Despite being a long time Westpac customer, before today I’d never heard of the (rather menancingly named) Global ATM Alliance which, apparently, allows Westpac customers to access cash without paying international access fees at ATM’s owned by Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays and Deutsche Bank. This allows reduced-fee access at ‘over 32,000 cash machines in over 40 countries’.
Regular account fees and a currency conversion fee apply.
Westpac certainly don’t seem to have done a great job at promoting this, with no mention on their ‘access your money overseas’ page. Indeed, all I could find on their website was this 2001 press release.
So has anybody used this service or have any other tips for accessing money overseas? Leave a comment.
[Photo Creative Commons via ohad* on Flickr]
3 responses so far ↓
kathy k // 26 April, 2008 at 6:09 am |
I used it the other way around – I’m an Australian living in the US & bank at Bank of America here. I withdrew cash from the the Westpac ATMs in Australia with no problems. I don’t believe there were any fees AND the exchange rate was quite good. I believe I only found out about it by fluke, while I was looking to get some A$ before I went home.
Amusingly, I used to work for Westpac
How to Take Money Overseas - A Comparison of Some of the Options « Oz Traveller // 11 May, 2008 at 5:07 pm |
[...] you’re a Westpac customer make sure you’re aware of the Global ATM Alliance which allows you to withdraw cash free of withdrawal fees at several overseas banks including [...]
Matt // 3 September, 2008 at 5:16 pm |
Yeh I was told a number of times by the bank before travelling overseas. In the branch and the card call centre.