ATM fee query for Euro withdrawals

9wizard9

I've got a couple of quick questions that I'm hoping someone knows the answer to:
I'm heading off to France in a couple of days, and was planning to use my Halifax Clarity Card to withdraw Euros from ATMs whilst abroad.

I understand that the exchange uses the Mastercard rate, and all I'll pay is the 12.9% cash advance interest, but I was just wondering if the French ATMs might charge a fee for using this card (similar to the independent ATMs in pubs, motorway services etc). Specifically I'll be planning to use an ATM at Chambery airport, but will probably rethink this if they're going to charge me a fee.

I was also hoping to get hold of a few Euros before I go just so I've got some cash. Unfortunately I've left it too late to order in advance from anywhere (not very MSE I know!), so I'm probably stuck with Birmingham airport being my first opportunity to get any. Does anyone know whether I'd be able to withdraw Euros from one of the multi-currency ATMs at the airport using my Clarity card and still get the Mastercard exchange rate? Or do they treat it as a Sterling transaction and charge their own (expensive) exchange rate?

Cheers for any help - I'll try to be more organised next time!

NFH

The EUR cash machines in the UK that charge your card issuer in EUR are Ulster Bank, Raphaels Bank and Thomas Cook. Avoid HSBC and M&S who convert the withdrawn EUR amount to GBP at a poor rate and then charge your card issuer in GBP.

French cash machines don't charge their own fees in my experience.

Neil49

Unless you need euro to spend on the flight I would wait until you land and use an atm at the French airport to get your first lot of euro. Purchasing at a UK airport is just about the worst thing you can do in terms of exchange rate.

Biggles

Neil49 wrote: »

Unless you need euro to spend on the flight I would wait until you land and use an atm at the French airport to get your first lot of euro. Purchasing at a UK airport is just about the worst thing you can do in terms of exchange rate.

Spot on. There's always an ATM nearby when you land, even at the smallest airport, and I have yet to encounter one that makes a charge (even if it did, it would be a lower charge than buying currency in the UK).

System

NFH wrote: »

The EUR cash machines in the UK that charge your card issuer in EUR are Ulster Bank, Raphaels Bank and Thomas Cook.

In the last week, I have found that the Raphaels Bank "euro or GBP" machines at Thomas Cook Great Russell Street, and at Paddington station, attempt to charge you in GBP if you select a withdrawal in EUR. And at a rapacious rate, something like £92 to deliver 100 EUR. To be fair, the machine does tell you what the GBP charge will be, and gives you a chance to cancel the transaction. This makes these machines useless for people holding cards issued in euroland: they get ripped off both by Raphaels Bank and their bank, and end up getting debited €125 or so for a withdrawal of €100.

OTOH, the NatWest/Ulster euro machine in Bishopsgate still debits your card in EUR when you withdraw EUR. In other words, the NatWest machine behaves like a machine in Dublin or Paris. If your card is in GBP, you get ripped off only once, by your bank.

Can forum readers report any other ATMs in the UK which debit in EUR?

NFH

YoungNick wrote: »

In the last week, I have found that the Raphaels Bank "euro or GBP" machines at Thomas Cook Great Russell Street, and at Paddington station, attempt to charge you in GBP if you select a withdrawal in EUR. And at a rapacious rate, something like £92 to deliver 100 EUR. To be fair, the machine does tell you what the GBP charge will be, and gives you a chance to cancel the transaction. This makes these machines useless for people holding cards issued in euroland: they get ripped off both by Raphaels Bank and their bank, and end up getting debited €125 or so for a withdrawal of €100.

They must have changed this then, as I have withdrawn from Raphaels Bank (in One New Change) and Thomas Cook (Marble Arch) using a UK-issued EUR-denominated Visa card at face value. Did the machine publish an exchange rate before completing the transaction? I'll try with my German-issued DKB visa card next time.

System

NFH wrote: »

Did the machine publish an exchange rate before completing the transaction?

Yes, the screen showed something like

€100 at 1.08xx = GBP92.pp CONFIRM>
CANCEL >

I was using a Citibank debit card, at the time linked to my Citibank euro account. Possibly the Raphaels Bank machine detected from the leading digits of the card number that it is UK-issued? Will be interested to hear what happens with your German-issued card.

NFH

YoungNick wrote: »

Will be interested to hear what happens with your German-issued card.

I tried it this week. I used my DKB Visa card in one of Raphaels Bank's three machines in One New Change and withdrew €20. There was no indication of an exchange rate or any conversion, and my account was subsequently debited by exactly €20 without any fees or conversion.