This is a hidden fee. It's built into their exchange rate so you don't see it on your statement.

The exchange rate has always been 1% above the Interbank rate so I don't think that's it.

QL

I just opened an account with Umbrellabank.com and must say I'm disappointed. Reading through Umbrellabank's terms and conditions I see listed under "Other Services/Fees":

International ATM withdrawal -- $6.50 Bank Service Charge

That's horrid. I would terminate my relationship with them immediately.

I bank with First IB (www.firstib.com), and I've never been hit with any surcharges over 1% of the exchange rate when pulling money out in Singapore, Tokyo, London, Rome, Canada, and others countries.

What?!

I was in England last week, and got a rate of 1.8136 USD/GBP at the ATM for a 100GBP withdrawal. The next day my fiance's MBNA Visa credit card gave her a rate of 1.8015 on a big purchase (250GBP) and 1.8155 on a small purchase (29GBP), so I certainly wasn't charged a stinkin' $6.50 bank service charge. It was essentially the same market rate + 1% as MBNA.

So I called Umbrella and asked about it, because as the person who referred you I feel pretty bad if it turns out to be a bum deal (I know I'd be annoyed if I was in your shoes). The rep I spoke with said he sees nothing about a $6.50 fee anywhere in the T&C. The only charge he was aware of is the 1% Visa transaction fee.

You are looking at the T&C for the Umbrellabank.com Visa Debit card, right? The rep I spoke to suggested you call and let them know where in the T&C you saw the $6.50 fee. I'd be curious to know myself, just in case this is some new thing that I'm going to get nailed with next time I go overseas, but the rep seemed to be pretty confident that there shouldn't be a fee.

Please keep us posted on this!

The charge may well have come from the European bank which hosted the ATM. That is very common there.

The "International ATM withdrawal -- $6.50 Bank Service Charge" is listed in the "Other Services/Fees" section of the paper version of the "Understanding your Deposit Account, Terms and Condititions, Truth in Savings" document dated March 2, 2002 sent out in the new account Welcome Kit I received yesterday. The International ATM fee is listed between the "Replacement(Lost) ATM Card" fee and the "Deposited Items returned unpaid" fee.

I didn't see the international ATM fee when originally signing up because it doesn't appear in the online version of the Truth in Savings document:

http://www.umbrellabank.com/disclosu...th_savings.asp

However the fee is listed in what they send you. One wonders why they mail you notice of different terms and conditions than those they promote on their site. Banks typically slip new and higher fees by burying them in the T&Cs they mail out to you as "notice", so I actually read them.

Just an update on Umbrella. My Umbrella Visa Debit card that came with my Basic Interest Checking account is still not charging me a fee for foreign ATM access. I withdrew 30 euros from an ATM in AMS and 150 shekels from an ATM in TLV on 11/4, and was charged almost exactly 1% above the rates listed that day on xe.com. So definitely no $6.50 fee. For me at least. YMMV, however, and I'd still be curious to hear about any experiences you have, Quokka.

E*Trade Bank
 

E*Trade bank tells me that there is no fee from them for withdrawal from any ATM worldwide. I will test this in Thailand and Vietnam in January. I am told that have good miles offers, but the only ones I have found so far are for their brokerage accounts.

Bank One going to 3%
 

I just got a notice re my Bank One card & the Bank One/Chase merger. Buried in the fine print is the news that the foreign transactions rate will be changing to 3%. One more reason to use my MBNA card!

MBNA Only
 

On my recent trip to Spain, I stuck with Amtrak MBNA exclusively, earning 33% fewer HHonors points than Hilton AmEx, but saving money overall. Let's hope MBNA continues to be reasonable, else it's a credit union card. Please report any MBNA changes here!