Big banks dupe Australian travellers out of $15 every time they withdraw money overseas  

Australian holidaymakers are being hit with $15 charges every time they withdraw money from automatic teller machines when they are overseas. 

But with some research into banks and their policies, travellers can avoid the excess fees – which total about $2 billion annually in foreign transaction fees, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 

International ATMs normally require customers to pay a fee of about $5 to access their money. They are charged again by the financial institution that owns the ATM, which usually charges a fee of $3 per transaction.

Australian holidaymakers are being duped out of $15 every time they withdraw money from their ATM’s while overseas (stock image) 

An inquiry made by the ACCC then found international conversion fees are added to costs after the withdrawal – between 3 to 3.65 per cent – to cover costs of processing international transactions. 

A spokeswoman from the financial comparison website RateCity said customers were often restricted in how often and how much money they withdrew while holidaying.

‘Often they don’t let you take out more than $200 at a time so suddenly you are getting stung $15 per day,’ Sally Tindall said.

‘Often people just go overseas, put their card in the ATM machine, shut their eyes and hope for the best knowing they will be charged huge amounts just to access their own money.’

In addition to this cost, they are then charged again by the financial institution that owns the ATM

But some banks offer alternate options for travellers.

ING provides customers access to their account without paying the excess charges.

Similarly, the GE Money 28 Degrees MasterCard offers no annual fee and no international fees while the CitiBank Plus debit card has no currency conversion fees.

The Commonwealth Bank said their methods of charging international fees were based on the wholesale market price they pay for international currency. 

‘In setting the price for the service, [we] take into account a range of factors, including the wholesale exchange rate, the risks and cost associated with providing these services and competitor pricing,’ a spokeswoman said.

The Commonwealth Bank said their methods of charging international fees were based on the wholesale market price they pay for international currency

‘CBA continues to focus on ways to offer differentiated services (with features that meet the needs of our diverse customer base), but which also address consumers’ and small businesses’ need for convenient, secure and reliable foreign currency transfer and conversion services.’

A spokesman for NAB agreed ‘fees for foreign exchange services can be complex.’

‘NAB is continuing to drive innovation in payment services and investing in technology to improve its offering to customers and to lower and simplify costs to deliver payment services,’ he said.

Australian’s travelling overseas are encouraged to do their research before the trip to find the option best suited for their travels.