interesting that they have chosen to add X% on all foreign transactions (even in US$) rather than X% on foreign currency transactions.

No, I scheduled an online payment at Cap1's own site. The funding account has been established for awhile. I checked again today and still couldn't find a trace of that by logging into my funding account's website.

I have a Bank of Internet ATM card. When I use it in the UK, I have noticed BofI refunding several dollars to me for each transaction to me, even through UK banks don't charge fees to use their ATMs. After some investigation, I discovered that the currency exchange is being done by the UK bank, not BofI. The exchange "rate" is consistently the interbank rate, but there is a conversion fee per transaction of $3-$4 regardless of the size of withdrawal, and that's what BofI has been refunding. That is a significant fee, especially for smaller withdrawals (BofI limit is $200 per withdrawal, so that's a minimum of 1.5% - 2%, and up to 20% if I withdraw ten pounds/~twenty dollars). In reading the posts on this subject, I notice many people talking about the "0% forex fees" of various USA banks. My experience has shown that is irrelevant, because it is the foreign bank doing the currency conversion, not the USA bank. Also, once I have exhausted the $8 per month that BofI refunds, there is no itemisation of future conversion fees for the rest of the month, and they are simply merged into the withdrawal amount debited from my account. Then, the only way to "reveal" that charge is to compare the interbank rate for that day with the amount actually debited from my account. The Wiki talks about forex fees for credit transactions, but I don't see any mention of that sort of fee I experienced for debit transactions, which I think is a significant omission from the Wiki. I would be very interested to hear other's comments about this.

I can confirm Bank of America's policies here.

They run that network of ATMs (I'll call them In-Network) that include Barclays, BNP Paribas, Westpac, etc. Using In-Network ATMs, you pay no per-transaction fee and overall 1% over interbank rate for cash. This is a pretty decent deal.

For Out-of-Network ATMs, you'll pay the USD $5 on each transaction and a fee of at least 1% (it's seemed higher in some cases for some reason). Note that despite the email below, the % fee is not broken out but included as a single line item for the transaction (though the $5 fee is a separate line item).

ATM fees seem to be going up to. Wachovia charges me $3, and even my credit union just went up from $0.50 to $0.75 per transaction. Wachovia also charges a 2% conversion fee and the credit union just started a 1% conversion fee on ATM transactions.

I, to am finding cash conversion a better option, and since I am based overseas and get paid in US$ (a real bummer!), I have to change money regularly. Other than late at night or on Sunday, I can find independent exchanges houses locally which will buy dollars for around 0.6% less than the interbank midmarket rate. In comparision the local banks which operate ATM's are the ones who actually make the exchange, and do so at the rate of their own exchange desk, which is typically about 1.5% less than the interbank midmarket rate.

The comparision then is:

Wachovia:
local bank currency exchange rate for ATM - 1.5%
Wachovia add on conversion fee - 2.0%
Wachovia ATM use fee - $3. (a bit over 1% of maximum transaction)
total cost - 4.5%+ of interbank midmarket rate

Credit Union:
local bank currency exchange rate for ATM - 1.5%
CU add on conversion fee - 1.0%
CU ATM use fee - $0.75 ( about 0.35% of maximum transaction)
total cost - 2.85%+ of interbank midmarket rate

local exchange house:
exchange rate 0.60% of interbank midmarket rate
(no commission)

I have already once decreased the deposit to Wachovia, and increased the CU deposit and the amount paid to me in dollars in the field. Next time I am in the home office I will further increase the portion paid to me in dollars in the field, as ATM's become less attractive all the time.

I know that cash was better in Turkey years ago, and in Vietnam more recently. In which overseas country are you located?

Thanks for posting. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I just came across this. Wonder if it is true?

don't know how to edit the wiki, but maybe themicah or another user can do it for me. HSBC doesn't charge any flat fees above the 3% forex fee for atm withdrawals for both it's online payment and online savings accounts.

http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/persona...oao_disc#disc3

the eft fee list was updated 11/07, so it's the most recent copy. for those two online accounts, the fee should be a flat 3%.

They advertise unlimited ATM fee refund, and supposedly only charges 1% of the network fee.

The catch is, in order to have this checking account, you must also open a Schwab One brokerage account.

We have Fidelity brokerage account but from what I research - the MySmartCash (Fido's response to Schwab's checking account) does not work as flawlessly as Schwab's, mainly because Fido does not own a bank and everything going thru 3rd party banks (different functions go to different banks!) Schwab has its own bank at Reno, NV, thus their operation is better.

Would love to hear anyone who has actual experiences using Schwab checking account ATM card to do withdrawal overseas.

TIA!

I know there are no fees for Online Payment accounts, but are you sure about Online Savings accounts? I have an Online Savings account from HSBC, and I know they used to charge a per-withdrawal fee even when using their own domestic ATMs. I don't recall seeing anything that changed, although I might have just missed it since I've never used my HSBC ATM card.

I have an HSBC online savings account. There are no fees for using domestic HSBC ATMS.

On the wiki it says that the JCB card charges 0%...but doesn't this (from their terms and disclosures) indicate they charge 1.1%? Or is that something else?

Hi have a Schwab bank ATM card and use it frequently in Brasil and the U.S. While the fee return works flawlessly for U.S. transactions, it does NOT work for Brasil. I have to call them up to get my ATM fees back, which they then credit without a problem. They've called this a glitch in their software.

I also use a Capital One credit card in Brasil and they charge no exchange fees and, as I've tested them charging identical amounts on their and another card the same day, the identical exchange rate.

I have used the Schwab Bank ATM card extensively in the US and Germany. In the US, ATM refunds have always been paid into my account at the end of each month. In Germany, the ATMs I used did not impose any fees of their own. The exchange rate for these transactions appears to have been interbank + 0% (according to oanda.com)! I confirmed this verbally with a Schwab CS agent, who insisted they do not add even the common 1% for overseas ATM withdrawals.

When I opened my Schwab Bank checking account, I also opened a Schwab One brokerage account, did not fund it, and have ignored it ever since. There are no fees for that account.

The Schwab Bank account can also come with an overdraft line of credit, which has no transaction fees and an interest rate of 10.25% as of March 1. Rather convenient if you miscalculate the amount of cash you may need for a trip, etc.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the account.