Global ATM Alliance

Hey, thanks all for your advice. I really appreciate it. Thank you, wayworn1 for a great post, it was very enlightning - I can't help but ask what was your job before retiring?

It is not like I have decided to do nothing about the way I take my money, since I will be 6 months abroad, so, as wayworn said, small amounts will add up!

I must say that in Mexico there's a limited offer of travelling-friendly debit cards, the best you can get from a bank here is to find that they have a parnertship with a bank somewhere you're heading to (like Santander Serfin Mexico and Santander in Spain, not a parnetship but a partial ownership). So among the very few options, I thought that Scotiabank had the one that suits me best, and it's exchange rate is similar to my other options (so, it may not be that good but I couldn't find any better) and because of the Global ATM alliance it won't charge me for cash withdrawals from Deutsche Bank ATMs, so being Germany my destination (with a few side trips) I have decided to open an account there. The account I opened doesn't charge any convertion fees, so I suppose that they would eat the 1% from Mastercard -I am not sure about this, because nobody at the bank could tell me :S.

Additionaly, I will have another account where my school will deposit my scholarship, but it is pricey as hell ($3 USD per cash withdrawal, regardless of the ATM you withdraw from, 1% for VISA plus whatever the ATM you withdraw from charges you), so I think I will transfer online the money on this account to my Scotiabank one.

Edited by: mcbecerril

I very much doubt that Scotiabank (a Canadian bank) will not charge a percentage exchange fee as well as charging the 1% Mastercard charges them. I would expect you will find you are paying that average 3% if you're lucky. NO Canadian bank doesn't charge exchange fees with their Canadian accounts and I doubt Scotiabank's foreign branches offer a better deal than they do in their home country.

Before retiring my job was finding a way to retire.

Hahaha... I'd better start looking for a job like that now.

Hello All,

I have read this thread with interest especially the comments by Wayworn1.

I have just opened a Nationwide Flex account and will pay money in just in time to go on holiday. Can anyone help with which ATM's I should use whilst in Florida as I cannot find which will be the cheapest. I have looked on the Visa website, but the location search does not seem to be working when you put 'alliance' in the search.

Many thanks

You will pay nothing if you use any bank ATM that is on the Visa system ermy. The only thing to look out for is private atms that can be found in gas (Petrol) stations or in shops. They are allowed to charge a fixed fee (around $2.50) per transaction.

Using your Nationwide Debit card will get you your money at the full Interbank Rate. Congratulations.