ATM s in Canada

nearlyrich

My daughter is going to Canada soon, she will be travelling to all the major cities and she is trying to decide how to take her money.

Her RBS debit card has the Cirrus symbol on it, she doesn't have a credit card yet as she is only just 18.

Anyone familiar with availability of ATMs, charges etc in Canada ?

pin

http://www.mastercard.com/atmlocator/index.jsp

This is the Mastercard/Cirrus ATM locator, should help in finding ATM avaiability in the places your daughter is visiting Canada.

In terms of charges, best bet would be ask RBS. I think, but should double check with RBS, it is 2.65% + 2.25% up to a maximum of £4:
http://www.rbs.co.uk/Personal_Finances/Travel_and_International_Payments/Debit_Cards/default.htm

Should add when I was in Toronto I had no problems getting cash out from ATM machines with my Nationwide card.

Sobraon

Hi just back from Vancouver and the Nationwide debit/visa card worked fine - this is a very good (low cost) card for withdrawing foreign currency. Might be an idea to open a Nationwide account and have her as a second card holder? Bank ATMs seem easier to find than in the US which is good as the majority of US machines charge a commission.

grumbler

Sobraon wrote:

Might be an idea to open a Nationwide account and have her as a second card holder?

'Second card holder' term applies only to credit cards. For debit cards you need to open a joint account.
She can apply for Nationwide flexaccount with a cash card. It is Cirrus too and is safer to use and easier to get than full debit card. Otherwise you can apply for joint flexaccount (with debit or cash cards) or for a single account on your name with a cashcard. It is safe to give your cashcard to your doughter so that she can use it abroad.
For withdrawing money there is no difference between Nationwide debit and cash card (besides that debit card is Visa) - no any fees.
BTW RBS charges are 2.65%+(2.25%, max £4):
http://www.rbs.co.uk/Personal_Finances/Travel_and_International_Payments/Debit_Cards/default.htm

P.S. See also:

Withdrawing cash abroad

Getting cash in USA with Nationwide Cards

I need a MASTERCARD Credit card

Altarf

nearlyrich wrote:

Anyone familiar with availability of ATMs, charges etc in Canada ?

One problem I found the last time I was in Canada, was that some machines only took either VISA or Mastercard, not both like the vast majority of machines in Europe. So if you had the 'wrong' sort of card you were out of luck.

aardvark0

My experience in Canada has been that some machines accept cirrus and some don't. This is not a problem if you have a choice of ATM's around your local area, but we got caught out once at an airport where there was only type of ATM, and it didn't accept Cirrus.

As for charges, I usually expect a charge of C$1.50 from the ATM provider (regardless of how much you take out) plus whatever charge my bank adds on - I think it is something like the minimum of 1.5% or £1.50 - see your own bank for details. I believe the ATM charge counts as part of your withdrawl in terms of your bank charging you.

Big banks or small ATM's in garages - all seemed to charge $1.50