The Last Bank Without The ATM Fee

AndyGriffith

New member
Mar 11, 2010
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Finally crossed over the the dark side over the last week. Went to the Banreservas ATM in SD and pops up a screen RD$112 per transaction.

So now that there are no banks in DR that do not charge the ATM Fee, what is the best bank to pull out the largest amount of pesos at one time and what is their ATM fee?

I remember going to BHD & Popular testing their ATM'S and I think they had around a RD$120 fee.

For those that use a Schwab card, what bank ATM'S have you used that Schwab reimburses the ATM fees every month?
 
Feb 7, 2007
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BanReservas - yes - got a nasty surprise after returning back from Europe. I used to W/D from BR @ 4k pesos per transaction w/o any fees. No more. It's 112 pesos fee now. But BR had free withdrawals only in the Interior, in SD they have been charging 112 pesos since some time ago.

There is still one nationwide bank that does not charge ATM fee but you can withdraw only 2.000 pesos at the time. PM me for details.

P.D. I was told by BR cashier that you can do a cash advance if your card issuer allows it. I will try on Monday on both Fidelity and ING Direct card, both should be free, so I will do a test run for 1k pesos each.
 

AndyGriffith

New member
Mar 11, 2010
326
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0
Finally crossed over the the dark side over the last week. Went to the Banreservas ATM in SD and pops up a screen RD$112 per transaction.

So now that there are no banks in DR that do not charge the ATM Fee, what is the best bank to pull out the largest amount of pesos at one time and what is their ATM fee?

I remember going to BHD & Popular testing their ATM'S and I think they had around a RD$120 fee.

For those that use a Schwab card, what bank ATM'S have you used that Schwab reimburses the ATM fees every month?

BanReservas - yes - got a nasty surprise after returning back from Europe. I used to W/D from BR @ 4k pesos per transaction w/o any fees. No more. It's 112 pesos fee now. But BR had free withdrawals only in the Interior, in SD they have been charging 112 pesos since some time ago.

There is still one nationwide bank that does not charge ATM fee but you can withdraw only 2.000 pesos at the time. PM me for details.

P.D. I was told by BR cashier that you can do a cash advance if your card issuer allows it. I will try on Monday on both Fidelity and ING Direct card, both should be free, so I will do a test run for 1k pesos each.


Well I had been taking out cash at the Banreservas ATM's throughout SD for quite some time without being charged the $RD112 fee up until a week ago so they did have ATM's in SD that were not charging the fee.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Derfish - Yes, most banks will charge foreign atm fee regardless of the amount.

But Fidelity (managed by PNC Bank) and ING Direct are both easy to open do no charge foreign ATM fee, regardless of the amount, no fee for cash advance, and no foreign transaction fee (usually 1- 3 %).

Both accounts are easy to open - (Fidelity Cash management account, formerly known as MySmart Cash) and ING Direct Electric Orange.

Both can be applied for from the DR and opened online, if you have a U.S. SSN, and another U.S. based account, and at least some verified credit history so they can ask you nonsense questions like in which of the following counties have you ever lived or in which county is this address or if you had a mortgage in 2004.
 
Last edited:
Feb 7, 2007
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Well I had been taking out cash at the Banreservas ATM's throughout SD for quite some time without being charged the $RD112 fee up until a week ago so they did have ATM's in SD that were not charging the fee.

OK, good for you, I didn't know that, because I tried several times in BR in SD and they wanted to charge 112 pesos, it was the branch on Av. Espana, plus two branches on Independencia. But Higuey, San Pedro, Romana, used to be no fee... till now.

If your card issuer allows cash advance, go into the branch and they will run your card through Verifone, and you can get cash advance.... BUT... the question is, would cash advance be also subject to card skimming by somebody in Cardnet as are point of sale purchases?
 

AndyGriffith

New member
Mar 11, 2010
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OK, good for you, I didn't know that, because I tried several times in BR in SD and they wanted to charge 112 pesos, it was the branch on Av. Espana, plus two branches on Independencia. But Higuey, San Pedro, Romana, used to be no fee... till now.

Hmm that's interesting because it was my first time trying to take out money at the new BR branch at Galeria 360 and this charge popped up. When I went to the BR-ATM machine at Ikea where I have never seen the fee, the machine would ask for the pin and then type of transaction and then it timed-out and went back to the original screen cancelling the transaction. Tried two times and it did not work almost like the machine would no longer recognize the card.
 

Lothario666

Bronze
Oct 16, 2012
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I would say that the 8 pesos difference between the charge of 120 pesos and the charge of 112 pesos isn't enuff to worry me at all. But for me Banreservas tells me that my card isn't formatted correctly for them,so I go to Panco Popular where thye charge the 120 pesos, but my bank charges me 3% of the withdrawal plus $4.95. SO I take out 1000pesos at a whack.

