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[–] 8 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I’ve heard the following rule of thumb:

Your bank has an existing customer relationship with you, so they have more of an incentive to make you a good deal on currency conversion, lest you pack up and leave.

The ATM operator’s relationship with you is literally transactional. They don’t give a crap who you are and even less of a crap once the ATM dispenses the money.

Thus, your bank is less likely to fleece you than the ATM operator, so you’re better off leaving the conversion to your bank.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Banks will still fleece you on the exchange rate. Ideally you would have a multi currency card so you decide which exchange rate to use and have the cash in the account in the local money.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    It’s not hard to find a bank that only charges a 1% fee on the spot exchange rate. You shouldn’t be using a debit card (“cash in the account”) almost anywhere. Credit is so much better.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    But the exchange rate is where they fleece you not the card usage fee.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

    Maybe if you have a bad bank, I’ve checked mine and it’s competitive. April 17 I did a Bandcamp transaction in GBP, charged my Chase card and got <1% difference in USD compared to the mid-market exchange rate on that date. It’s $90.21 on my statement, $89.92 when I calculate it, so +0.3% off the mid-market rate.

    If you’re getting anything worse than this, you’ve got a shady bank, and there’s no lack of competition.

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