ATM Fees

[davisjj]

I'm an American who will be spending the summer in the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Can anyone give me an idea of how much ATM fees in these countries are? I'm trying to decide whether to rely primarily on travelers checks or ATMs for cash.

[Grant Johnson]

Transaction fees are per transaction so take out lots each time. The fees aren't ridiculous.

Credit cards are widely accepted, so you will be able to reduce withdrawals. Travellers cheques are also widely accepted.

We don't use TC's when travelling on the continent, I'd rather get the money when I need it instead of months in advance - easily offsets ATM fees. There is NO problem getting money in any of those countries, not much different than the US.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[PanEuropean]

The fees charged depend a lot on your agreement with your own bank, not so much on what the policy of the bank you are withdrawing the money from is. I have only seen one ATM in Europe that actually stuck their own surcharge on, and that was a credit union in Baden-Baden, Germany.

The way ATM service charges in Europe work is exactly opposite to the way they work in the USA or Canada. In Europe, the bank that owns the ATM you use bills your home bank head office directly for their service fee. They don't take it out of your card at the time you make the withdrawal. It's then up to your bank to decide how much to charge you.

Check with your own bank, before you leave home, to find out what they will charge you for the overseas transactions. If it is USD 3 or less, that's typical of what a European bank charges its customers for out of country transactions.

Make sure your bank card has one of the following logos on it: Maestro or Plus. Otherwise, you won't get much mileage out of it.

Or, look for some of these symbols on the back, the more, the better:



[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 05 August 2002).]