Xebedee

Allegedly, the BofA debit/cashcard issued here in the US can actually be used at a Barclays cashpoint in the UK to withdraw GBP's from a US account.

The "customer service specialist with a stoat thru his head" told me that the exchange rate used is the "basic" one with a charge of 1% applied to cover the transaction cost and (after 10pm) the trip to the A&E to treat the knife wound.

It seems that it only works with Barclays if you are a BofA victim.

Giantaxe

And it only works for Barclays Bank in the UK (i.e. not in Ireland or anywhere else outside the UK where Barclays has branches).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance

ldobson

Yes this is true, I`m a BOA customer in the US, Barclay's and Bank Of America do have an agreement in place to allow their customers to use their cash machines. Personally I have used Barclay's cash machines for free in the UK, I have never seen an additional charge when using Barclay's machines and the currency translation has always looked right. Definately recommended!

mellybrown

ive used my barclays card re in Bank of America cash machines with no charges - and a good exchange rate!!!

BritishGuy36

You mean that you can't just use any debit card from a US-based bank account in ANY cash machines in the UK?

I seem to be able to stick my UK debit card in any cash machine in the US and have never had any problems. Is that because it's a Barclays Connect (Visa Delta) card?

Norri

You can use any card but the exchange rate and transaction charges will vary.
I used my Wells Fargo card in a Wachovia ATM on Sunday and got stung for a $3 transaction charge and WF will charge me as well.
There's always someone with their hand in your pocket here

ldobson

Of course you can Visa, Mastercard etc are all international, so you can use any UK/US card in either country, however in many cases the financial insitution who owns the cash machine will charge you a transaction fee. With Barclay's you can use a Bank Of America Debit card in any Barclay's cash machine and vice versa without any transaction fee.

Big D

Yes this works both ways - my folks were over and used their Barclays cards on BOA and I have used BOA in the UK. You pay a fee built into the FX rate but no additional charges that you get if you use other ATMs.

RoadWarriorFromLP

That is not actually correct. Cirrus (MC) and Plus (Visa) do not allow banks to charge "convenience fees" to their international customers. If you use a US ATM card at any UK ATM machine, you should pay no fees to the UK bank for the withdrawal.

If there is a fee, it will be charged by your US bank. Therefore, your best bet is to find a US bank account that charges no withdrawal fees, so that you can use whatever ATM you choose, almost anywhere outside the US.

The reverse of this isn't entirely true in every part of the US, because some states allow banks to ignore the rules imposed by Cirrus and Plus. And this rule does not apply domestically, but only to foreign account holders.

fathermike

I am in China at the moment and have found that Bank of America has the same arrangement with China Construction Bank here. The information is actually on the Bank of America website just well hidden away.