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    Forgot to mention it in my bounty text: If someone knows a store that offers cashback via MasterCard/Visa that is also an option. All stores I know require your card to be on an US debit network. With foreign cards you always need to select "credit" in a store, even if it is a debit card. – neo Jun 9 '16 at 17:56
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    If it makes you feel better, you're not being discriminated because you're a foreign user. Most U.S. banks charge fees for users of any other bank to use their ATMs, whether that bank is foreign or domestic. – Michael Seifert Jun 9 '16 at 21:42

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  • The TechCU (Part of the Co-Op network) and located in San Francisco does charge $3 on foreign bank accounts. Just tested it :( – alengel Jan 25 '16 at 17:48
  • @alengel - is it the ATM charging, or your foreign bank charging for an overseas transaction? – Mark Mayo Jan 25 '16 at 23:50








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As an Australian travelling overseas I am not so lucky.






These answers may change with time.





For quite some time California did not allow surcharges on ex-USA cards, but this has changed. Some other states may still have such a rule.

Finding fee-free ATMs is a challenge.



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  • @Cortez Thomas PNC charges a minimum of $2-$3 just for a "foreign" (i.e. non-PNC) card at their ATMs. I would assume that PNC charges the same for truly foreign cards (from another country) – Matthew Barclay Mar 11 '18 at 16:28

US banks do not charge a fee because it is a foreign card, they charge a fee because it is not a card issued by that bank. Cardholders of US based banks also pay the ATM fee when they access money at another bank.

About the only way to avoid paying the fee would be if the cardholder's bank has a fee waiver agreement with specific US banks, something that they would need ask their bank about.

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    In almost all other countries I can think of there are at least a couple of ATMs that don't charge an access fee. But apparently that is not the case in the US or at least those ATMs are not easily discoverable. It used to be that some US banks waived that fee for foreign cards (they do get some payment through the card's network) but that seemed to stop some years ago. – neo Jun 16 '16 at 17:41
  • @neo - That is a pretty broad sweeping statement considering there are close to 200 countries on this planet ;-) But ultimately, there is no free lunch, banks that waive ATM fees make their money by using poorer exchange rates. Anyone who believes bank marketing pitches ..... – user13044 Jun 16 '16 at 19:48
  • That's why I qualified my statement with countries I know of :). The exchange rate is not set by the ATM operator (if you press the right button that is) but your bank so that should not be a factor in waiving fees. The ATM operator does get money in any case (paid by the card issuer). I don't know the US market specifically but usually it's something between 0.50 USD and 3 USD. Of course the issuer needs to make that money somehow but that can (at least here) usually be checked by looking at their price list and the exchange rate they publish. – neo Jun 16 '16 at 20:34
  • @neo - the fee waiver versus exchange rate just an example of 'no free lunch', not specifically addressing this question. – user13044 Jun 16 '16 at 21:14
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    Sure. There are two companies involved. First the ATM operator. They get paid both by the card issuing bank (called interchange) and the customer (called access fee). Even if they waive the latter they still get the former. Second the issuing bank. They need to pay the ATM operator and get money through direct fees and the spread in the exchange rate. The price these two companies charge have no direct relation to each other. If an ATM waives a 3 USD fee the customer actually pays 3 USD less. This question is about those ATM operator access fees. No "versus" with exchange rates involved. – neo Jun 16 '16 at 21:27
