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Expats in Italy Forum 
Expats in Italy Forum Moving to/Living in Italy Money, money, money exchange rates
Expats in Italy Forum Moving to/Living in Italy Money, money, money exchange ratesPage 1 2
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Cittadino |
out of curiosity is anyone taking euros from an atm from american funds? can you tell me what exchange rate you are getting?...I am being told that to buy euros now in the US would be at exhange rates ranging from 1.42 to 1.5....thanks
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
Yes, we did when we were there in March. All I know is I didn't buy much there, money went REAL FAST!!! I think you get a better rate when you do it like that though. You get the Correct exchange.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
Oh, and another thing. You are only allowed to withdraw 250 euro a day.
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Cittadino |
what was the exchange rate you were getting...and how much you can take out depends on where you are getting it and what your bank will allow you as i got out more then that....
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Residente |
This depends on the bank. I've taken out as much as 600 Euro at a time. If you want a higher limit than 250, and it's worth it if your bank charges you a flat fee for out of network services, ask your bank to raise your daily withdrawal limit. I've never used an ATM here that wouldn't let me take out at least 500 Euro. Disclaimer: the content of this post is specific to my personal experience of Italy and may differ from received opinion about the bel paese. My blog: the shock of the old |
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Moderator Cittadino |
I had no problem with my bank in raising the amount that I can take out. Last year I set up a second account in case my major account's ATM card wouldn't work or got lost. The exchange rates are cheaper than you can get from the shylocks at the airports.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
I´ve found that the ATM´s here won´t give me more than 250 euros at a time, and I´ve tried plenty of ATM´s. It seems to be a limit related to the Italian ATM´s and not to my bank accounts, since in Spain I often withdrew 450 or 500 from the same accounts to pay my rent.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
I can get 1000 Euro at an ATM here because my US bank raised the limit for me. If I get to an ATM that limits me to 250 I just take the cash, reinsert the card and do another transaction. It doesn't cost me any extra and it has always worked.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
My brother, on our trip to Italy earlier this month, had not contacted the bank re his ATM usage. His card did not work at the 250 euro level and the error message was not clear as to the reason. After a couple of faiures at several different banks we kicked down to 200 euros (approx 270 dollars). This fixed the problem for the rest of the trip. I am almost sure we wer hitting the magical 300$/day limit.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
Dont forget that when you use your card at an ATM (or in fact using your credit card to purchase) your bank is typically taking 2.75% commission plus an additional fee for cash. Most banks are not very good at showing this on the statements so people dont notice (or at least most people I know, Americans on the whole tend to be more financially aware)
Amex do a card with currency 'buckets' but the catch is they charge (a well hidden) 4% to transact between buckets. You can get an Italian credit card but in addition to the fee there is a just under 1% 'usage' tax The best deal seems to be a prepaid Visa Electron card from the PO that doesnt have the tax nor the fee |
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Turista |
Are you referring to the US Post Office or the Italian version to obtain this "Visa" brand debit card?? Someone on Fodor's had mentioned using a Charles Schwab Checking account debit card with no additional fees or charges other than the banking system's fee to exchange currency....also Schwab will refund the ATM usage fee up to a monthly allowance. |
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Cittadino |
but does anyone know the current exchange rate they are getting at the atm's....
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
Sorry I meant the Italian PO
In response to the exchange rate at the ATMs, these are at interbank (best) rate but as described the commissions and fees come off but most banks instead of showing the charges, just (dishonestly in my view) adjust the exchange rate On the Schwab card - sounds good but I bet the 'fee to exchange currency' is the typical 2.75% mentioned which is thievery, there is no justification for it |
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Turista |
I always use the ATM for money in Italy. I talk to my bank beforehand and they ok the amount change. They usually charge me the going exchange rate for the day. I've never been scalped on that. Also I get an extra card with a different number in case you get your card 'eaten' by the machine. It can happen and you would be SOL. Another good idea is to let your credit card company know where you are going so they won't cut off your card or freeze it for awhile if you make unusally large purchases.
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Residente |
I don't know about US banks, but most in the know people from the UK use the Nationwide Building Society which doesn't charge that 2.75%, and it makes a noticeable difference compared with my other accounts that I've used on occasion.
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Cittadino |
I know i sound like a broken record...but what is the current exchange rate one is getting at the atm's...i am being told that if i buy my euro's ahead of time the echange rate is better then if i wait until i get there...and they are quoting me anywhere from 1.42 to 1.52 as the rate...forget about fees...i am curious just about the money you get out of the machine...and for those who are interested there is a class action lawsuit against the fees credit cards are chargeing for exchange rate of purchases....joanSi
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Terni Representative Cittadino |
In my experience, it's ALWAYS cheaper to buy euros in Europe. When we left on Apr 17, we were getting an exchange rate of about $1.34 at ATM's, so maybe 1 cent higher than what you see posted on TV.
Thinking of buying a house in Umbria? Buy ours! Read about it on our blog: Art and Barb Live in Italy |
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Terni Representative Cittadino |
If your daily limit is, for example, $600, you can make TWO withdrawals from an Italian ATM, one right after the other, as long as you don't exceed either the Italian banks limit per transaction, or your total US daily limit. The ATM in our town has a €250 limit, so we learned that we can make 2 withdrawals back to back. The limit at the Italian PO ATM is €500. Thinking of buying a house in Umbria? Buy ours! Read about it on our blog: Art and Barb Live in Italy |
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Cittadino |
thank you....Joan |
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
That is interesting, I have recently issued a court claim against my bank for the same thing going back six years |
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Cittadino |
Well, B of A charges a fee of $5 for each non BofA ATM withdrawal then they give the current rate plus a fee. The total including the $5 comes to about 2.5% for the max 250 withdrawal. If I do a telephone transfer they always add on about the same plus a $20 fee no matter the amount. If I complain they just tell me that the numbers we see in the paper are the wholsale numbers for million dollar plus exchanges and we pay the retail. Sort of makes sense.
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Cittadino |
here is part of an email I received about the class action suit...the website is www.ccfsettlement.com
" a class action suit that offers the possibility for refunds on any credit card charges from 1996 to nov 2006 made abroad - I guess the banks were doing funny stuff with the exchange rates and/or fees/rates of conversion." |
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
The last ATM withdrawal I did was for €240 Euro. I was charged $327.41 USD. My account is with a credit union. My understanding is that I pay them 1% in fees.
I will leave the rest of the math to you. |
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Moderator Cittadino |
A little over $1.36 per Euro, about the published rate this AM.
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Permesso di Soggiorno |
BTW...thanks for the tip on the class action lawsuit. I just filled out the claim paperwork...who knows! I don't expect to hear anything for at least several years, if at all, but I had the time.
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