How ATM Can (AND WILL) Trick You When Traveling
Vložit
- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Please be warned - there are many ways ATM will try to trick you when traveling. Watch the full video to see tips on how to avoid being scammed.
For extra content, please consider supporting us on Patreon: / honestguide
Our BOOK: honest.blog/shop/honest-guide...
(Best places for beer, coffee & food included)
Honest Guide on Instagram: / realhonestguide
Janek: / janekrubes
Honza: / honzamikulka
Facebook: / honestpragueguide
Music we use for our videos: bit.ly/HonestMusic
(A great website for creators. This is an affiliate link and we may earn a commission if you purchase through our link.)
Thank you for your support!
Honza Mikulka & Janek Rubeš, Prague based journalists
#HonestGuide
In Belgium, fees for withdrawing money are illegal. That's why we don't have Euronet ATM's :)
Good job
Also definitely a place worth visiting.
Great attidude
Long live Belgium 😀
Yep, also don’t think I’ve ever seen one in France ! Probably illegal here too
So essentially, all the conversion button does is convert 100% of your money into 87% of your money?
Exactly!
literal robbery.
@@Consumer0001 Most of the ATM shown are not owned by banks, they're owned by Euronet, an American private company from Kansas. Professional racketeers.
The 'conversion' means that the machine itself does the conversion - often with a very bad exchange rate - and draws the amount in your local currency from your bank. Not converting means drawing the amount in the foreign currency from your bank and letting it do the conversion, which will mostly be done with a much better rate.
Or in Ukraine at Privat Bank ATM's they charge almost 25% !!!!!
I don't understand how these aren't illegal yet. The touristy area's in Portugal are also littered with Euronet ATM's. Great job pointing this scam out 👏
What he did not told: In Czech Republic Dynamic Currency Conversion is used by the most of the Card Terminals. Not only the bad Euronet try ti use DCC, also the most retailers and restaurants with foreign cards.
This video has saved me thousands of dollars over the last year just by simply declining the conversion, you my sir are a great man
One time I was using my Dutch card to pay for a dinner in Poland, and the waiter selected the option that I wanted to pay in EUR rather than the local PLN. I was like "Whoa, what are you doing? I want to pay in PLN." And the waiter said that he was instructed to always select EUR (or USD, or ...) in the case of foreign bank cards. I made him cancel the transaction and do it again and explained him the story.
These Euronet practices... should be subject of investigations by district attorneys. Seriously. It's embezzlement.
Which city was this in? Sounds like the restaurant gets a cut of the transaction fees for the payment services provider..
@@paulsz6194 more likely they dont get charged for using the service. Most of these machines charge the company/restaurant to use their service so i could imagine that euronet offers to waive fees if they instead use conversion.
@@Pheatan so how wpuld Euronet make its money then? Corporations are always searching out extra ways to make money off us consumers.
@@paulsz6194 I think you guys are basically saying the same thing, but Audio Cracked is saying that instead of the service provider giving the restaurant a credit for using conversion, they give them a discount on the payment services.
Have had something similar happen buying groceries in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok. Cashiers get told to hit the card's home currency without asking the patron.
Now when I travelling I aim to use self checkout.
When I was in Prague last year a kind person had placed a large sticker on an ATM in Rumunska which said in English, German and Russian "WARNING - This ATM will rob you!"
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 rude
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 alpha male right here
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 Ok peasent
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 y'know, calling someone a snowflake isn't an excuse for insulting people.
you're twisting the word's definition
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 He is a troll guys, don’t bother to reply.
Literally 1 minute ago I used this tip in Italy to withdraw euros, and I saved 13% by doing it your way. Grazie Mille!!
The worst thing about Decline is the fact any sane person without knowledge of this would not click Decline as it looks like it will cancel the transaction. It looks like you don't have a choice.
Things like this exist all over the world and this is a great video to educate people.
