www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Just wondering what my fellow Canadians are using for ATM when they travel outside the country. I am tired of getting gouged with service charges every time I make a withdrawal. I hear that our friends in the USA have banks with no out of country ATM fees.

Thanks

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

A lot of Canadian banks have no fees with some foreign countries. BMO, for example just had a bunch of agreements added. Unfortunately, Costa Rica isn't one of them yet AFAIK.

Still, I use the Scotia Bank ATM's down here with my BMO debit card and they only charge the same $1.50 that most banks charge for another banks cards. You can withdraw in US dollars and pay $1.50 or withdraw in colones and pay 869 colones. I think you can only take out a max of 150k or $300 dollars in one session, but are able to do it multiple times up to your limit, set at your bank.

I'm guessing that is just the ATM fee...at least such is the case when I use Scotia ATM's when out of Canada. But my bank at home charges another $5 per out of country card use. That is the part that sucks.

I'm familiar with CIBC and TD....they both have $5 per out-of-country transaction fees...anyone know of a way to lower or eliminate this with a Canadian Bank?

I also pay the $5 fee per transaction on my cards. Its not that I can't afford the $5 fee, its just that I hate paying the bank an extortion charge.

I also carry 2 ATM cards, one with PLUS and the other with CIRRUS. Some foreign ATM's can be very fussy and only accept cards on their network. I found the ATM's in Brazil to be the worst offenders.

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword