Sunday, September 12, 2010

Foreign exchange charges

Coming back from our trip, the major shocker was the bill – not so much how much we spent, but how how much the foreign transaction fees were. Our bank is charging us 1 percent of the amount. I don't mind paying a fixed transaction fee (the ATM in Bangkok was charging 150Thb per transaction) or a proportionate fee capped at say $10, but I hate having to pay a proportional charge especially when hotel bills run into the thousands. Does the marginal cost of a foreign transaction rise with the amount I spend? I hardly think so. If there is a bank out there that is NOT charging proportionately, I'd be willing to switch.

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