This is just so sad how they are stealing money legally. You are doing a great job by showing to all of us where to be careful. Amazing videos. Thank you.
To add to this nonsense, the minimum you can withdraw is 1000 crowns (40euros).
As cunning as this could be seen, it isn't stealing.
The law can be abused. It often is.
Likewise what people think is harmful/dangious can actually be safer.
Then we got other factors at play. Such as "Whats in it for them" and "Being selfish vs sharing" along with other technical details. To put things into perspective, only cowards turn their backs and flee. Only the closed minded shut down communication after getting the last word in. Only the brave always listen even if in conflict to work things out.
People can and do "harass" each other before things work out. Or even going through times of near destruction. But if the end result is being happy and safe together then the ends justify the means. Especailly if it follows a set pattern that works out. eg: Different people. Different reasons. Same old song and dance.
The pattern works when exchanging each others view points and considering the full story. Even wars can stop with diplomacy. And yes... So many don't want to listen in this day and age. Perfectly legal. Yet causing so many harmful mental truama. Which in turn can lead to insanity and suicide (and gang wars. etc. You get the idea).
No one's obligated to obide by your rules. Rules forced on people without consent as if it's an obligation. People will break them just to know they even have a choice at times. Scammers scam because their own lives are shit. But maybe it's because they were treated like shit.
Bullies bully for the same reasons. Backtrack. Rewind. What's the ignition/spark that causes events?
Understand the patterns that cause events to happen and you can control events. Will you take advantage with that control? Well... What's in it for me not too? Fear? Being told of? Threats/intimidation? These things are not good incentive on their own.
Granted, punishment, threat and fear has its uses on a "right now" bases when combined with more caring/positive elements. But without the "positive" elements then it's just making it about yourself and your own moral high ground isn't it? That's why people will keep doing it. Because why wouldn't they if you have nothing else to offer them?
Thus, what can you offer to those bankers to get them to stop?
@@WhatALoadOfTosca Someone taking by trickery what you would not have given them IS stealing. Look up "theft by trick."
Any reply you make to this comment may result in loss to your bank accounts, I'm just being honest.
@@davidcovington901 lol wut. It’s not a trick if you can’t be bothered to read
I'd also recommend to ALWAYS examine the ATM before putting in your card. Sometimes thieves install this device on top of the place where you put you card and it is there to gather information about your card. It's kinda an oldschool trick, it ofc does not happen all the time, but it's good to be mindfull
It happened to me, but it was on island where it was only atm and i was out of cash :-D So i took a risk
@@Trolhammarenn damn
It’s called skimming. Just jiggle firmly on the card reader before you put in your card and fiddle around if it does not come of easily. If it’s cardboard or simply wood ignore it and move along. Also always enter your pin blind beneath your palm. They have a second cam installed (not officially from the bank) and that reads your pin entry. After a day or so they remove their skimming device and match the card read to the pin and a simple copy action from your read card to a copy card and with your pin recorded they empty your account.
@@shardphoenix They were doing what you describe in Malaysia 20 years ago !
@@brianterence3211 Yes bc even chip card still have magnetic strip, that's why Fintech is answer where u can disable strip, nfc, chip to authorisation.
Just used your trick (in Mexico) to not accept the conversion rate and it worked! Best exchange rate I've gotten in two months! Thank you for sharing!!!
When I was in Prague and needed come cash, I went to a small (a bit rundown) shopping mall, far away from tourist hotspots, and used an ATM there. It was not like one shown in the video and it was also used by locals. I doubt locals would ever use one of those tourists ATMs shown in that video. It only had a very small fee and no extra costs or other tricks and was operated by a bank which was also found in that mall.
The honest guide back at it again to helping us on our travel ventures 😁
Helping us against travel vultures!
He already made this video...its the same thing again
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 Tell that to all the people that are vaccinated and feel like they have all the power in the world and think that they can do anything without restrictions even when going to a country or place that is pretty hard hit with an certain mutation of the virus that makes the vaccine less effective.
