ABM(ATM) Exchange Rates

Can anyone provide insight to the exchange rate offered at the ABM(ATM) in France to purchase euros?

Is it significantly better than purchasing EUR cash at home (Canada).

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The usual advice seems to be to use ATMs. The exchange rates are quite good compared to other sources of exchanges and the charges depend on those imposed by your own bank. It also depends on the convenience of getting foreign exchange from your own bank - know that in parts of North America this is not as straightforward as we are used to in Britain.

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ATM in France do not charge a %26quot;user%26quot; fee. You just put in your ATM card, pin, and off you go. They are in several languages and you punch in the language you want. Put in how many euros you want and that%26#39;s it. BUT it is your bank that charges the ATM fee, it is your bank who will convert the euros into your currency on your bank statement, not the French bank. I think you could say they use the current exchange rate like now it is running about $1.40 for U.S. so they would charge like that for what the Canadian rate would be. And maybe your bank will also charge a conversion fee. For about a year now our bank charges the conversion fee in addition to everything else. (U.S. bank system)

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You should check with your bank on whether there are special foreign transaction fees. For examples, Citibank recently added a significant transaction fee on ATM cards so I stopped using that in Europe and only used my Wells Fargo card which gave the same exchange rate without a transaction fee.

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I shall not say that ATMs in France do not charge a fee. I shall say that bank or post office ATMs do not charge a fee and I am not going to experiment with other types. I once used an ATM at Credit Agricole which added fees I could not explain.

The next step in the withdrawal process is the network fee. Cirrus/Pulse charge 1% on all international transactions. This fee applies to almost all of us (I%26#39;m thinking of the BA/BNP exception).

The final element is what your home town bank will charge you for out of network withdrawals. Some charge nothing, some charge a lot. The only way to know for sure is to find someone at your bank who really knows and ask (sometimes this is almost impossible).

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RBM Check with your bank.

I bank with Scotiabank that there are no %26quot;fees%26quot; just the exchange rate when using a BNP Paribas machine. I have never had a problem trying to find one within a short walking distance

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Thanks everyone.

I%26#39;ve been saving euros in a HSBC account but haven%26#39;t been getting the best rate. I%26#39;ll convert the rest while I%26#39;m in Europe. I%26#39;ll check which banks has no fees here and open an account.

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Check out http://www.everbank.com if you are moving money from USD to Euros. They even have free international wire transfers (though receiving bank might charge).