Nationwide Building Society - MAJOR NEWS

The oft repeated information That Nationwide is the only financial institution that charges NO fees whatsoever is not correct.

As a proponent of Nationwide under my current and past handles I am sorry to say that I and everyone else praising them have been wrong all along. They do indeed charge no transaction fees but they do not exchange at the FULL interbank rate as previously stated. They exchage at the Visa rate which is 1% less than the Interbank Rate.

They are still ONE OF the best for a traveller to use but there have been posts where other institutions charging only this 1% have been mentioned.

I feel betrayed. After years of advocating Nationwide something someone said on a thread prompted me to send an e-mail to Nationwide asking them to confirm they exchanged at the full Interbank Rate and ate the 1% charged by Visa. They replied with the information that they exchange at the Visa rate.

im sorry, i might be being a bit stupid here, but what does that actually mean then? are we getting less for our money? bit confused!

Getting an exchange rate of one percent below the Interbank rate is perfectly fine and nothing to worry about. That is the norm for ATM transactions, and far better than the typical spread you'd get using cash or traveler's checks.

There's no reason to feel "betrayed" when the charge is coming from the network operators and it has always been the case. The bank itself makes none of this 1% spread. Nobody betrayed you, you were just uninformed.

You're not listening. Do you know what 'feel' means? It isn't subject to discussion and in any case, you certainly aren't someone to whom I would listen about how I should or should not feel.

But it's not "major news." You were betrayed by your own failure to research, not by the bank.

People who travel internationally need to understand that there is no free lunch when it comes to exchanging money. The key is to minimize costs, which can and should be reduced because they can vary quite a bit, rather than try to eliminate them, the latter of which is an impossible task.

If you want to get the interbank rate, then the solution is simple -- go open a bank. Otherwise, a 1% forex fee is the minimum that one can expect. If that's the only cost involved, then that's really a good deal and not possible to beat.

Yet again you are wrong RoadWallower.

It is MAJOR news since I and other have most definitely convinced many TT readers that there was NO fees at all.

As for a failure to research, there was no failure, the research was done(years ago), it appears the ANSWER given at that time was incorrect. That's not a failure to research that's a failure of communication.

When I originally started recommending Nationwide back in 2000, here on the TT, I was most definitely informed by Nationwide that they did not pass on the Visa fee of 1%. I was most definitely informed that they ate the fee. The question was definitely asked and answered.

Now their story appears to have changed. I don't know if the first answer was wrong or if the current answer they are giving is wrong or if they changed their policy somewhere along the way. I don't suppose we will ever know which is the case.

Nevertheless, they are still better than any other UK financial institution. Perhaps it is time to now generate a list of any financial institutions in other countries which can equal them and add them to the FAQ.

You should be a bit clearer -- you personally provided bad info. Not an abundance of posters, but just you. I read comments from posters who corrected you, and your response was typical: you insulted them and dug in, defending your inaccuracies for no good reason, instead of thanking them for the correction.

It's not the first time that you've provided bad info, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

One thing you should have learned after all these years is that low-level clerks who respond to customer emails and who work in call centers often don't know what they're talking about. It's lazy of you to believe that the querying of low-paid workers is "research," a reality that you should have figured out long ago, since you wish to call yourself a "guru." You should go find source documents and interpret them accurately in order to confirm or deny your hunches.

Had you done a bit of homework, you would have known that the forex fee is charged by the network operator, not the bank, so that it's not surprising that the bank would pass on a spread that isn't technically being charged by the bank itself. (The bank is giving you an exchange rate determined by Cirrus or Plus.) It is easy to see why a clerk would not see this as a bank fee, given that it isn't the bank that originated the surcharge.

And there I was thinking that Graham Beale made a decent income back in 2000 when I spoke to him in Glasgow.Just goes to show I guess that a title doesn't indicate income or knowledge. A low-level clerk and low-paid worker. I wonder if they are paying him much more now? I hope so for the poor fellows sake.

OK, he was young and it wasn't his department but I would have thought he would have been able to get the right answer before he came back to me with the answer in our local pub.

Edited by: Wayworn1

Yeah, I'm sure that you hang out at the pub with Nationwide's chairman. That's certainly credible.

The thread is yet another example of this bizarre personality disorder of yours. A more reasonable OP would have been similar to this:
________
Nationwide Building Society - Correction

Previously, I have posted on this board that Nationwide Building Society provides ATM withdrawals at the interbank rate, without any commission.

I've since researched the matter, and realize now that I was mistaken. Apparently, there is a 1% fee that is charged by Cirrus and Plus that they pass through to their customers.

Please note that the 1% charge is customary, so Nationwide's offer is still among the better deals available. My apologies for the error, and for any inconvenience this may have caused.
________

Of course, "I made a mistake" and "I apologize" are not in your narcissistic vocabulary. But you did make a mistake, and you should apologize for it, instead of feigning a "betrayal" that was self-inflicted.

I'm kinda enjoying watching your mindset at work, it's a bit of a sport.

Clearly, you care about my opinion, otherwise you wouldn't be responding to it. Your self-appointed "guru" status matters greatly to you, but I just find your attempts at dominance to be amusing.

The funny thing is that you're among strangers on the internet who wouldn't know you from a hole in the wall. Yet even here, you can't admit to a simple mistake, apologize and take responsibility for it, and move on. Instead, you've got this pathological need to always be right and to never say you're sorry, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that you are so often wrong. It's internet pathology at its finest, what's not to like?

{quote:title=RoadWarrior wrote:}{quote}
. . . a 1% forex fee is the minimum that one can expect.

That actually is not entirely correct. There are several U.S. banks (perhaps none in the U.K.) that do absorb the VISA/MASTERCARD fees (normally 1%) and also don't inflate the exchange rate.

This thread was long abandoned mkraft but now that you have ressurected it, an update is in order.

It seems my drinking companion was indeed correct. They do absorb the 1% as I had originally understood. When I checked it I understood from the e-mail reply that by 'Visa rate' the meaning was AFTER Visa took their 1%. In fact it is BEFORE they charge their 1% to the bank. The Visa rate itself is the same as the Interbank Rate, that wasn't in question but by the way the e-mail was worded I took it to mean the 1% was passed on. NOT the case I am now assured by a more SENIOR Nationwide employee who shall remain nameless. LOL

By the way, if you pop up on this thread again Road Warrior I just have to tell you of my latest new drinking companions during my last 2 months in S. California. There I am in the middle of the desert in the middle of nowhere and who become my repeated drinking companions? An Academy Award nominated producer and a news anchor for channel 8 in San Diego. Amazing the people I meet in drinking holes. LOL

Oh and I guess you're right Road Warrior, I need to apologize for getting it wrong. Nationwide IS 100% fee free after all. Sorry to anyone that inconvenienced.