Those are the people that are the most dangerous at this moment.
@@respectmahauthoritah4918 Dont say shits pls :)
ATM in Europe are so not safe aside mostly in an open space air no chamber, many people were following me after took some cash even some just for sake of following me not because of money but were after me for a date 😅
ATM in Indonesia are some of the safest in the world, much better security systems and all with air-conditioned chambers/spaces.
That's why all my former colleagues back in Europe said "you walked so fast, didn't even notice me waving to you"
Also in general I find that is best to avoid private ATMs,. IF you use banks ATMs you are less likely to be screwed to crazy levels.
.. and if you're lucky, you might even find one from your own bank or bank conglomerate and pay no fees at all.. (e.g. my German HypoVereinsbank card, which is part of the UniCredit group shown in the video, would withdraw there for free)
No matter what my bank is (Wise for instance), any other bank ATM will accept my withdraw?
Hi Janek and Honsa,
Thank you for this channel. We just went two weeks to Liberec, camping. Now I knew what to do at the
ATMs. In our region cash was needed.
Great channel! Love czech republic.
Gr wouter
There are many videos on this topic, but your video is BY FAR THE BEST!
Funny: EURONET is an american company
it made sense
Funny: the Clinton Foundation and BLM are not American.
@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 For tax purposes no one is american
That tells you everything.
@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 BLM isn't an official organization to be taxed?
Jeeze, it's like you idiots _want_ to be misinformed...
That applies to PayPal as well, always decline the conversion thru a few more clicks at payment option, auto currency conversion is set by default.
Im coming to Prague next month and I have been binging all your videos. I feel so prepared, thanks!
Thanks Janek and Honza for making and sharing this vid! Really insightful and helpful when I plan to visit Czech some day 🙏🏼
Be careful! It is worth highlighting his point that it’s not just ATMs. Some merchants are also doing this when you pay with a foreign card at a restaurant, gift shop, or even at the airport. This is including at reputable stores. When you insert your card, the staff may ask you “do you want to pay in (your home currency)?” I have a U.S. credit card with no foreign transaction fees and typically competitive exchange rates. If I were to accept this, the restaurant or shop’s card processor would do the conversion for me at a terrible rate. So always decline and say you will pay in your local currency.
I asked the cashier once why they confuse people like this, and they shrugged and said “it’s just for your convenience.” It’s not for your convenience, it’s for their company’s pocketbooks and even well known department stores do this.
*I wish there was an honest guide in every city of the world*
I wish the world were simply more honest...
Yeah I think these guys need to do collabs with other CZcamsrs in other countries
u can get atm in every city of the world for sure
A lot of cards here in the United States, usually charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. You might think that Banks here charge a fee also so there’s no point to declining. But when I saw that these ATMs are charging 15%, 3% is still way more preferable to 15%
great job guys!
i'm visiting Prague next week and your videos are gold! thank you :)
The fact that they now have to state "12% markup" is a big win.
Good to see EU regulations at work.
12,86% is rounded to 13%, not 12%. They steal 13%
@@paolopetrozzi2213 OK I agree.
EU regulations are still trash. These devices are scams the banks are f***ing impostors.
@@nahadoth2087 exactly
@@nahadoth2087 I didn’t know Spain had those type of ATMs although considering the amount of profit Spain makes from tourism it isn’t that surprising.
Thank you for your videos. When we traveled to Spain a few years ago, I did my homework and found I could go to a Deutchebank ATM with my particular US issued card and get cash with almost no fee. I avoided Euronet completely. It is an odd coincidence that I briefly worked for Euronet when they bought the company I worked for. I truly had no knowledge of their high fees and preying on unsuspecting people. I naively thought we were providing a critical service. I quit in 1999, but I still have a relative that works there. I let him know every time I see him that his company engages in shady business practices.
Great video i haven't been to Europe in over 30 years. Was just starting to look at setting up a new trip. Your videos are helpful.
