Halifax / Lloyds £1.50 FX Counter Withdrawal Fee

miller

Just seen mention of a £1.50 foreign exchange fee when withdrawing cash on the back of a .pdf statement. I remember these charges a long time ago and as I recall they were levied by Visa - some banks used to absorb the fee and others passed it on. Has it made a comeback?

eskbanker

https://www.lloydsbank.com/travel/debit-card-abroad.html includes:

We will also charge you a foreign currency cash fee of £1.50 for each withdrawal, except for withdrawals of Euro inside the EEA where you will not be charged a foreign currency cash fee.

but that same wording is used in archived copies of the page as far back as 2020, so not sure it's been away and come back?

https://web.archive.org/web/20200805111541/https://www.lloydsbank.com/travel/debit-card-abroad.html

miller

I have used my Halifax debit card, albeit not recently (pre-2020), to withdraw foreign currency from a bureau de change and wasn't charged a fee. Maybe I've just not noticed the wording on the statement.

WillPS

miller said:

I have used my Halifax debit card, albeit not recently (pre-2020), to withdraw foreign currency from a bureau de change and wasn't charged a fee. Maybe I've just not noticed the wording on the statement.

Bureax de Change will charge your card in your chosen currency (GBP, presumably). As well as commission (if charged), their money is made on the arbitrage between what they charge you (in your currency) and what they can actually buy it for or have already bought it for.

tryin

There are plenty of free accounts or credit cards with free withdrawals abroad, pity to waste money on that