Australian Bank ATM and foreign currency fees in Japan

I am still working on how to take or get my money in Japan.

Looking at the ANZ %26amp; Westpac websites they both tell me that they will charge me $5.00 per withdraw and then a foreign currency conversion fee of 3.0%. That means if I withdraw $1,000 in Japan it is going to cost me $35.00 per transaction.

A recent posting by a TA member told us that they only received 55 Yen conversion to the Australian dollar where if we buy our Yen in Aus at the moment most banks are selling for around 62 Yen.

Japan is expensive enough without getting ripped off by our Aussie banks.

So is the moral of this story - take all the Yen with you either in cash or travellers cheques?

Australian Bank ATM and foreign currency fees in Japan

I don%26#39;t know if you get better rates in Australia or Japan, but if you intend to bring $AUD to Japan, make it in TC. Here is the link to exchange rates at NRT on 3/19:

narita-airport.or.jp/exchange_e/index.html

Australian Bank ATM and foreign currency fees in Japan

Thanks Shibuyakko for that great web link. I will keep my eyes on those rates but at the moment it seems better to buy Yen before I leave Australia.

Pam

3% conversion fee is charged on the INTERBANK rate, not the retail rate you get by exchanging cash. You always pay a conversion fee, often it%26#39;s hidden(or included) in the exchange rates they quote you.

Interbank rate right now is 66.1

Cash rate of 55 =%26gt; 16.8% conversion fee

T/C rate of 63 =%26gt; 4.7%

ABM fee of 3% =%26gt; you get 64.11 , plus $5 per withdrawal

Pam -

A couple of thoughts--

When I visited Tokyo last summer, I was surprised that your avearge ATM was NOT plugged into %26#39;my%26#39; USA networks of STAR, PLUS, CIRRUS.

I found out a day later while searching on the web from my Ryokan (inn) that I needed to use my ATM card at a Post Office. MOST PO%26#39;s did NOT have instructions in English.

I did find a Post Office ATM near Ebisu Station that had English instructions, and my ATM card worked fine.

When I got back to the states, I checked the ATM card exchange rate on www.xe.com/ucc and found that there was literally no surcharge.

For your travels, maybe a mix of credit cards, TC%26#39;s, a bit of cash, and an ATM card would work.

BTW- I%26#39;m sure the Japan experts here at TA will chime in with more tips.

Stay tuned and good luck!