, 04:39 AM

Uh Oh Economics was my worst class!!! As far as I know, you get the current exchange rate, plus a $1 service charge, but no other international or ATM fees. Does this answer this question?

**space virgin** · 10-03-2007, 01:47 PM

My credit union charges me $0.30 for international ATM transactions. (This does not include, obviously, what the ATM charges.) Credit union exchange rates seem to be extremely favorable as well.

**noke_travel** · 10-04-2007, 08:46 AM

yeah credit unions are great, they also have great interest rates for savings accounts.

SGRHewitt · 11-07-2007, 08:54 PM

A bit outdated but I thought I would put in my $0.02...

Most banks in the UK do not charge ATM fees. HSBC, Barclays etc... The only charge I ever paid was the 2 dollar fee from my bank(no percentage). Heck one time I withdrew from a Post office ATM, got an extra 10 pounds, and didn't get charged for it. To this day I don't understand why.

Regardless, I may have to look into that Paypal deal... 5% back? That will sure make that 1600 flight to Perth alot more appealing. I guess the only question I have, is do they belong to a network of ATMs so I can withdrawl free of charge?

amandah2261 · 04-12-2010, 12:04 PM

I don't know if you are still traveling but would you know if PayPal still only charges $1 for foreign ATM withdrawls or of any good rates for foreign ATM withdrawls. These rates are just eating the money away that I have right now

**Elizabeth** · 04-12-2010, 02:38 PM

I opened an account with First Citizens Bank because allegedly they have no foreign ATM fee. The person who helped me open my account said that you only get the foreign currency fee that Visa charges. In about 22 days we'll see exactly how that plays out.

**maracle** · 04-12-2010, 03:46 PM

Charles Schwab Bank charges no fees for any ATM, and rebates ATM fees automatically including foreign ATM fees (which are often $4 USD in argentina). Plus they use a very favorable exchange rate, close to or the same as the wholesale rate you see on xe.com (whereas many banks mark up the rate 3-5%).

I think it's the best deal going right now. You'd need to open a brokerage account with them to get a checking account as far as I know, but they have no minimum on their brokerages last I knew.

And as a testimonial, when I lost my ATM card in Buenos Aires earlier this year they authorized a "Visa 911" card which is delivered within 48 hours and costs them a considerable amount in fees they have to pay to VISA, then fedexed me a permanent replacement to Buenos Aires within a week (the emergency cards can't have a PIN assigned so you can't use an ATM, but you can go to a bank and ask for a cash advance, which on a debit card is pulled from your account balance without fees. The permanent replacement works with your PIN). When I lost the card they transfered me to an agent who gave me her name and direct phone number and was a single point of contact over the next week while the replacements were arranged.

There is one downside, I have my Schwab checking account linked to another checking account with a physical bank in the states. You can't transfer funds between them online, it requires a call in to their service center. Although their bankers that answer the phone are great. But obviously it would be easier to do it through a web interface than having to skype them from time to time.