To be honest, I live in Slovakia and every time I'm going to Czech Republic I'm always having problems in paying with my card. A good 30/40% of the shops or restaurants I went in cities close to the border, or southern of Brno are refusing card payments at all. In Poland I never encountered the same problem and never needer to withdraw Zlotý.
I'm so happy things are opening up again. You're closing segment made me really happy.
I'm ashamed to say Euronet is an American company. Their headquarters are near Kansas City.
Well that shouldn't be the case
@@logon12 i googled it and it is in Kansas.
The yanks are well known for ripping people off, corporate greed unchecked
@@centaur188 I'm not feeding the troll 😒
@@fall22123 No he's totally right. America has greediest culture on this earth. No one does hypercapitalist exploitation like the US.
Hi guys! I just wanted to tell you that even Bank Norwegian linked your video on their website! Keep up the good work!
Thanks mate, very kind of you to show us this. Best wishes
I wish there was some way to calculate how much money you and your team have saved people over the world.
Another thing: ALWAYS use an ATM from a real bank and preferably one at a bank office if at all possible.
ATMs elsewhere and 4rd party ATMs (like Euronet) tend to charge much higher transaction fees.
E.g. in the Netherlands, many off-site ATMs (so ones in stores for example rather than in bank offices) tend to charge you an additional several Euros plus a percentage on top of the transaction fee you're being charged by your bank (which for Dutch cards in a Dutch ATM should be ZERO).
4rd party: When your heart says 3rd but your brain likes 4th
Its the same thing for pretty much anywhere in Europe although in the UK many ATMs are free to use wether they're owned by a bank or not since they're owned by an organisation owned by a group of banks and you can do bank functions at your local convenience store as long as there is a "PayPoint" sign on the side of the building
Also for the UK you may find the ATM Locator app by Link Scheme Ltd useful on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store that may be useful. It can show any UK ATM on a map and can filter for only free ATM's or even the rare ATM's offering £5 notes which may come in handy if you need cash for one small transaction.
@@seraphina985 Thanks for the info since I did not know about this; I knew they were owned by Link but I didn't know that any dispensed £5 notes or that there was a map locator...
ATMs in the Netherlands don't charge you anything. What are you on about
I really appreciate all of your videos! You’ve taught me so much!
Great tips, I'm going to definitely watch out for this when I travel next. Thank you.
I can see why people get fooled. They think clicking on conversion will convert the funds from their currency to the Czech currency.
I fell for the ATM conversion scan in Florence. It cost me extra $12. Lesson learned.
The value of your videos is beyond the amount of your followers!!! keep up the good work.
Came across your channel today, awesome content dude keep up the good work 👍
These Euronet ATM are on almost every corner here in Cyprus, if I see people using I tell them to be careful and not get scammed.
North Cyprus or South?
@@Oceansta Isn't Norther Cyprus just a satellite of Turkey almost no one but them recognizes?
Jup, looked it up. Sure is. So I would tend to think it's the real state of Cyprus.
@@Oceansta Cyprus is one country, hence their flag depicting the entire island. Turkey invaded it in 1974, but Cyprus joined the European Union as a whole island.
@@aoelp Exactly, Northern Cyprus is an invaded piece of Cyprus (the invasion occurred in 1974), that's why nobody recognizes it
@Kaan Özkuscu The Greeks have been on the island of Cyprus since 1400 BC. That's almost 3000 years before the Ottoman Empire invaded it and they have been there to this day. Pretending as if Turks are innocent and don't act out aggressively for the benefit of their own nationalistic interests is pure hypocrisy on your end and won't solve anything.
This video is so useful, I think you just saved a lot of my and other people's money. Thank you 😁
This is one of the best travel channel. He teach us how to protect ourselves overseas and avoid scammers.
In the UK there are a lot of ATMs that charge to get money out in places like hotels, motorway services and some shops etc. Most people avoid them.
