I
wanted to save money abroad when using my debit card. Rome was busy in August
and I was warned of pickpockets.
Being
on a low wage, I couldn’t qualify for a travel credit card. I decided to use my
Nat West Visa debit card instead. I asked about conversion fees.
NatWest
didn’t offer the best rates, but I was assured that the fees for drawing cash
from this card would be 2.99%. This seemed ok. I could live with paying 3 Euros
for every 100 I drew out.
I
was told to look for the VISA sign. But a decent ATM was hard to find in Rome. They
either didn’t have a VISA sign or the ATM was in bad repair.
I
finally found an exchange kiosk near the Trevi Fountain. It had a VISA sign. I used my card and presented my passport. I requested 100 Euros from my
account. I was most confused when I saw my receipt. Instead of the expected 103
Euros debited from my account, I had been debited 128 Euros. So it cost me 128
Euros to see 100 Euros in my hand.
I noticed an ‘organisation’ called BAFC
Muratte charged something called a FGN Pur Fee, which was 3.26%.
The
second time I drew cash in Rome, I needed 150 Euros. This time, I used a
different kiosk bearing a VISA sign. This one was in the Piazza Del Popolo. 185
Euros came out of my account in order to see 150 Euros in my hand. (The
organisation here was called FinChange SRL and they charged 4.68 Euros for this
‘FGN Pur Fee’.)
So I
had been charged around 60 Euros in order to draw out 250 Euros. This sounds
nothing like the 2.99% I had expected.
Watch out for FGN Pur
Fee
I
found out that this FGN Pur Fee is a non-sterling transaction fee. It’s like an
exchange rate adjustment. Every time you use your card abroad, you are charged
this fee. Instead of the 2.99% I was told about, it was around 4%. As the
exchange rate changes, so does this non-sterling transaction fee, which
explains the fees’ variation.
Other
banks charge this FGN Pur Fee (or non-sterling transaction fee) at the rate of
between the rates of 2-3%. You will be charged this fee even when shopping
online for something abroad. The best way to avoid this fee is simply not to
convert currency by using your card.
But
what about the other 20%?
After
querying this with the bank, I learned that commission and further charges are slammed on top when using a foreign ATM even with the VISA sign.
So
when using a foreign ATM you could be charged with the following:
1.
Flat Fee from Your Bank: This is a fee the bank charges for using ATMs outside
of its network. This can vary between 3 and 6 Euros.
2.
Flat Fee from the Foreign Bank: This is a fee for using the foreign ATM. Add
another 3 to 6 Euros.
3.
International Transaction Fee. Your home bank may charge a percentage fee for
foreign withdrawals around which can vary between 1-3%.
4.
Currency Exchange Fee: The ATM inter-bank network (operated by Visa or
MasterCard). Add another 1%.
Imagine
withdrawing 100 Euros. You could be stung with huge commissions. In my case, it
was extortionate.
Depending
on your bank, you could get hit for a lot more.
This
is the disclaimer on the receipt:
‘The service was provided according with the
Italian Law and to the conditions exposed in the office on the monitor price
list and legal notice’.
Still, I felt robbed.
Still, I felt robbed.
Read
all my articles on Rome on my Rome
a Survival Kit
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| Be wary of VISA exchange kiosks abroad |
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| Costs of getting cash abroad |
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| FGN Pur Fee on my bank statement |
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| Visa Exchange Receipt |
