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No! Some are indeed. Especially in Airport. But almost every country has, if you look for them, places with zero commission. Also, a lot of places around the w

No! Some are indeed. Especially in Airport. But almost every country has, if you look for them, places with zero commission. Also, a lot of places around the world (where I go, especially street food type places) don't accept cards. Taking local money out of bank machines is a huge rip off. Huge fees and bad exchange rates

pxx 4y ago
But that's literally not the case. There are ATM cards that reimburse you for fees and also give you great exchange rates. Again, this is assuming that there isn't some sort of black market for exchange that's causing published rates to diverge from real rates, but that's only the case in relatively few countries.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
iLoveOncall 4y ago
Yeah so zero commission doesn't mean that the exchange rate is the real one.
Mikeb85 4y ago
Zero commission is laughable because they give you a shit exchange rate. That's literally the scam.
Kranar 4y ago
>But almost every country has, if you look for them, places with zero commission. Oh man this is hilarious. Places with zero commission end up charging the absolute worst exchange rates. You're better off paying a small commission/fee and getting a good exchange rate instead of those zero commission places that don't charge a fee and fleece you with a crappy exchange rate.
- blacklion 4y ago
  Did you been in Myanmar or Laos, for example? Did you exchange money in Cambodia? Rural Vietnam? Armenia or Georgia, maybe? Serbia or BiH? I've been in all these countries (many times in some of them) and always, always exchange of cash was much better than exchange rate and ATM commissions for any bank of my native country. Maybe, USA banks are better, but not everybody live in USA and has USA credit card.
  - Kranar 4y ago
    The best option for me as a Canadian who has travelled to some (not all) of the places you listed, is to do the exchange in your home country and bring plenty of cash with you. If you're going to Vietnam, you bring VND with you that you acquired from your home bank. Going to Morocco, bring MAD with you.
    - blacklion 4y ago
      Good to be Canadian, I suppose. Never see any such currencies in my local exchanges. Maybe, there are some banks where you could ORDER such currency as VND or MMK, but I'm afraid, rate will be disastrous as it will be very special order.
  - seattle_spring 4y ago
    I’m honestly confused. The ATM doesn’t choose the exchange rate, your bank does. I use my own bank’s ATM card to pull out cash in foreign countries and it’s always the correct exchange rate, and always the same as using a credit card (which OP says is a good rate?).
    - oasisbob 4y ago
      Most people agree the best rates are obtained if the transaction is done in local currency with the network providing the conversion. However, some ATMs and credit card terminals give the option to either send the transaction to the network in local currency, or the cardholders currency. If you choose to let the terminal submit in your currency, you're going to get that conversion rate instead. I don't understand the advice here either. It's not hard (at least as someone in the US) to find a card offering no foreign transaction fees, and I thought everyone agreed that the card network conversion rates are about the best you're going to find as traveller. ATM fees can sometimes be unavoidable, but sometimes even finding a functional ATM was a blessing, so ...

pxx 4y ago

But that's literally not the case. There are ATM cards that reimburse you for fees and also give you great exchange rates. Again, this is assuming that there isn't some sort of black market for exchange that's causing published rates to diverge from real rates, but that's only the case in relatively few countries.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

iLoveOncall 4y ago

Yeah so zero commission doesn't mean that the exchange rate is the real one.

Mikeb85 4y ago

Zero commission is laughable because they give you a shit exchange rate. That's literally the scam.

Kranar 4y ago

>But almost every country has, if you look for them, places with zero commission. Oh man this is hilarious. Places with zero commission end up charging the absolute worst exchange rates. You're better off paying a small commission/fee and getting a good exchange rate instead of those zero commission places that don't charge a fee and fleece you with a crappy exchange rate.

blacklion 4y ago
Did you been in Myanmar or Laos, for example? Did you exchange money in Cambodia? Rural Vietnam? Armenia or Georgia, maybe? Serbia or BiH? I've been in all these countries (many times in some of them) and always, always exchange of cash was much better than exchange rate and ATM commissions for any bank of my native country. Maybe, USA banks are better, but not everybody live in USA and has USA credit card.
- Kranar 4y ago
  The best option for me as a Canadian who has travelled to some (not all) of the places you listed, is to do the exchange in your home country and bring plenty of cash with you. If you're going to Vietnam, you bring VND with you that you acquired from your home bank. Going to Morocco, bring MAD with you.
  - blacklion 4y ago
    Good to be Canadian, I suppose. Never see any such currencies in my local exchanges. Maybe, there are some banks where you could ORDER such currency as VND or MMK, but I'm afraid, rate will be disastrous as it will be very special order.
- seattle_spring 4y ago
  I’m honestly confused. The ATM doesn’t choose the exchange rate, your bank does. I use my own bank’s ATM card to pull out cash in foreign countries and it’s always the correct exchange rate, and always the same as using a credit card (which OP says is a good rate?).
  - oasisbob 4y ago
    Most people agree the best rates are obtained if the transaction is done in local currency with the network providing the conversion. However, some ATMs and credit card terminals give the option to either send the transaction to the network in local currency, or the cardholders currency. If you choose to let the terminal submit in your currency, you're going to get that conversion rate instead. I don't understand the advice here either. It's not hard (at least as someone in the US) to find a card offering no foreign transaction fees, and I thought everyone agreed that the card network conversion rates are about the best you're going to find as traveller. ATM fees can sometimes be unavoidable, but sometimes even finding a functional ATM was a blessing, so ...