Comments on: UPDATE: New Fee Hits Cash Withdrawals At Link ATMs

By: Jenice

Jenice — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:58:55 +0000

All i know is, if you have a Citigold account with Citibank, the 3% exchange fee for withdrawing from a Citi ATM in a foreign country is waived. People have to remember, banks are a business. They are all different, and can impose their own rules and fees..
I suggest reading the client manuals and asking questions to your own banks.
Citibank has been great with me so far.

By: Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:04:12 +0000

As some other posters mentioned above TRY THE BLUE CITIBANK ATMs.

When I’ve withdrawn money there it does not charge the fee. Well, at it least it does not prompt you with the message that says it will charge $11.46.

I wanted to double check and make sure it wasn’t charging the fee in the background and just not telling you. So I withdrew $700 pesos from a Banelco ATM:

NON-CHASE ATM WITHDRAW 009678 09/15BBV BANCO AR Peso 700.00 X 0.2638571 (EXCHG RTE) + 5.54 (EXCHG RTE ADJ) $190.24

Then I withdrew $700 pesos from a CitiBank ATM:

NON-CHASE ATM WITHDRAW 019395 09/29Av. Santa AR Peso 700.00 X 0.2604142 (EXCHG RTE) + 5.47 (EXCHG RTE ADJ) $187.76

Those are the lines from my bank statement.

This was about 15 days apart so unless the exchange rate changed during that time it appears correct that the CitiBank ATM does not charge the fee (it is about $3 less). It is not listed as a separate fee on your bank statement though, it shows up in the exchange rate.

Can anyone else confirm this? Anyway, if it’s true it means that Banelco and Link are about to get a taste of the free market at work. If wou raise price and people have an alternative, it means you lose business!

By: GBS

GBS — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:52:31 +0000

I hold an HSBC Premier account in the US (well, several, but that’s not pertinent here), and I opened it because I spend most of my time (and therefore also most of my money) outside the US. Being HSBC Premier gives me spot exchange rates for credit card transactions and ATM withdrawals, anywhere in the world. Most other banks and credit cards charge 2-3%. For me the difference runs easily into the thousands of dollars per year.

To those who say that extra fees for using ATMs outside your home country are the norm, my personal experience is they are not. I have used HSBC machines in at least a dozen countries in the last year. Not one has charged any fees until now, and now only in Argentina. Whoever is behind this, whether the Argentine Banks, the network operators, the Kirchners… whoever – they are making Argentina the rare exception – not emulating the rest of the world as some here suggest.

I have also used a lot of non-HSBC machines in more than a dozen countries in the last year, and the overwhelming majority of these also charge no additional fees. Rarely, very rarely, HSBC will charge their own fee when I use a non-HSBC machine.

Finally, as an HSBC Premier in the US, I can open an HSBC Premier account here in Argentina, and HSBC will waive all fees except those charged by the Argentina Central Bank when I transfer funds from my accounts abroad to my account here. Setting up the account here, however, is a bureaucratic headache – nothing at all like setting up an account back home. Even as a non-Argentine, I have surmised in the last few years that I do more transactions with Argentine banks than most Argentines (even Argentines with money). Argentines – especially those with money – avoid banks in general, and especially avoid banks here. I’m beginning to understand why. I had thought that by dealing with a large international name that has a strong reputation around the world, dealing with banks even here might not be so bad, but then you get those who say HSBC Argentina has nothing to do with HSBC in the rest of the world. It’s a murky area, because even HSBC in the rest of the world would seem to suggest (even advertise!) otherwise.

By: Gretel

Gretel — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:45:35 +0000

My experiences with ATM’s in Argentina are identical with those of the others who tell about their’s (paying per $300, having access to higher amounts, excceptions are some foreign banks). My bank in Europe is not charging for an ATM transaction!
I feel robbed everytime I have to deal with the Argentine bank, as do most Argentine citizens(!). When transfering a large amount of US$, the bank not only charges 3%, but gives a bad fantasy exchange rate (Santander). Furthermore the (Argentine) receiver has to pay similar ‘duties’ too. Anonymous’ opinion demonstrates the unwordly view of the banks nicely. Obviously the ‘family’ is very expensive. There is a lot of work for the IMF and WTO. Argentina should be top of the list of the richest countries, as before World War II! However pride and intelligence is a rare combination, isn’t it Anonymous?

By: alisha

alisha — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:45:23 +0000

Who mentions Schwab Bank offers atm refunds on foreing charges must also mention that they only cover $9 / month! that’s practically 3 atm transactions

By: Posteador Anonimo

Posteador Anonimo — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:47:38 +0000

before you got 370 pesos per withdrawal, now you get 930. That is a change.

By: Bubba HoTep

Bubba HoTep — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:13:14 +0000

My employer sponsored Citi Global Executive account pays all foreign fees. This has saved me thousands..

By: EMB

EMB — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:01:23 +0000

The fee is known in the inner circles of the Argentine power structure as the Revolutionary Compensation Fee (RCF). The proceeds derived from withdraws of imperialist cards up to $930 are “redistributed” to the poor in secret ceremonies somewhere in the Andean Mountains. And this is the truth, the jol-trúz and nothing but the truth. So help me God!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:55:40 +0000

Link also told me in the ATM you can withdraw from $400AR to $12000AR depending on the agreement the bank of the card holder has with the client.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:30:50 +0000

I have contacted Link Net today. They explain they are not a Finantial Institution, they are an Operative System Providers servicing banks. Local regulations do not allow them to charge any money to the holder of a debit or credit card. They explained the fee is charged by the Bank that issues the card.

This is the peple I have contacted:
http://www.redlink.com.ar
Para mayor información: (011) 4317-1420.
Lunes a Sábado de 7 Hs. a 24 Hs.
Domingo de 9 Hs. a 24 Hs.

By: recurrent tourist

recurrent tourist — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:08:49 +0000

yes, it’s a pain to get cash from ATM’s in argentina. with their $320 peso limit (debit/credit, US90), atm fees (us1-5), a slight chance your ATM card may get stuck in the bank machine, and unfair exchange rates … maybe they are trying to bring back the US1 to 1 peso back from the 90’s, just for tourists using atm’s.
Most tourists that go to Argentina do not come back. It’s like bungee jumping, they say they love it, but they don’t come back for seconds even if it’s free. This is not about being american like the moron that made that comment. Having been born in argentina and moved to canada in my teens, I see both sides. Argentina has always been about milking people with fees and charges because they have a rusted financial system, someone must pay for the misallocation of resources. Go with a wad of US cash and hope not to get mugged from ezeiza to your hotel (Using public ATM’s seems more unsafe to me than the latter).

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:08:08 +0000

I want to add that Banelco also charges this fee, and I have not been able to get an explanation by these companies.