Re: [81attendees] Exchanging money or using USD ?

I solved the ATM fee issue by using banks that don't charge for international withdrawals and rebate the ATM fees.  For a regular international traveler it's really a must-have (along with a forex-free credit card).

From: 81attendees-bounces@ietf.org [mailto:81attendees-bounces@ietf.org] On Behalf Of Mary Barnes
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 12:10 PM
To: Curtis Villamizar
Cc: 81attendees@ietf.org
Subject: Re: [81attendees] Exchanging money or using USD ?

In my experience they are new - at least I got hit with $4.00 fees by the local bank and $1.00 from my own bank for each withdrawal in Europe in June. The most I'd paid before was half that. The ATM gave no disclosure or warning of the fee which is different than many ATMs in the US.  In the past, if there were fees, they were less than half the amount and my own bank charging the fee is new.  I personally think this is useful practical information and found the discussion of such very helpful for Beijing since someone gave the exact location of a large American Bank.  And, as Scott noted the BOM information is quite useful. Given the title, you don't have to read the messages, but those of us that find the information helpful can.

Best Regards,
Mary.
On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 2:04 PM, Curtis Villamizar <cvillamizar@infinera.com<mailto:cvillamizar@infinera.com>> wrote:
BTW- I'm not sure that the fees are new.  It may be that disclosure of the fee is new, rather than burying the fee in the exchange rate.  In any case, hasn't enough been said about ATM fees?

From: 81attendees-bounces@ietf.org<mailto:81attendees-bounces@ietf.org> [mailto:81attendees-bounces@ietf.org<mailto:81attendees-bounces@ietf.org>] On Behalf Of Mary Barnes
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 11:56 AM

To: david.black@emc.com<mailto:david.black@emc.com>
Cc: 81attendees@ietf.org<mailto:81attendees@ietf.org>

Subject: Re: [81attendees] Exchanging money or using USD ?

Yes, it's getting much worse than it used to be.  One lesson I have learned is to get all the money I think I might need for the week at one time since the transaction fee charged by the bank whose ATM you are using seems to be per transaction and not a %.

Mary.
On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 1:53 PM, <david.black@emc.com<mailto:david.black@emc.com>> wrote:
It used to be the case that for bank-owned ATMs, the ATM-owning bank did not add an additional fee for transactions that involve conversion into a foreign currency.  That bank already gets a small cut because there's 1% hidden in the exchange rate if Visa or Master Card clears the foreign exchange transaction (this includes PLUS and Cirrus transactions).

That absence of fees appears to be going by the wayside, and thanks for the suggestion that BMO may not be charging ATM fees on US ATM cards.

Thanks,
--David

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Terry Davis [mailto:terry.davis@ijetonboard.com<mailto:terry.davis@ijetonboard.com>]
> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 2:37 PM
> To: John R. Levine; Black, David
> Cc: 81attendees@ietf.org<mailto:81attendees@ietf.org>
> Subject: RE: [81attendees] Exchanging money or using USD ?
>
> It appears that the Bank of Montreal didn't charge me a transaction fee and the exchange was right on!
>
> My bank back in Seattle though charged me a $1.00 for a foreign transaction.
>
> Take care
> Terry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John R. Levine [mailto:johnl@iecc.com<mailto:johnl@iecc.com>]
> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 10:34 AM
> To: david.black@emc.com<mailto:david.black@emc.com>
> Cc: Terry Davis; 81attendees@ietf.org<mailto:81attendees@ietf.org>
> Subject: Re: [81attendees] Exchanging money or using USD ?
>
> > Last month when I was in Victoria, BC, some Canadian ATMs had started to impose transaction fees for
> Canadian $ withdrawals via US ATM cards (at that time, HSBC did not, but I believe RBC did).  Does
> anyone have an update?
>
> It varies by your bank, the bank whose ATM you're usung and the network that connects them, so it's
> hard to predict.  If it's the same bank (HSBC US and HSBC CA or TD US and TD CA) there's no fee,
> beyond that, try it and see what it says.  There's only one HSBC branch in Quebec, not particularly
> close to the convention centre.
>
> Any Canadian bank will exchange US cash over the counter at a reasonable rate, and ATMs give a good
> rate too, give or take the transaction fee.
>
> Regards,
> John Levine, johnl@iecc.com<mailto:johnl@iecc.com>, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Please consider the
> environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly

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