You put all the Currency Converter Crooks out of Business, so now they set up all these ATMs 🤣
😂
I am moving to Prague in couple weeks and I have watched nearly all of your videos.
To say I am very grateful for such a helpful content is a horrific understatement.
Keep up the good work 👍💪
Insane u want move to the biggest scam city in europe
Fair play to these guys exposing these dirty forginers scammers
"Horrific"???
Thanks for posting this video - very insightful !!!
I was really glad to know this information before I came to the Czech Republic early last year. Came in very handy in Budapest too where I needed a bit of cash for something where cards were not accepted. Ended up avoiding the Euronet ATMs and dealt with a bank and withdrew in the local currency for a more reasonable fee.
I was amazed how everything was quoted so cheap in Prague.... When i got home my bank statement didn't look too pretty after this same dodgy ATM scam
Thanks for putting time making this video
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
I stumbled upon these tricks accidentally. I didn't bring much money to Europe, so I go to one of these ATM (forgot the brand) in Vienna Airport. The conversion rate was horrible, so naturally I press Decline, but surprised that money still comes out. I was afraid that I got scammed, but after checking my mobile banking apparently I'm charged normally according to Visa rate. That's how I learned to always press Decline. I'm surprised it's the case in Czech Republic and many other places too though.
This is exactly the same way how I've found out myself a couple of years back. Ever since I always press decline or go with local currency.
Those bastard machines kept popping up all over Vienna past few years, sometimes almost right next to "legit" ATMs (where it's just your own bank fleecing you).
literally Euronet. i dont't even think they have competitors (except normal bank ATMs that don't charge you)
The EU doesn't care about scamming tourists or it would make this practice illegal. This conversion scam is a plague across many EU countries.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
When I visited Prague and even nearby towns, I was paying directly by card to avoid exactly this issue with the ATMs you've mentioned except for when I wanted to eat the trdelnik and the kiosk only accepted cash but they were kind enough to round it off and let me pay in Euros.
Loved how detailed you've made this video. Hope to bump into you guys on one of my Euro trips. Cheers!
Just wanted to know what if the concerned shop owner or waiter at a restaurant swipes your card and accepts the payment without declining the conversion in your home currency thing?
This advice saved me A LOT of money on my trip to Canada. I remembered it and declined what turned out to be a ridiculous markup. Thanks!
Awesome info, mi amigo. Gracias
Another thing about those ATM:s - as a foreigner you can only get large bills while a Czech citizen can get smaller bills according to a Czech person I spoke to. This is a problem since you only need cash to pay up to CZK 150. If you have CZK 500 or 1000 bills they have trouble giving you change.
That's why i always select that i'll specify the amount i'd like to withdraw. So if i would need 2000 CZK, i'd enter that i'll withdraw 1900 (so worst case scenario is i get 1000+500+200+200), if i'd need 500 i'd enter 450 or 550 (so i'd get 200+200+50 or 200+200+100+50, both are much better than a 500 bill).
I cannot imagine how this would be done by ATM. It has the same buttons to press for everybody. I guess it must be what Honest Guide mentioned; not to press any big amounts but enter the smaller amount you want to withdraw manually. So foreigners can get smaller bills as well just need to read the screen carefully.
@@glondikeink2167 No - that is exactly what i tried. The menu system is interactive and one get different responses depending on whether a Czech or foreign credit card was entered. The person I discussed this with was taking parking payments at a site with no cell coverage meaning only cash payment was possible. For her it was a problem since all foreigners came with large bills and she was very aware of why.
@@archibaldhaddock7450 that happens here in Portugal. With nationalcards you get options starting at 20€ and up to 200€. You can select custom amount and go as low as 10€. With foreign cards they leave only the 100 and 200€ options, a well as custom where you can still insert that same 10€ amount
So this is basically the same shady principle as those cookie banners employ: Trick you into intuitively pressing whatever they want through UI flow and design. On the cookie banners: Always hit advanced settings and manually uncheck everything! And look for what the buttons say, and not how attractive to click they look due to their choice of colouring.
