shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:34 pm Thanks for the replies folks.

In reality i found that all the banks i used had withdrawall fees of 5 to 6 dollars, and also that some ATM'S allowed to withdraw more than others. Therefore it was more important to choose the ATM's allowing one to withdraw as much as possible.

I wonder how you 'regulars' deal with this, because it's not just the withdrawall fees but also bank fees charged back home! On average it'll cost me $5 to use the ATM, then foreign cash fees of like £2.50, and other fees of like £8. Like £13-15 every time i make a moderate withdrawall.

shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2017 3:04 pm Thanks TDAW.

Since i only withdrew 2 times, was no biggie. Maybank will only make sense if large amounts can be withdrawn, because even if Maybank is free, bank charges back home aren't and account for most of the costs. Therefore what is most important is to find the bank that allows the most to be withdrawn in one go, since you don't want to use the ATM every week, rather every 3-4 weeks. Also, regarding opening an account in Cambodia will require transfer fees etc, and may seem like a step to far for moderate long term travellers.

I have read that some 'specialist' UK Credit card companies seem to be the way to go, but will need to further examine this, but even regular credit cards can be very handy. Flashpackers can pretty much eradicate many fees by paying for goods with a credit card, and paying bills off on time.However the cheapescates will always be paying with small cash, and still need to withdraw money.

Obviously the odd big ATM withdrawall will last longer if hotel room and food /drink bills can for the most part be paid off by credit cards. Therefore a balance with ATM usage and Credit Cards may be the better way to be, rather than opening a bank account which is more the thing for 'full on' expats, i would have thought.

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2017 3:58 pm just to clarify:

Maybank for Visa
MB Bank (Vietnamese bank) for Mastercard - I haven't tried this yet

Daily withdrawal limit seems to vary. I could only withdraw $500 at Maybank but some people could get $1000.

I opened a Citibank account in AU because they don't charge a % cut for foreign withdrawals and their exchange rate for the transactions has been pretty good too, so I've saved about $400 in ATM fees plus about 2% of the total withdrawn in the past year.

Jamie has posted previously he uses some FX company to transfer from UK that doesn't charge (or refunds?) fees...

frank lee bent wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2017 6:38 pm ABA did a TT for me to USA for a world breaking low $18. They were much more familiar with the process than banks in USA and Oz where they are like
whut?"
Though my Oz accts have self service online TT, the yanks are clueless.