Do foreign card holders have to pay to use cash points/ATMs in the UK?
Posted by cosmicinaudio@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 23 comments
I find that abroad you always have to pay a fee of between £3-5 (in addition to what your own bank charge you) to the bank that owns the ATM to withdraw cash using a British (or any non-local) card, pretty much without exception.
Do people with foreign cards have to pay a fee to use standard LINK cash points in the UK?
AskFew6198@reddit
There are actually 3 separate fees that can stack up when using ATMs abroad:
1. ATM operator fee — the machine itself charges you (Euronet is the worst at €3-6)
2. Your bank's foreign transaction fee — 1-3% on top, doesn't show on the ATM screen
3. Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) — the ATM "helpfully" converts to your currency at a 5-8% markup. Always choose to pay in local currency.
To pay zero: use a free ATM (bank-owned, not independent) + a no-fee card (Wise/Revolut/Monzo/Schwab) + decline DCC.
Some tools I use: XE Currency for rates, freeatm.app to find which ATMs don't charge operator fees, and Wise for a no-fee travel card.
FlinFlonDandy@reddit
Could you not just Google this question and find out in a matter of mere seconds?
cosmicinaudio@reddit (OP)
Actually I did and couldn't find an answer, even on the LINK website.
smoothbatman@reddit
Are you googling from another country that's probably why
mrdibby@reddit
literally the first result to "are uk atms free"
https://wise.com/gb/blog/atms-in-the-uk#:\~:text=There%20are%20two%20types%20of,always%20check%20before%20you%20withdraw.
Flaramon@reddit
The machine may try to charge you a fee like anyone else using the machine. If it's free, then it will be 'free' to a foreign card user too. The secret fee comes from the card issuer. If your account is foreign, then withdrawing cash in another country will trigger a currency conversion fee issued by your bank. This will appear on your statement, and it is not visible to the ATM at the time of withdrawal.
ab00@reddit
Depends on the ATM.
The increasingly creeping charges for foreign ATM's are REALLY annoying. Not that I ever need cash these days but always nice to have a few € and my card doesnt charge a foreign transaction fee.
PatserGrey@reddit
Yup agreed, it's getting harder to avoid silly ATM fees abroad. I've kept a Santander account open with a few shekels in it as they're free where ever you can find them. I tend to stick to pre exchanged Revolut debit card payments for the most part
SenatorBiff@reddit
There's two parts to this.
Surcharges Fees charged by your bank.
Surcharges are applied to withdrawals at certain machines by the company that deploys the ATM. They have to be clearly advertised, and you should just avoid these. Youll see them on the screen of an idle machine like "This ATM charges £1.95 for withdrawals". There are free machines all over the place so don't use these surcharging ones unless you're stuck. You may also be offered currency conversion at the ATM and should generally decline this as again it will be an unfavourable rate set by the ATM owner. If you decline it, conversion will happen at your bank, at the rate they set, which is usually more reasonable.
Fees charged by your bank are, as you may have guessed, applied by your bank in your home country and have nothing to do with the ATM itself. Check with your bank for these.
No_Technology3293@reddit
I never pay a fee abroad for a foreign currency transaction. It's entirely dependent on your bank account, and it'll be the same going the other way too.
ab00@reddit
Overseas ATM's can add their own charge. That's what OP meant....
No_Technology3293@reddit
So the same as some ATMs in the UK whilst withdrawing GBP from your own account.... You just find one that doesn't charge it's not difficult.
mrdibby@reddit
our ATMs from banks are free, sometimes you get them in random locations that cost money
ab00@reddit
I've had ATM's abroad that would have no fee for locals want to charge me a fee even though my card has no foreign fees.
I always decline of course. The big banks are usually free, smaller ones hit and miss.
benjm88@reddit
Op is asking if there are extra charges for foreign account holders. Much like if you take out cash in Spain most banks will charge you extra.
It's not just the cash machine that can charge them.
The answer I suspect is sometimes
cwestwater@reddit
Why are you using a bank that charges you overseas. Chase or Starling don't for a start
ab00@reddit
Overseas ATM's can add their own charge. That's what OP meant....
SufficientStatus4643@reddit
No, foreign card holders get free chocolate at ATMs in the UK!
chartupdate@reddit
They all get free BMWs and a wet kiss every second Thursday. Someone's racist gran told me this on Facebook and I'm sure her sources are impeccable.
R2-Scotia@reddit
Their bank will probably charge them, RBS will not. I wasvonce with Bankbof America and they put the foreign ATM fee up to $8 in 2005 and I"d had enough.
ezpeeezeee@reddit
You definitely do not "ALWAYS" have to pay a fee. I have paid a fee at a foreign (European) ATM maybe once or twice. Just go to a trusted bank and withdraw from there. Make sure your card offers no additional fees as a service when withdrawing; for example, a Starlink card
knotatwist@reddit
These fees vary in the UK as I'm sure they do for those with foreign bank accounts.
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