Cash Withdrawal

° ComDirect allows fee-free cash withdrawal outside of Germany using the VisaCard at all ATMs with the Visa logo.

° Deutsche Bank has agreements with Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, ScotiaBank and WestPac for free cash withdrawal. This gives you thousands of ATMs across the US, especially tight a network in the North East, with most cash machines in Boston, Fleet’s original home. More information can be found on the corresponding banks’ websites.

° Postbank-Sparkonto with SparCard offered the opportunity to take out four times a year up to USD 2000 per month at any VisaPlus ATMs worldwide. If there is an ATM limit, one can use CashAdvance at the counter. Multiple accounts possible, which limits account risk and maximizes cash access.

° Regular EC Card costs about EUR 3 to 8 ATM fee, depending on the corresponding bank. Usually ATMs with the Cirrus logo incur lower fees.

° Regular German Credit Cards, e.g. Visa Classic for students, which can be obtained without a yearly fee, offer CashAdvance, albeit with a foreign transaction fee of about 1-2% and an additional cash advance fee of about 1-3%, minimum EUR 5. This is hence by far the most expensive way to get relatively little cash per transaction.

° Traveler’s Checks include foreign exchange and insurance fees of about 1-3%, are hence very safe, both in terms of exchange rate (fixed at time of transaction) and in case of loss (24h replacement). However, they are more expensive than larger bank transfers.