Are there ATM fee shenanigans in France w.r.t non-EU cards or is my bank playing games with the FX rate?
Are there ATM fee shenanigans in France w.r.t non-EU cards or is my bank playing games with the FX rate?
EU-based ATMs tend to charge a fee of ~€4—6 on non-EU cards. I’m fine with that because my bank rebates those fees anyway. However something seems off with some French ATMs.
France has a reputation for having the highest banking fees in Europe and their ATMs seem consistent with that reputation. Some French ATMs charge €6 and that gets printed on the ATM receipt. As expected my bank sees the fee on their side in that case and they credit it back to me -- so no problem there. But then other ATMs in France do not print any fee on the receipt. Consequently my bank sees no fee on the transaction so they rebate nothing back to me. Are those ATMs reeaaally giving up the opportunity to charge a fee to non-EU cards? Certainly no Dutch ATMs ever pass up that opportunity. When calculating the xe.com rate of that day and comparing to the money drawn from my bank account, there is a discrepancy of ~$5.50 USD.
So it looks like the ATM is adding their fee into the euro amount. E.g. I pull out €400 & decline DCC, and the ATM prints a receipt showing €400 but then draws something like €405. In principle it should be evident from the bank statement. But my bank lacks transparency and omits from the statement the euro amount and also withholds the exchange rate they applied (which the contract says is the straight interbank rate with 0% markup).
I see two possible theories here:
- my bank’s so called fee-free FX rate is really ~1%; OR
- the French ATMs add the fee to the amount charged and hiding the fee. They do not benefit from it but could be sloppy programming. Maybe they think it does not matter because they are still charging whatever the customer agrees to anyway.
While I struggle to believe that 3 different French ATMs would pass up the chance to take a fee, I ran the numbers on a transaction that actually does transparently take a fee and result in a rebate. I still paid almost 1% more than the xe.com rate.
All fees must be disclosed on the ATM screen by law. But my memory is not so reliable.
I found this page, snipped what seems to be the section you are asking. Could this be different types of fees are being applied?
Fees and Charges for Foreign Cards
Using a foreign bank card at ATMs in France can incur various fees, which are essential to understand for effective financial management. This section outlines the common types of fees and offers tips to minimize them.
Types of Fees
- Foreign Transaction Fees: Your home bank may charge a fee for using your card internationally. This can be a flat fee per transaction or a percentage of the withdrawn amount.
- **ATM Usage Fees: **Some French ATMs, especially non-bank ones, might charge an additional fee for withdrawals using foreign cards. These fees should be displayed on the screen before you confirm the transaction.
- **Currency Conversion Fees:**When you withdraw cash, you might be given an option for ‘dynamic currency conversion’ to see the amount in your home currency. While this seems convenient, it often comes with higher conversion rates and extra fees. It’s generally better to choose to be charged in euros.
3