I was in Australia for a month withdrawing from a NZ bank acct and noticed the amounts withdrawn (before the 2.5% fee that I was aware of before travelling) was not close to the exchange rate for that day. It was easy to differentiate between the base amount and the fee since they would show up as two separate withdrawals from the NZ acct. Anyway, the base amount never even reflected the exchange rate for the day - it was consistently higher. I contacted Westpac and asked them about this. They said, they do not choose the rates, Mastercard does and they linked me to the currency conversion tool to see for myself what the rates were on a specific settlement date - "fair" enough I thought. Not really fair or forthcoming of the bank especially when they break their 2.5% fee into a Westpac (1.5%) fee and a Mastercard fee (1%). Any normal person would think, Ok both Mastercard and Westpac are charging a fee so the 2.5% must be the premium I'll be paying over the spot exchange rate. That is wrong and you (I) are stupid to think that. I went to the Mastercard currency conversion tool that Westpac linked me too and went through my online bank statement at all the withdrawals that I made in Australia. I made a spread sheet charting how much was withdrawn (the base amt before the 2.5% fee) versus how much should have been withdrawn based on exchange rate specified on the given settlement date. To be absolutely fair, I noted the rate on the Australian date AND the date it would have been in New York since the NYC time is probably what Mastercard was using as the "settlement date." What I found: I could only go as far back as May 20th. I added up all the amounts that were withdrawn from my NZ bank and found that the average it was a few pips less than 2% higher than what should have been withdrawn based on the cross rate indicated on the Mastercard site for that day. To be sure I was using the right base currency, I checked both AUD/NZD and NZD/AUD. I found that between the two they were slightly different but nowhere near 2% different. I conclude that I am being turtled.
we have access to a GE money product here that charges no OS transaction fees and converts at mastercard rate. case in point, I was withdrwing yuan at 6,475 v 6.0 at the hotel. I was selling to my colleagues at 6.2 I'm sure there is an equiv in the states
When I first visited the Netherlands I was warned about pickpockets. So being smart I stashed my some of my cash in each pocket with the bulk of my cash stashed in each of my shoes. So I arrive in Amsterdam with most of my pocket cash blown on overpriced booze, a G-Shock watch and cheese sandwiches. I visit the mens room and retrieve the cash from one of my shoes and head over to the cash exchange. The chick behind the counter examines my British Pounds suspiciously and asks "why is the money wet?" she sniffs it. OMG that's the sweat from my foot. Using a crap Kiwi accent I say "I don't speak English" That's my story and it's a funny one, but not as funny as how I lost that G-Shock watch
When i use mine it is very close to the exchange rate, and the atm charges me roughly AUD$1 per use. I use a general Visa debit card edit:Just worked it out... The difference between the official exchange rate and the amount of cash i received, including ATM fee was, AUD$3.30. I withdrew AUD$246 I am with NAB, but i think they have increased their overseas withdrawal fees lately.
You people expect the banks to NOT steal from you every chance they get? Take cash whenever possible. Better rate on the street for notes and no thieving banks to skim their little bits.
good way bro i like it very much but bestchange.com is also good currency exchange company here You can easily select the exchange direction, quickly find out which exchanger offers the best rate and has the highest reputation at the same time
Totally stating my own opinion and nothing to do with Silver Stackers, the firm shown in that picture is about number 10,000 on my list of places to exchange, and would only be considered if there was hyperinflation, I was locked in the airport, and they were the only money changers available, and even then I'd hesitate. Their business practices leave a lot to be desired. No wonder these were the class of merchants that caused Christ to lose his temper. Be warned.
lol yeah, I did not do business with them. The picture was to show how I circumvented doing any business with them.
When I holidayed in NZ, I used this card: http://www.28degreescard.com.au/ It's a GE visa card, that has not ATM withdrawal charges, no annual fee, and uses an exchange rate very close to www.xe.com. As it is a credit card, what you do is you load it up with cash (deposit) and then you can use it like a debit card. It worked really well for me anyway. I haven't checked whether any policies have sinced changed and obviously you need to do your own research to decide what is best for you.