Also don't forget to look at vendors and uncheck "legitimate interest" which is basically just another way for them to get your info, like hell they have any legitimate interest in you.
I have started to stop using some sites because they have way too many vendors that have to be unchecked individually. One i can think of is fandom.wikia which have video game information, one page for each video game.
@@PokerAttack21 I believe they still are able to track you, because the law accepts "technically needed" which in turn means yes, its gonna be an auth token, but some tracking cookies will also slip
It's called "dark design patterns" and oh boy, is that a deep and nasty can of worms
About the cookies: sometimes you can click on "advanced options" and turn everything off, but then there's no "save" or "apply" button anywhere to be found. Or it takes you to a different page for the cookie settings with no clear way to get back to the content page and if you just click the "back"-button on your browser, well it will take you back to the page you wanted to see, but then it'll ask for your cookie settings again!
In both cases I'll immediately leave the page. Screw those guys who design such deliberately broken sites, no content in the world could be worth putting up with this!
I just use adblockers, wish I could do the same in real life xD
Good stuff! Thank you so much for this. I will be in Prague in a few days. And I now know I can use my card for everything instead of pulling cash out. Much appreciated
This has to be the best advice I ever so on CZcams. Thanks a lot.
My bank apparently charges a fee of $4 for paying with my card in foreign countries. So the idea of just using my card gets ridiculously expensive and quick!
Buy a $1 beer? Slap $4 on top for good measure!
Turns out your own bank is also in the business of robbing you 😫
Have multiple banks, use each whenever it has better terms. One might put pointless fees, the other might have higher transfer limits and cheaper transfers.
My card are multi-currency, but it will still has transactions fee since it use visa network.
Try N26
Just get a fintech card like Revolut, Payoneer, Crypto.com etc, they give you better conversion rates anyway, and you have a lot more control over your card, you can freeze it, set limits, etc on the fly from your smartphone.
Get a card with no international fees. There are quite a few around these days.
Extra tip: Avoid currency exchange counters. Most places will have them in the airport and scattered near stations. The exchange rates are worse than your bank 99% of the time. Best to just use an ATM and avoid the exchanges.
I didn't know that when I visited the UK and went to the post office for that. Also, the ATM has something called "Guarantee of exchange rate" which is what he said here in the video and it was not on the screen what it meant. Now I know.
There is one near the Louvre in Paris that has good rates, but it is down a side street two city blocks away. XD
@@ShadyD365 depends on the bank. They vary as much on exchange rates in the states as Europe.
@@ShadyD365 interesting. That has not been my experience. I live in Europe.
@@ShadyD365 I started to explain then realized I'd don't want my financial details on fricking CZcams, so you can take me at my word or don't.
So useful!! Thanks so much for the tips
Thank you for the explanation folks!
Also, be extremely careful those agents who sit in a corner cubby offices who convert Euro cash in CZK cash. They'll show some conversion rate on a board (which changes by agent to agent BTW, and is always higher than international rates) they'll also hide the fees until the actual transaction happens. I got fucked by a guy who pointed at the fine print below the board saying the fees.
Painful to say, but I was also tricked that way in Prague.
next time you show them a banquote you wanna exchange and ask them how much money you gonna get- they must write it... it always works fo me
Exchange points in tourist locations show higher "we sell rate" of EUR, USD, GBP at entrance doors what means that they sell at this rate and not buy to trick tourists who quite often have no clue of what is going on and when they buy or sell. Furthermore, they don't know proper exchange rate and could have no idea what the local currency is because they are money ignorants or do not care becasue they got money from their parents or another sponsors. The full board with buy and sell rate is usually inside but, still some morron tourists think that they will get higher rate even after they look at exchange rate board. In my opinion best option is to have multicurrency card, that is always recognised as lokal bank card in every country to avoid money exchange troubles. There is quite a few fintech companies providing such multicurrency cards and banking apps.
