Updated March 2025
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One of the biggest hidden expenses of both long and short-term travel is your bank card. You expect to pay a certain amount for accommodation, food, and activities, but you never really think about how much money you might be spending just trying to gain access to your money.
If you’re travelling to Europe, North America and Australia, using a credit card won’t be a problem (but that also has fees tied into the exchange rate, usually around 2.5%).
In most of Southeast Asia and Central or South America, you’re stuck using cash. Even in 2025. To access that cash, you must go to a bank or use an Automated Teller Machine.
The Cost:
Years ago, I added up the amount of ATM fees I incurred while in Asia for six months. I used ATM’s nearly 20 times. Multiply the five dollars my bank charged me and the five dollars the ATM charged me, and I was paying upwards of ten dollars just to take out $100 in cash. That’s $200 just in fees. That amount of money could have gone a long way when travelling in cheaper countries.
Recently, I was in Costa Rica and my partner and I went to take a couple hundred dollars at an ATM. I was shocked to see how much ATM fees have increased since then. The fee was more than $20. Even going to an ATM of the bank my partner does business with only dropped the price by about five dollars.
Why would I be taking out as little as one hundred dollars at a time you might ask? That doesn’t sound very cost-effective. Sometimes ATM’s limit how much money you can take out. You also don’t want to be carrying thousands of dollars on your person in case you get robbed. I try to take out only as much money as I feel safe to carry with me, which is usually 500-750 dollars at a time. I generally need to use an ATM three times a month to pay for all my travel costs.
Some banks have international deals with local banks around the world or even happen to have branches in many different countries (like Scotiabank). But chances are the bank you deal with at home will not have ATMs or branches in the countries you might be travelling to. Foreign ATMs can be incredibly expensive.
So what can you do?
Here are five ways to avoid ATM and bank fees while travelling.
1. Check your bank’s rules on foreign ATM fees
With my current Canadian bank (Royal Bank of Canada), I can pay 15$ a month for a bank account that allows me three non-RBC ATM transactions per month. This account will automatically save me $15 if I use my card a few times a month on non-RBC ATMs, which would pay for the cost of the account. However, this is only relevant if I am in Canada or the United States. Outside those two countries I was being charged $5.00 a transaction plus ATM fees. Since my bank doesn’t have a decent option for banking abroad, I needed to do some research on a bank that would make getting my money out a little cheaper.
2. Find a bank you can travel with
There are banks that don’t charge fees anywhere in the world, but they are far and few between. I’ve heard of Charles Schwabb in the United States that does not charge ATM fees – or pays them back. Search out all the banks in your country and see what kind of fees each charges and pick the one that offers the best deal. It is a lot of work but most have all the information needed on their websites.
3. Search out ATMs that do not charge a fee
Not all ATMs charge a usage fee. But it does take time to test each one to see its charge. The good news is, there are often multiple ATMs near each other. Even easier, there are multiple ATMs in airports when you arrive to your destination country. It is worth it to save a few dollars, because hey, in some countries, ten or twenty dollars will get you a hostel bed for the night.
4. Get a local bank card if staying long-term
Finally, if you happen to be staying long-term, open up a local bank account and get a debit card that allows you access to your money for free.
It might take more time and effort, but it’s worth it in the end to know you aren’t wasting your hard-earned money on ridiculous banking fees. Then you can spend it on more exciting things, like that bucket of beer as you watch the sunset on some white sand beach or that bungy jump you were hoping to do.
5. Consider getting a Wise Card
New(ish) to the travel scene is a Wise Card. It’s a multi-currency debit card that can be used in dozens of countries.
How it works: you can make 2 withdrawals of up to and including $350 each month for free per account. After that, they charge $1.50 per withdrawal. There’s a 1.75% fee on any amount you withdraw above $350.
You simply load the card with the currency you have and it will show you what you can get in the currency you want at the current days exchange rate.
It’s pretty simple and easy to use.
You can sign up for one here. (You’ll get a free transfer of up to $800).