I use cash less and less nowadays and only get it from the my branch bank down the street.
Wow. I stopped paying ATM fees in the ‘80s. For me it was a matter of principle. I couldn’t justify paying money to get money out of my own bank.
I did start using a debit card at grocery stores back around the turn of the century and I just get an extra 20 out when I pay for my groceries. And there was never a fee attached to that. I don’t know if that’s still possible though since I haven’t tried it in decades.
I actually stopped using my ATM card all together because if somehow my information gets out, the money will be withdrawn from my account. At least with credit cards you don’t have to worry about that and you can always pay them off every month at the end of the month which is what I do.
Yep or better yet just use the debit card.
No fee at Walmart when making a purchase here.
USAA has done a number of things lately to piss me off, but I’ve never paid an ATM fee, regardless of which bank’s machine I use. USAA pays them all.
Convenience stores like WaWa and Quick Chek usually have fee free ATMs. Conveniently located next to the lottery machine.
I was in Spain.
The first bank wanted 7 euros.
I went to a second ATM. They wanted something similar. Turned it down but got a 4 euros charge.
I went to a third ATM. They wanted 7 Euros as a fee and offered a fairly bad exchange rate. I went along.
My bank charges $5 for a foreign ATM withdrawal.
Next time in Europe I’ll bring $200 in dollars and go to a money exchange place in the heart of a tourist district. A lot of that will be in $5 bills which I’ll just use unconverted as church donations. I’m sure a church will get a better exchange deal than I could and it will make a positive impression for American tourists.
I’m struggling to see a problem here. Most of the Freepers here use their bank or credit union to obtain cash, as do I. No one’s putting a gun to the heads of those using other ATMs, except for those living in Chicago or NYC.
I think if I was travelling to Europe again, I would pay the merchants directly using my card as often as possible and get the big-bank exchange rate. In the US now, you can almost always pay by card; I don’t know about Europe though.
My Dad always said...”Son..Remember..A fool and his money are soon parted. There are so many companies making lots of money on people that are fools with their money. People actually pay someone to trim their toenails. Amazing. $5.00 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. $3 or$ dollars to get cash from an ATM. I have never used one. No one gets taught how money works.
I think people have gotten smarter about getting cash once a week at their own bank rather than getting smaller amounts a couple times a week at different banks. That is what these escalating fees have done - make people think before they use the ATM.
When I worked at a bank, one of my jobs was to research and lead a program to install those small standalone ATMs you see in grocery stores and gas stations.
After learning how much money we could charge per transaction, I went back to my boss and asked, A: How could this be legal, and B: Why isn’t the mafia cornering this market?
The answers were, “It probably will get regulated soon” and “Yes, thats why we are limiting where we place them.”
I was 38 at the time (1998). I guess you never stop learning stuff. I go to the ATM once a week. The way things work these days, you don’t need a lot of cash.
I get cash from the grocery store at the checkout. No fee there. Then I buy lottery tickets there.... : )