From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Kir=E1ly?= on
Martin <martin(a)invalid.invalid> wrote:
> Open an account with a bank that doesn't charge exorbitant rates.

Finally found one after several days of searching. ICICI Bank of India.
Has several branches in Canada. Deposits are fully insured by CDIC in
case of bank failure. No account fees with a minimum monthly balance of
$500, and no fees to use any ATM in the world. Finally!

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.
From: Jack Campin - bogus address on
>> Open an account with a bank that doesn't charge exorbitant rates.
> Finally found one after several days of searching. ICICI Bank of
> India. Has several branches in Canada. Deposits are fully insured
> by CDIC in case of bank failure. No account fees with a minimum
> monthly balance of $500, and no fees to use any ATM in the world.
> Finally!

Your next problem is finding an ATM in Budapest - there are far
less of them than in most major European cities, and they're
weirdly located. Tube stations are a good place to look, but
they have an unholy fondness for locating ATMs in places where
it feels like you could easily get jumped.

When I was there last year I also found that many machines wouldn't
accept my UK-issued card. Machines made by Diebold always worked,
NCR ones never did. When I checked this out with the Volksbank's
IT department, they said it was a temporary screwup on their part
which they had since fixed (this was probably the quickest and most
helpful response to a problem I have ever received from a bank, good
for them). Volksbank operates more ATMs in Hungary than anybody else
so they're the one that matters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin
From: Jesper Lauridsen on
On 2010-06-10, Kir�ly <me(a)home.spamsucks.ca> wrote:
>
> Canadian banks' foreign ATM fees are typically $5 per transaction, plus
> another 3% or so on top of the interbank exchange rate. That's a hit
> of more than 8% on a 20,000 forint ($90) withdrawal. You can see how
> that might add up quickly over a four week visit to Hungary.

Make fewer, but bigger, withdrawals. Problem solved.

From: tim.... on

"Jesper Lauridsen" <rorschak(a)sorrystofanet.dk> wrote in message
news:hvdfr7$n4b$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> On 2010-06-10, Kirly <me(a)home.spamsucks.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Canadian banks' foreign ATM fees are typically $5 per transaction, plus
>> another 3% or so on top of the interbank exchange rate. That's a hit
>> of more than 8% on a 20,000 forint ($90) withdrawal. You can see how
>> that might add up quickly over a four week visit to Hungary.
>
> Make fewer, but bigger, withdrawals. Problem solved.

It's easy to say that but if you've no idea how much cash you might need
it's actually quite hard to achieve.

tim




From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Kir=E1ly?= on
tim.... <tims_new_home(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> > Make fewer, but bigger, withdrawals. Problem solved.
>
> It's easy to say that but if you've no idea how much cash you might need
> it's actually quite hard to achieve.

Especially when the Budapest ATMs I used in 2005 tended to have a 20,000
Ft ($90) limit per transaction. 20,000 Ft does not last very long in
Budapest, especially when I am spending money for a family of four.
Maybe the limit is higher now.

Anyway problem solved. I opened an account at the only bank in Canada
that I could find that does not charge fees to use foreign ATMs.

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.