travel finance

How to Use ATMs Abroad Without Overpaying in Fees

By MoneyMattersDaily Editorial · Published October 13, 2026 · 7 min read

A cash withdrawal abroad looks like one transaction, but it can carry three separate costs: whatever the ATM’s owner charges, whatever your own bank adds, and the exchange rate used to turn local money into yours. None of them is hard to avoid once you know where to look, and a single decision at the ATM screen, which currency to be charged in, often matters more than the other two combined.

Who this is for, and who it isn’t

It’s for: anyone who expects to take cash out of a foreign ATM on a trip, a move, or a stretch of remote work, and wants to stop losing a few percent on every withdrawal.

It’s not for: choosing a travel bank account or budgeting the trip. See the best banking apps for digital nomads and how to budget for long-term travel for those. This is general information, not personalized financial advice, and fees vary a lot by bank, card, and country.

The three costs in one withdrawal

1. The ATM operator’s fee. The company that owns the machine may charge for using it, separate from anything your bank does. Machines usually show this on screen before you confirm, and you can cancel at that point at no cost. Independent machines and some tourist-area ATMs are more likely to charge than machines belonging to a major bank, though that’s a tendency, not a rule.
2. Your own bank’s fees. Many banks add a flat fee per foreign withdrawal, a percentage-based foreign transaction or currency conversion fee, or both. NerdWallet describes debit card foreign transaction fees as typically around 1% to 3% of the amount, and foreign ATM fees as often a flat fee of up to about $5 plus a percentage. Your bank’s own fee schedule is the one that applies to you, so check it.
3. The exchange rate. Your card network or bank converts the local currency into your own. The rate you get depends on who does the converting, which brings us to the biggest trap.

Decline the conversion: pay in local currency

At many foreign ATMs you’ll be offered a choice, worded something like “withdraw in your home currency” or “let us convert for you.” This is dynamic currency conversion (DCC). If you accept, the ATM’s operator picks the exchange rate, and it has no reason to make that rate generous. If you decline and are charged in the local currency, your own bank or card network converts the money, which is usually closer to the market rate.

The practical rule, which the guides from Wise and Euronet-focused coverage agree on: always choose the local currency, and decline the offered conversion. The screen often makes the home-currency option look like the helpful default. It isn’t.

Wise’s guide to one large ATM operator (Euronet) says its conversion markup can reach up to 13% over the market rate. That’s one provider’s claim about a company it competes with, so treat the exact number with caution. The direction is consistent across sources, though: the ATM’s own conversion tends to cost more than your bank’s.

A worked example

All amounts are made up, in a made-up currency, to show the shape of the math. Say you withdraw 1,000 local units and the market rate works out to 1,000 local = 100 of your currency.

The exact percentages will differ, but the pattern doesn’t: accepting the ATM’s conversion turns a small, predictable cost into a larger and less predictable one, with nothing extra in return.

Fewer, larger withdrawals (up to a point)

If your bank or the machine charges a flat fee per withdrawal, five small withdrawals pay that fee five times. Taking out one larger amount pays it once. Wise’s guide makes the same point.

The limit on this is safety. Carrying a lot of cash has its own risk, and your bank sets a daily withdrawal limit, sometimes a lower one for foreign machines. Pick an amount that covers a few days, keep it split across a couple of places, and top up when needed. If you pay a percentage fee instead of a flat one, withdrawing in bigger chunks saves less.

Pick the machine, not just the moment

• Prefer ATMs attached to a bank branch, a post office, or a large supermarket. They’re generally better maintained and, in many countries, less likely to add a surcharge than free-standing machines in tourist areas. Look at the fee screen either way.
• Skip airport and exchange-booth cash if you can. Wise says airport kiosks and bureaus often carry higher markups. If you land with no local cash at all, a small withdrawal to get going is usually cheaper than a large exchange at the terminal.
• Check for tampering. Look at the card slot and keypad for anything loose or oddly attached, and cover the keypad when you enter your PIN. If something looks wrong, use another machine.
• Cancel when the fee surprises you. The fee screen is your last free exit. Backing out and walking to a different ATM costs nothing.

Check your own bank before you leave

The cheapest fix happens at home, before the trip. Look up your card’s foreign ATM fee, foreign transaction fee, and daily foreign withdrawal limit, and ask three things:

1. Does my bank charge a fixed fee, a percentage, or both for foreign ATM withdrawals?
2. Does it reimburse any of those fees, or does a partner network offer fee-free machines abroad? (Some banks belong to alliances with banks overseas; coverage and fees differ by bank and country, so ask yours.)
3. Is there a daily limit, and is it lower abroad?

NerdWallet notes that some premium accounts waive worldwide ATM and foreign transaction fees but may carry monthly fees or minimum balances of several thousand dollars. That tradeoff is worth working out against how much cash you actually plan to withdraw.

Which card to use for cash

• Debit card from a low-fee or no-foreign-fee account: often the simplest option, since you’re taking your own money out.
• Multi-currency or travel-focused accounts: several providers, such as Wise and Revolut, offer cards built for foreign spending and some limited fee-free ATM use, usually with monthly caps, after which a percentage fee applies. These plans, caps, and availability change often and depend on your country, so read the provider’s own current terms and don’t assume it’s free.
• Credit card cash advances: generally the one to avoid. Providers including Wise point out that a credit card withdrawal is treated as a loan, so interest tends to start right away and there’s often a cash advance fee on top. See secured credit cards explained for a quick refresher on how credit cards charge you.

Have a backup too. A card swallowed or blocked by a machine shouldn’t leave you with no cash. The three-way split in how to manage money while traveling abroad covers this.

When cash doesn’t come from an ATM at all

In some places the everyday alternative to a bank ATM isn’t a different machine, it’s a different system. Mobile money in parts of Africa runs through agents who turn cash into balance and back, and in China most small payments run through QR code apps rather than cash. If you’re heading to either, see mobile money in Africa and managing money in China. Whether you can use these as a visitor, and at what cost, depends on the country and provider.

Common mistakes

• Accepting the conversion because it shows your own currency. It looks friendly, but you’re letting the machine’s owner set the rate.
• Not reading the fee screen. The operator’s charge is shown before you commit. Take a second to look.
• Making many small withdrawals, and paying a flat fee each time.
• Using a credit card for cash, and paying a fee plus immediate interest.
• Assuming “no foreign fee” means free. A card can skip its own fee and the machine can still charge one.
• Relying on one card. Travel with a backup that’s stored separately.
• Withdrawing at the airport out of habit, when a branch or supermarket machine is a short walk away.

Getting started

Before your next trip, look up your card’s foreign ATM fee, foreign transaction fee, and daily limit, and decide whether you’d rather pay the cost, switch cards, or use a travel-focused account. At the machine, read the fee screen, choose the local currency, and take out a sensible amount in one go rather than several. That’s most of the savings, and none of it takes more than a few seconds.

Last updated October 2026. Fees, limits, and provider terms change often and differ by bank, card, and country, and the figures quoted here come from the providers’ own guides and NerdWallet at the time of writing. Check your own bank’s current fee schedule before you travel. This is general information, not personalized financial advice.