Note the missing space between "includes" and "12.86%", making it harder to read.
It is almost like the designers assumed it would be one digit to the left and two to the right of the decimal point. Don't know why they would think so, ... oh wait, because that seems more reasonable maybe(?).
@@Rodhern Nah I think they did it on purpose.
Thanks for this !!
Awesome video. Thanks buddy.
I had such a case in the Czech Republic a few years ago. Fortunately, my bank did not allow such a transaction and it rejected it.
Maybe what is needed is a map of "Ethical ATMS" i.e. ATM's from some of the major banks that do not engage in these kind of shady practices.
If you mean feeless ATM I don't think it exists. Every ATM will charge you somehow.
Agree 👍
There is! Look up "blank map of europe" and it will show you maps of all the ethical ATMs
@@fil2337 what other words ? if i use this in a search i get a litteral blank map of europe
@@shywalker404 Yeah, those are all the ethical ATMs
Very useful. Thank you!
Great video! Power to the people! Cheers.
Few years from now, you'll probably have to pay €1 to get your card back, even without withdrawing any money from it.
Omg
Don't give them ideas.
You didn’t see him tap his card??
STFU ... Do not give them any ideas .......
Yes it wouldn't surprice me if they suddenly started doing that .
Thank God, I will NEVER face such a problem! I am superior to you, all!
I am too poor to travel!
Thanks Greece!
Fantastic job, many thanks.
Thanks for the advices. Honest Guy
I had that experience of "DCC" when paying by card at a restaurant in England. There was no choice in the matter at transaction time (as far as I am aware), but the receipt did say I could call them to revert the DCC and charge me in the local currency. Very annoying, especially when you don't have a local phone and you know they will just make you waste time on hold, so I just avoided that restaurant for the rest of the week (I was there on business, staying at the same hotel all week). Though as I understand it was not the restaurant's choice, but their banks, and they were not an especially touristy location, not an issue for brits.
I often need cash to avoid too many charges by my American bank. So my rule when withdrawing, especially in Prague, only use the ATM of a good bank at that bank. Euronet should be avoided ALWAYS.
In the '00s, there were Citibank ATMs that didn't rip you off, and I'd use them. Don't know if they're still around -- the ones I knew aren't still there.
Open up a Schwab account to use specifically for travel. You'll never look back.
Get a credit card with no foreign exchange fees. The higher-end Chase cards (Sapphire Preferred/Reserve) do this, along with my Barclay's Aviator Red Mastercard. And the nice thing with the Barclay's is that it offers true European Chip-and-PIN, so you can pay at kiosks. When I was in Prague I withdrew about $200 USD equivalent in Crowns from a bank lobby ATM (using local currency). Everything else was paid on my cards. Zero issues.
Great tips. Thank you
Thank you for the video , this is very useful for me since I regularly travel to Hungary. Great video 👍👍👍👍
Man this dude is really honest, he puts people first before the country.
country ? those are american company ATMs nothing to do with country. its not easy for the state to do something with this neither, its on private property and those owners probably dont give a f if they pay a lot.
To be fair you can tell he's deeply patriotic and proud of his country and he just wants the best for it
The ATM was like “Mission Failed we’ll get them next time”
Thank you so much for this! It can be really confusing.
Glad I watched this video. They do the same in MX and I've been making this mistake for a year.
Even though I don’t travel I love watching your content.
The "no conversion" button still implies a conversion, which will be made by your bank, as mentioned in the second part of the video. Even if they do not charge you a fixed amount for that, they will still use a conversion rate that is a few percents, say about 2% (but it can be worse or better, depends on your bank) worse than the inter-bank rate of that day, so you don't save quite as much as said in first part of the video.
Still, 2% is much, much better than 12% so the advice is certainly a good one. And those 2% or whatever you bank takes is also taken in any case even if you directly use your credit card.
Depends on your bank. If you travel you usually check this, but for many cards you pay 0% fees on conversions.
