Trip to foreign ATM
May Cost More
By JENNIFER SARANOW
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
September 30, 2004; Page D2
...Bank of America Corp. plans in November to up the fee it charges customers to use most automated teller machines abroad by more than 50% to $5, from $3. Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the U.S. with the biggest network of ATMs in the country. In June, Citibank, a unit of Citigroup Inc., raised its withdrawal fee at non-Citibank ATMs to $1.50 from $1 for some accounts, affecting both transactions here and abroad.
...Many banks already have high rates for ATM withdrawals abroad, taking into account the additional currency-exchange fees. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., for example, charges customers who take money out in foreign countries $3 plus an additional 2% of the withdrawal to cover conversion costs. At U.S. Bancorp, foreign withdrawals cost $1.50 plus a 3% exchange fee. Wachovia Corp. charges $2 to withdraw money abroad, while Wells Fargo & Co. charges as much as $3 outside the U.S.
...Add the ATM fees that some foreign banks charge noncustomers, and travelers could be seeing much higher fees abroad than here. The average rate banks charge their own customers for using ATMs they don't own in the U.S. is $1.32, according to BankRate.com. Deutsche Bank AG, for instance, charges some noncustomers between ?5 and ?8 ($6 to $10) to use its ATMs.
The good news is that for some of the ATM fees, not all customers will be affected. And there are ways to avoid the higher fees from your own bank when you travel abroad.
One option is to inquire at your bank if it has sister or brother banks abroad. Bank of America, for example, doesn't charge any fees at all if customers use a machine in its "Global ATM Alliance," a three-year-old partnership that allows customers to make cash withdrawals free at each other's ATMs.
Today, Bank of America customers have access to 14,000 machines at six foreign banks in about nine countries, including machines of Barclays PLC in the United Kingdom, BNP Paribas in France and Santander Serfin in Mexico. Those foreign machines are on top of the 16,000 ATMs that Bank of America has in the U.S. For customers who don't use one of the Alliance ATMs, Bank of America's new $5 fee will start to take effect Nov. 5.
Find Your Bank's ATM
Many banks in the U.S. also have their own ATMs located in foreign countries that can be accessed without a fee. Citibank, for example, has about 7,200 ATMs outside the U.S. in approximately 50 countries. In the U.S., including Puerto Rico, Citibank has 2,575 ATMs.
In addition, Citibank's new fee, which also affects withdrawals in the U.S., doesn't affect customers who reach certain account requirements. For example, if someone has "The Citibank Account" with credit and deposits of $6,000 or more, they aren't charged a non-Citibank ATM fee. This is also true for other account types, including "Everything Counts Account" and "CitiGold."
Meanwhile, customers of HSBC Holding PLC's HSBC Bank USA will be able to find HSBC ATMs abroad that are free to use in 38 countries, including Australia, the U.K. and India. In the seven other countries where HSBC ATMs are located, HSBC Bank USA customers are charged a $1 fee. Exceptions are Premier or ExtraVantage customers.
Another cheaper option may be to get Cash Back when using a debit card to purchase items abroad since many foreign merchants now offer that service. Finally, you can switch to a U.S. bank that doesn't charge withdrawal fees here or abroad. Commerce Bank, a unit of Commerce Bancorp, is an example.
