Planning to withdraw money from an ATM next time you travel abroad? If so, check in advance how much your bank will charge you in fees. Financial institutions differ dramatically in their policies, and you may be surprised at how much you will ultimately pay.
To illustrate these discrepancies, we examined the policies of five popular U.S.-based banks to assess how much it would cost for someone with a minimal balance to withdraw 100 Euros from a foreign ATM. Specifically, we examined three factors - whether the bank charged a fee for using an international ATM, whether a bank charged a currency conversion fee, and whether the bank reimbursed any fees charged by the foreign ATM.
For the sake of our survey, we assumed that 1 Euro was about equal to $1.50 and that a foreign ATM would charge a 2 euro fee for a single withdrawal on average. Here are the estimated costs:
Estimated Costs of Withdrawing 100 Euros
| Bank Account | Foreign ATM Fee | Curr Conv Fee | Reimburses Fees | Total Cost |
| Schwab High-Yield Investor Checking | $0.00 | 0% ($0.00) | Yes ($0.00) | $0.00 |
| EverBank FreeNet Checking | $0.00 | 1% ($1.50) | No ($3.00) | $4.50 |
| The Citibank Checking Account | $1.50 | 3% ($4.50) | No ($3.00) | $9.00 |
| Chase Checking | $3.00 | 3% ($4.50) | No ($3.00) | $10.50 |
| Bank of America Regular Checking | $5.00 | 3% ($4.50) | No ($3.00) | $12.50 |
So depending on the bank, you can expect to pay no fee at all, or end up paying a fee of greater than $10 every time you use an ATM! Thus, before you travel, make sure to check these fees with your bank.
Regardless of fees, it’s also a good idea to contact your bank anyway before you travel in order to notify them that you’ll be using your ATM card internationally. Sometimes if you fail to do this, your bank may deny your foreign withdrawal requests, worried that they may be fraudulent activity.
I have an easyGROW checking account with First Bank & Trust that reimburses ATM fees worldwide and currently offers 4.01% APY. Check out their website www.easygrowchecking.com
Posted by tiffani_elizabeth -- Nov 30, 2009 12:02 PM
Rates and accounts may differ by geography so enter your zip code for better information.