$120 pesos charge from Banco Popular +
$30 pesos charge from your bank +
$200 pesos per transaction of $4.95 (Dollars?) from your bank =


$350 pesos / 35% of the withdrawal amount?

If that is true, why the hell do you do it, get some checks and use a cambio.

And taking out such a small amount each time means you pay the $4.95 many times when you could avoid it. Does not sound like a very smart thing to do.



"R"
 

alexgrun

New member
Apr 30, 2007
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Scotia Bank

If you are Canadian I would suggest getting an account at Scotia Bank in Canada, because you do not pay any fees to withdraw your money in DR or in the Caribbean.


Finally crossed over the the dark side over the last week. Went to the Banreservas ATM in SD and pops up a screen RD$112 per transaction.

So now that there are no banks in DR that do not charge the ATM Fee, what is the best bank to pull out the largest amount of pesos at one time and what is their ATM fee?

I remember going to BHD & Popular testing their ATM'S and I think they had around a RD$120 fee.

For those that use a Schwab card, what bank ATM'S have you used that Schwab reimburses the ATM fees every month?
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
I've found their fees are precisely the same as others. I realize that many Canadians recognize the name and are loyal, and i see no problem with loyalty, but how is it the best?
Der Fish
For Bank of America accounts (and in suppose also Canadian Scotiabank accounts) you don't pay a fee taking out money from an ATM of Scotiabank in DR. In the weekends the exchange rate seems to be off though, maybe to prevent that when transactions are processed on Monday and if the dollar would lose some value against the pesos (yeah) they would have to take a loss. Maybe that's why in weekends transactions are against a lower peso/dollar rate.
 

Aspire

New member
Nov 11, 2007
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I moved to Bank of America for just that reason, and now can access Scotiabank ATMs with no fees. They do charge when you use the card to make purchases (as a credit card).

I do think La Nacional Bank AND Associacion de Cibao still do not charge the fee. However, just as you will find with BanReservas, there are machines within those networks where the $112 will pop up. You just have to find your favorite cow and milk it!
 

agw

Member
Feb 14, 2010
156
2
18
What is the maximum pesos allowed when making a withdrawal at a Scotiabank DR ATM?

Thanks!
 

retiree

Bronze
Jan 18, 2008
978
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In one withdrawal we took out 20,000 pesos a few days ago and often take out 10,000 from a Scotiabank DR ATM.
 

curious29

New member
Sep 20, 2012
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I withdrawed money few times from ScotiaBank in January this year, and they didn't charged me with any fee. I got bank accounts from Europe. Also, their fx exchange rate was excellent - as it should be.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
1,343
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I withdrew money a few times from ScotiaBank in January this year, and they didn't charge me any fee. I have bank accounts from Europe. Also, their fx exchange rate was excellent - as it should be.

Sorry, I just dranked a hole pot of Monte Alto and could knot resist.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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We have accounts with USAA. They reimburse any foreign ATM fees. Best ban I ever used.
 

agw

Member
Feb 14, 2010
156
2
18
I used my TD (Canadian) account the last few years at various ATMs in the DR as the type of account I have doesn't charge me any fees on this end, but I was paying the $100+ peso fee even at Scotiabank.

I didn't realize I could lose that fee too by using the Canadian Scotiabank account that I already have but only rarely use, so this year I will use it instead thanks to the the comments here! ?Gracias!

Every peso I don't pay to the bank can go towards my vacation and it's only 19 days and counting till I get my first 'una fria'!
 

AndyGriffith

New member
Mar 11, 2010
326
15
0
BanReservas - yes - got a nasty surprise after returning back from Europe. I used to W/D from BR @ 4k pesos per transaction w/o any fees. No more. It's 112 pesos fee now. But BR had free withdrawals only in the Interior, in SD they have been charging 112 pesos since some time ago.

There is still one nationwide bank that does not charge ATM fee but you can withdraw only 2.000 pesos at the time. PM me for details.

P.D. I was told by BR cashier that you can do a cash advance if your card issuer allows it. I will try on Monday on both Fidelity and ING Direct card, both should be free, so I will do a test run for 1k pesos each.

Update here-Went to a Banreservas ATM at the entryway to Ferreteria Americana and no $112 ATM fees on several transactions today on $$RD4,000 withdrawals. Strange because if you go into Galeria 360 to the ATM, there is the $112 ATM fee on withdrawals. At Agora, I took out money at the branch ATM for BR there since it has been open for the last few months and no $112 fee, but maybe that has changed over the last week. I can not explain the discrepancy, maybe the ATM's are operated by different vendors? Who knows.