Hi everybody - can anyone tell me the ATM fee at the Hi Lo in Negril? I've always used travelers checks and now they are difficult get without 20% fees. I have to switch to debit/credit card but concerned about unknown fees. Any information is appreciated. I'll be back for trip #16 in 2016.
I have no charge at that ATM. My bank picks up any charges but I have yet to see one at either end.Originally Posted by MrsPurina
Cap
linston@redplate-negril.com
I have a Scotiabank visa/debit card any place that accepts visa should accept visa debit. I use the Scotia atm and no fees and a much better rate of exchange than a regular visa. The only thing is if you use a visa/debit it comes right out of your chequing account. So have to ensure the funds are there.
Regular visa soaks you on fees and exchange rates.
Thank you good folks. I do have a visa debit. I appreciate the help.
Nova Scotia also allows you to withdraw in Usd.i did that and went to a cambio
Cambio pays better imo.
That would be pretty surprising, unless your bank charges you unusually high fees. I assume you paid an ATM fee to get the USD, then you got about 3% less than the official exchange rate at the cambio. My experience is that I get charged a fee on the order of $3. per transaction from the ATM regardless of what currency I get, and then get within 1% of the official rate on the withdrawal if it's in the local currency not USD.
Of course, if you're bank is Scotia, they may not charge you the ATM fee. But I've always gotten a better exchange rate from ATMs than from cambios. Not enough to make a big deal out of it certainly, but no advantage for me in doing what you suggest.
Last edited by wrtiii; 02-12-2016 at 10:15 PM.
I have a credit union and didn't receive a fee.
The arm gave me the option of Ja or usd when I withdrew.
I was told by someone there that the cambio pay better.who knows...so thats what I did...
Here's my experience from last week. I both traveled with cash and changed it at the cambio, and used the ATMs at ScotiaBank to withdraw JMD 30,000 at a time.
The ATM wins!
ScotiaBank charged me JMD 545. as a transaction fee (roughly $4.50 US).
My credit union charged me $1.50 US as an out-of-network fee.
The exchange rate was the interbank rate as of that day (so around 121.5 JMD per USD).
The cambio next to the bank was discounting the exchange rate by roughly 3% (a bit over 118 JMD per USD).
I was withdrawing $30,000 JMD US at a time, about $250. US. The net effect is that for these transaction amounts, it was about $2. US less to take JMD from the ATM than traveling with cash and changing the cash at the cambio.
Of course, if you do more smaller transactions at the ATM, the fees are going to eat up more of your money. On the other hand, if your bank is "in network" with the ATM you're using so the fees are lower, you will do even better to use the ATM.
Taking US dollars out of the ATM then changing them at the cambio will always be the worst strategy.
Of course, the guys hanging around the cambio were offering an exchange rate of 120...
Scotia is the only bank that charges a fee to use their ATMs. NCB terminals (next to ValueMaster, HiLo and other locations) and Sagicor (next to the Cambio, right side of same small building) do not charge fee to use them.
OK, so then you should check whether they have a hidden fee by offering a lower conversion rate on the currency exchange (same thing the cambios do). Somehow, the cost of buying and operating the ATM is being recovered!
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