That amount can be very little per day...thus adding up those per transaction fees...or a lot because you own a piece of the bank.
US I guess must be really broke.
But would anyone have a limit of less than 500$s? Which would mean some 9 withdrawls at lesser ATMs in Indo. Further presumably the poster is budget concious which means 500$s should last a couple of weeks. No math involved.
Capital One is the only U.S. banking institution I know of that doesn't charge significant fees. I have a friend here in Indonesia who set up a bank account and charge card with them before he left the U.S., and I am so jealous.
My small U.S. credit union charges a $2 fee for each ATM withdrawal, regardless of the amount -- and regardless of the Indonesian ATM (which ATM you use does not matter).
WARNING: I also have a U.S. bank account at Citibank -- but when I used an Indonesian Citibank's ATM, I was charged $5 for my withdrawal!!! Be warned! Your U.S. bank may not be connected to the Indonesian branch.
damp_fleece - So there are two things you need to look for, with the Indonesian ATMs.
First, the denomination. The biggest Indonesian bill is Rp 100,000 -- roughly $11 USD. Yeah, right. So there's a sticker on each ATM that says Rp 100,000 or Rp 50,000. Try to avoid the ones that only give Rp 50,000 bills, or else you need really large pockets.
Second, the withdrawal limit. Most HSBC ATMs have a high limit, like Rp 3 million (that is only $322 USD) -- but many, many other ATMs have a low limit, such as Rp 1 million. You need to use the ATM to find out its limit (unfortunately, that is not on a sticker on the outside of the machine).
Rp 3 million is about one inch thick, not folded.
@ #21
“Rp 3 million is about one inch thick, not folded.”
When I “purchased” my first home here in Bali in 1998, during the financial crisis (IDR 16.8 k to the $ at that time), the largest bill one could hope to find was a 20k note. Settlement was made with three full size suitcases of cash, (mostly 5 and 10 k notes) and it took most of the day to count it all. A lot of the bills where in what I call “kampung cash” condition, which basically means you don’t want to know where that bill had been lately. It was best not to think about that and just keep on counting!
@ #22
You’re talking 10 years ago there Steve! With a bank, that can be a lifetime! Do you honestly think that ANY bank in the US today is doing what it did 10 years ago in 2002? Those banks are all history...eaten up by the big three, or is it the big four these days?
Please don’t call me “mister” anything. Pak is just fine and it can be either Pak Made, or Pak Indra…which is the Balinese way…not the LA way.
Remember too, MisterMade, or is it MisterIndra, that prior to about 2002 none of the banks charged any foreign transaction fees for ATM withdrawals abroad.
So Capital One Bank is doing nothing different now than what all of the banks did in this regard prior to 2002.
What can I say? If one's understanding of the US banking system today is 100% garnished from the experience of being a bank teller since 2002, then I guess I can appreciate your view.
The point is that back then banks had other ways to make money from customers, and that is still the case today, and the banks want the quality (rich) customers-- including those with lots of money who travel overseas, and they expect to profit from these quality customers with a variety of banking services that don't have to include foreign transaction fees. It really is as simple as that.
Yes, I understand, and I’m eternally grateful that I’m not currently immersed in the American banking system aside from what I need in order to complete certain deals, and to continue to receive those monthly social security checks provided by you and millions of other working Americans. Many thanks, and please stay employed!
Life in Paradise is just that much better knowing that those funds hit my US bank account each and every month.
LOL -- It's being a FINANCIER here in Southern California, so I know and understand the financial services industry quite well, unlike you sitting in a Third World Country with your limited knowledge and exposure to American banking -- you haven't even been to the USA in 14 years so you aren't in a position to even discuss American business or banking. LOL
Capital One is a basic, free checking account. There are no monthly fees. And I don't have to keep a minimum in the account. Usually, I don't have anything in the account actually. When I want money, I transfer it into Capital One from my account at another banking institution, and then withdraw all of it. That way, if my Capital One card gets skimmed, I don't lost anything. I don't know how their business plan works, I just know that I'm not charged any fees, and I get the best exchange rate possible. Charles Schwab is the same (my brother as well as a close friend have accounts with Charles Schwab). Maybe because they're internet based, they have an easier time doing this? However they do it, I certainly benefit from it!
As an aside, Capital One's credit cards also don't charge foreign transaction fees.
Hi all - just have to chime in. We are Americans, FYI, since that matters for bank rules, etc.
For daily withdrawal limits, simply ask your bank to up it. We did that with BofA in 2007-08 for our 14-month RTW trip. My husband and I each had a $1,000 limit PER DAY on our BofA ATMs, so we could take out $2,000/day max. The bigger issue we found is that many banks in SE Asia and elsewhere limit you per transaction (so in Indonesia we could only get $100 out per time an ATM, for example, so if we needed $400, we'd have to do 4 transactions).
At the time we had a sweet deal (long story) where BofA agreed to reverse all foreign ATM charges (at $5/pop) PLUS the 1% foreign currency commission fee they were charging. That is no longer the deal, and we are thus considering moving our money to Schwab Bank.
However, I am running into some snags with Schwab, as 3 different people have raised a red flag there that technically we can't have an account with them and be gone more than 12 months. Since we are leaving this June for an estimate 18-month RTW trip, they are telling us our account might get flagged and we might have our accounts "frozen," in which case we'd have to call them to settle the problem. This concerns as, as we don't travel with cell phones (we can Skype them on our laptop, tho) and phone calls to the U.S. are a pain in the arse.
Schwab did confirm there are NO foreign ATM fees and no commissions - however, instead of waiving them, note they WILL appear on your statement, but Schwab goes in each month and credits those monies back to you.
I've scanned these posts with curiosity and am not sure who's got the right story about commissions and how U.S. banks are going to make money off of you. I asked Schwab point-blank how they can afford to do this, and the answer I got was pretty much it's not a big deal and not that much of their business vs. other things they deal with, so I'd have to hope I'm not getting gouged with some bogus conversion rate as a result.
Lukemackin, can you please enlighten me about your Capital One BANK account and how you have an ATM with it? We are applying for the Capital One Cash Rewards credit card, which has no foreign currency fees, but I wasn't aware there was a bank I could deal that has 0 ATM fees. Please share - I'm at my wits' end between Schwab and BofA mixed messages.
Also, if someone else knows something different about Schwab, please share. At this point we are very concerned about setting up this Schwab Bank account and going through the hassle of all the paperwork when they're telling us technically we can't be gone for more than a year and use this account. We aren't going to let a bank dictate our travels; that said, we need to be smart about it and not wind up frozen out of our ATMs in some random place.
Thanks!