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Post by jlptravelbug on Apr 26, 2007 17:50:54 GMT -5
Hi there -
Quick question - I am researching the best bank I should leave my money with in Canada for my European trip of 3 months. I have looked into the following:
I have TD currently and it's a $5.00 rate for every withdraw (as mentioned) I found that high
Vancity (credit union) I used to work at is $3.00 per transaction.
HSBC- Also $3.00 per transaction but they have global banks so if you find one it is inexpensive.
Scotiabank - Read previous posts and it seems ok, but the exchange rate is bad someone mentioned. Is this the case?
I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks in advance:)
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Post by Jules80 on Apr 30, 2007 7:15:46 GMT -5
hey - i use scotia and its great! nothing wrong with the exchange rate. you just have to use specific banks overseas that they have agreements with. otherwise you end up paying 5$/day. all their partner banks are listed on their website.
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Post by pointofnoreturn on Apr 30, 2007 8:35:59 GMT -5
I'm with Royal Bank and I heard that ScotiaBank is generally the best bank because it has partners over in Europe, as you said, but it's only in a few countries. But it's better than nothing.
I'm going to suck up the $5 transaction fee while I'm over there!
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rbrettg
Full Travel Member
Posts: 42
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Post by rbrettg on Apr 30, 2007 16:51:01 GMT -5
hey - i use scotia and its great! nothing wrong with the exchange rate. you just have to use specific banks overseas that they have agreements with. otherwise you end up paying 5$/day. all their partner banks are listed on their website. I cant seem to find their partners listed on their websites. how about helping me out please somebody. |
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Post by WillTravel on Apr 30, 2007 17:18:09 GMT -5
The exchange rate issue was that if you go to Scotia Bank and have a $0 fee, but an extra 2.5% added to the exchange rate, you may be worse off if you go to a bank (like TD, the last I checked) that has a $5 withdrawal fee, but 1% added to the exchange rate.
The equation is like this. Solve
0 + 1.025x > 5 + 1.01x
That means for x > $333.33 CAD, which means withdrawals of about 220 Euros or more, you are better off with the $5 fee.
In real life, I have to admit the difference is pretty slight!
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Post by Jules80 on Apr 30, 2007 21:37:15 GMT -5
if you go to travel in the drop down menu on the main page, its all there! took me about 30 seconds to find  www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID8040_LIDen,00.html |
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Post by pointofnoreturn on May 1, 2007 9:34:28 GMT -5
It may be a hassle to change banks for the sake of exchange rates/withdrawal fees... I would just minimize that issue by withdrawing a substantial amount of money every couple of days rather than every 1 or 2 days.
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rbrettg
Full Travel Member
Posts: 42
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Post by rbrettg on May 1, 2007 12:13:33 GMT -5
my bank is now scotiabank and i was jut wondering the fees. so it is like 2.5% + exchange rate for each withdrawl from ANY atm or just once that are for partners for scotiabank like deutsche and bnp paribas or whatever? what is the % or fees for a random atm in the mall or in the airport that is not with one of those companies?
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Post by WillTravel on May 1, 2007 14:35:07 GMT -5
This is the way it works, so far as I can see:
ScotiaBank's partner ATMs will charge you the 2.5%, but not the $5 fee, if you use those ATMs. If you don't, you will get some fee (quite possibly $5).
TD will charge you 1%, and a $5 fee, for any bank ATM.
If you use a non-bank ATM, you will be charged an additional fee by that ATM, which they are supposed to warn you about, in addition to the fee that your bank charges, plus the usual exchange rate of your bank (extra 1% or extra 2.5%).
So to summarize - avoid non-bank ATMs, if possible.
If you use ScotiaBank, use a partner ATM.
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Lyra
Full Travel Member
Posts: 36
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Post by Lyra on May 8, 2007 19:55:43 GMT -5
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Post by Eagle on May 8, 2007 23:39:15 GMT -5
I normally deal with Credit Unions rather than Banks, as I've found the level of service to be much better and the rates seem competitive. However, I can't recall what rates I've been paying for foreign ATM withdrawals?
I checked over some of the statements from my last trip, and trying to decipher the transactions was a bit difficult. Each ATM withdrawal took about five lines on the statement, but one thing that was consistent was a Cdn$2.00 "service charge" for each withdrawal. I'll have to check further to determine if there was a "foreign currency conversion charge" as well?
Probably something I should look into before my next trip!!!
Cheers!!!
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Post by WillTravel on May 9, 2007 1:13:47 GMT -5
That Lonely Planet link was very good. There's no longer any benefit at all to using Toronto Dominion, given they are now charging the 2.5% conversion rate also as of May 1.
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Post by Eagle on May 13, 2007 19:01:13 GMT -5
Follow-up note - I paid a visit to my Credit Union yesterday, and asked about "Foreign Currency Conversion Fees". I was told they do not charge ANY fees for this, which seems to be substantiated by my records. The only charge indicated on the statements from my trip last fall was a $2.00 charge for each ATM withdrawal (plus the currency exchange, of course). I'm not sure if this is the standard practise with all Credit Unions?
Of course, this could change in future so it's something I will be monitoring on an on-going basis.
Happy travels all!
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