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Exchange rate when using ATMs


Tennis Bum

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Can someone tell me why the spread is so great between what Google says is the exchange rate, and what the various banks give me when I use my US debit card to withdraw money? For example today the "official" rate should convert 8000 pesos to $403, but Scotia Bank charged me $453 to withdraw that amount.  The other banks are no better. 

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Google doesn't do currency exchange. The rates you might find are the "official" of one country for currency or are based on millions of dollars.

Here is where you will find the rate each day. As posted earlier if a screen appears asking to accept the dynamic rate the local bank uses hit DECLINE and then you will receive  either the Visa or MC exchange rate.  I have been told that BBVA only uses the dynamic rate so I would avoid their ATMs

If your bank charges an exchange fee (very common 1%) don't forget to enter it. 

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html/

If you used a Mastercard today with a 1% charge from your bank $8000mxp would be quoted  $406.52 US + the ATM fee

If you used a Visa card with a 1% charge from your bank $8000mxp would be quoted $407.34 US + the ATM fee

Scotia Bank's posted rate today is 18.2mxp for a dollar for an inbank exchange in cash. Far less than the rate Visa and MC are giving 

So you must have accepted the banks dynamic rate.

 

 

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Sneaky AND deceitful!!!  By the way MostlyLost talks about Visa card with 1% exchange rate.  Not in MY world!!! lucky to get 3.25%.

Get in the habit of checking www.oanda.com for current spot as well as 1-2-3-4% rates going both ways.... to or from pesos.... to have a better idea what you can expect at the machine.

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35 minutes ago, Natasha said:

Sneaky AND deceitful!!!  By the way MostlyLost talks about Visa card with 1% exchange rate.  Not in MY world!!! lucky to get 3.25%.

Get in the habit of checking www.oanda.com for current spot as well as 1-2-3-4% rates going both ways.... to or from pesos.... to have a better idea what you can expect at the machine.

I have both a MC debit card with Etrade, and a Visa debit card with Fidelity. Both charge 1% foreign exchange rate. Capitol one is 0%

If your bank is charging 3.25% foreign exchange fee than you could change to an bank that offers better such as Ally Bank which is FDIC insured and only does business on-line. Their fee is 1%

Rather than checking 3rd party websites the most accurate way to know what to expect is using Visa and Mastercard's calculator because they will be doing the actual transaction.  

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html/

 

 

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55 minutes ago, ibarra said:

We have JPMorgan ( Chase) Visa and are charged a little over 3% foreign transaction fee plus $5.00u.s. for using a non Chase ATM.

Why would you pay that???  I pay zero fees, as most people lakeside do. If you pay those fees, either you have money to throw away, or you have not done your homework before coming here.

 

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So true. My ATM fees worldwide are returned by my banks.  The thing is to choose a bank that either has no branches or very few branches and none of their own ATM's .

Ally Bank, Schwab, Etrade, Fidelity, and many credit unions in the US offer ATM refunds, and 1% international exchange fees.  Some are unlimited fee refunds, some have a monthly limit.

https://financebuzz.com/no-international-atm-fees

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On 7/15/2021 at 3:29 AM, gringohombre said:

Wow...learn something every day. I always click ACCEPT the conversion rate since I thought that this was just confirming it with them and if I declined the transaction would be also.

Juts to be clear for all.... you must accept the first thing offered... which is the cost they are charging for your use of that ATM.  It's the second one you must reject... where they actually  you figures re: what their conversion rate will be.   Usually "decline" button is on the bottom left

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Each to his/her own. I am grateful for the use of ATM's here in Mexico since there weren't any when we moved down. Standing in line at a bank to get money is a waste of my time. Those machines and their operating costs ain't cheap either. And, do I really want to change banks when EVERYTHING is set up electronically in the bank that I've been dealing with since I was 28 years old? Nope. I am willing to pay the $3.00 Canadian for each withdrawal... especially seeing as how there are no other monthly banking charges on my account. YMMV.

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46 minutes ago, Ferret said:

Each to his/her own. I am grateful for the use of ATM's here in Mexico since there weren't any when we moved down. Standing in line at a bank to get money is a waste of my time. Those machines and their operating costs ain't cheap either. And, do I really want to change banks when EVERYTHING is set up electronically in the bank that I've been dealing with since I was 28 years old? Nope. I am willing to pay the $3.00 Canadian for each withdrawal... especially seeing as how there are no other monthly banking charges on my account. YMMV.

Getting cash at Intercam from a real person, has been quicker than when we used the Scotia ATM.

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I have not had any success with the one Scotia atm either. I bank with Toronto Dominion and my two favourite ATM's are the HSBC at the Laguna Mall or at Multiva. They both have multiple machines and occasionally are out of money but that's usually my fault for trying on a weekend. I like my money in Canada and I like my rut.

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2 hours ago, Ferret said:

I have not had any success with the one Scotia atm either. I bank with Toronto Dominion and my two favourite ATM's are the HSBC at the Laguna Mall or at Multiva. They both have multiple machines and occasionally are out of money but that's usually my fault for trying on a weekend. I like my money in Canada and I like my rut.

Most of our money is in Canada and it's dang handy to have some here too which is where we spend most of it. I usually move some down via cheque when the Canbuck is doing well. In all the years at Intercam the cash delivery to them has only been late twice. We only go there once or twice a month unless we have a big buck project on the go. Used to have to go to that crappy ATM a lot more per month. Real handy to have cheques and a debit card from them too.

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On 7/16/2021 at 9:09 AM, Natasha said:

Juts to be clear for all.... you must accept the first thing offered... which is the cost they are charging for your use of that ATM.  It's the second one you must reject... where they actually  you figures re: what their conversion rate will be.   Usually "decline" button is on the bottom left

So when you "decline", what happens next? Do you get a second choice for another and better conversion rate? 

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When they 'suggest' a rate, they show one the rate they are offering. If one hits the 'Decline' button on that low rate, which is always a much worse rate, the ATM moves on to the daily "VISA" rate. I *think* that one has to answer one more question unrelated to the rate to finally get their pesos. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, gringohombre said:

So when you "decline", what happens next? Do you get a second choice for another and better conversion rate? 

When you hit decline the ATM automatically processes your withdrawal using either Mastercard or Visas exchange rate which you can check online before you go to the ATM. 

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As  much as this concept has been discussed here on this Board, I am really surprised there are still people that are not aware of the process or do not understand it. Go figure !

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3 hours ago, Jim Bowie said:

As  much as this concept has been discussed here on this Board, I am really surprised there are still people that are not aware of the process or do not understand it. Go figure !

Sn. Bowie, I bow down to your superior intelligence and knowledge of everything...TAKE A HIKE!!!

Quite a while ago I discovered how to create currency transfers from my US bank to my Mexican bank, so I rarely use ATM's and this notice was new with the one that I occasionally use. This board was created for mutual information sharing...not people like you trying to boost your ego!!!

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