@@muffinb5446 Not really. They say it's 0% fees, and that's true, but they still use an exchange rate that is a couple of percents to your disadvantage compared to the interbank rate o the day.
@@alestane2 some banks do use the interbank rate with no fees addef
I'm really confused about what conversation versus no conversion means. Does conversion mean that it won't incur a foreign transaction fee? My bank charges those.
Great point, this happens every time in hotels (even the 5 star ones) as well. Some front desk people would 'suggest' which option to pick, but as you mentioned, the point is always to pick the local currency
Thanks for this: valuable information.
A lot of stores in tourist areas of Europe also have their debit/credit payment machines give the option of showing the payment in your local currency. It sounds convenient because it will make it clear to you how much money you are spending, but again, it comes with a bad conversion rate that hides the fee for doing that. Worse still, sometimes it is only showing it in your local currency and not actually taking it out in your money, which means the bank or credit card company will still charge you the international fee on top of that. Stick to what the currency of that country is.
Problem is if you pay your card many merchants don’t even give you the opportunity to decline out of DCc, they just click right through without asking you
I had that happen in Croatia once. Never going to that place again. Always make sure you check the currency on the POS before you enter the pin.
@@jebotipasmater This is another problem, many cards don't even require your signature, and even if it requires your signature its already approved, you just have to sign on the receipt or you can't see the transaction currency when you are signing on the POS machine.
@@chrisli3295 That's why sponsor ZEN or used in this video Revolut is your friend, u convert money to local currency via app and it's impossible to overdrawn this card's
@@mateuszzimon8216 But then you get dinged by Revolut's poor exchange rate maybe?
@@chrisli3295 if u compare Revo or Zen rates to regular banks 1eur 25,92czk
Great Video!!!!!!! Many thanks!!! I've always wondered what conversion meant
Great tip. Thank you.
So when they're young, they work on pickpocketing.
When they get older, they run companies like running a bunch of currency converters.
In Stockholm, I only found one Euronet* ATM. It was in the Westfield MOS building. There are at least 10 Swedish bank owned ATMs in the area that follows EU law yet tourist flock that one stupid ATM.
As a minor nitpick, it's Euronet. Euronext operates stock exchanges.
And in Stockholm! I have never, ever needed cash when travelling to Sweden
@@EdJonesVideos As a swede it have been years since I last saw cash...
It's because tourists likely recognize the Euronet ATM
@@Sorgesol It seems like you guys are really deep into the "project".
This is super helpful, thanks.
I was lucky I remembered this video when I tried to take some pounds out of an ATM in Belfast and I was offered a pretty bad conversion rate. Thank you!
I fell in love with Czech republic the very first time I went there in 1997. Money exchange was one of the few issues at that time. It is a shame they still have this problem, otherwise beautiful country
I honestly doubt that my midwestern but will ever see a country outside of the US...but I wholeheartedly thank you for this kind of information for people like me. The work you do is amazing and the videos are as much so if not more
Mate you have to, the world is so big with so many experiences you can't get in the US.
Agreeing with@@Turkey936 here. I'm American and it's amazing how insular and backward our American thinking is when we *only* see the US. Travel abroad, especially to Europe, should be a mandatory part of school.
@@LabGecko as an American, can confirm the rest of the world is CRAZY. I spent 2 weeks in China, 1 week in Germany, the culture around the world is so cool and different
Bro what are you doing!? You have to travel, it's one of the most mind expanding things you can do. I can't believe how many Americans never leave.
Agreed - that is sooo 20th century, Bro. As penance for ignoring the wide world so long, you now must travel to a different continent at least once per year, through 2025. If not, an ankle bracelet will be fitted....🤠😉🤠😉👍
Thanks for this. Very helpful.
Brilliant!! highly informative.
I've also found that if you decline conversion some ATMs will take a flat rate and limit the amount you can withdraw, thus increasing their percentage take.