withdrawing sterling in the uk with an irish ulster bank card/visa debit card

freelancerTax

hi
i am in the uk - i have a republic of ireland ulster bank account with a visa debit card/atm card.

i want to withdraw sterling over here
can anyone tell me -

1. if i use a rbs atm machine will i be charged any fees or commission to withdraw sterling from my ulster bank account

2. how much can i withdraw in one day

3. whats the exchange rate like that they use for such transactions


thanks,
FT

ScouseMouse

Last week I took out ten sterling, using my ROI ulster bank debit card. I just wanted to see what it would cost. I used a sainsburys bank machine which said it didnt charge fees but my bank may.

Here is my statement transaction for ten pounds sterling.

9 Feb 2010 ATM 9489 06FEB10 , SAINSBURYS ATM , CASH , ELLESMERE PT GB , GBP 10.00, RATE 0.8756, CHARGE 3.00, ERTF 0.17 - 14.59

FFS, thats a mad fee.

100gSoma

that is a mad fee. can anyone break it down? I thought it was only 2% charge on foreign currency withdrawal capped at 12euro with minimum charge 1euro.
3euro seems nuts? I canont work out where its come from either. the ERTF (exchange rate transaction fee) is 0.17 but the charge is 3.00? I cannot see how thats possible based on the 2% UB fee on non-euro trasnactions. anyone?

freelancerTax

wow,
i certainly wont be using my debit card over here

jaceq

I am just about to open account with ulster, so I read their fees book. Taking cash out from RBS / firts active / NatWest ATMs in UK is free (with your ROI debit card).

CoNfOuNd

The bank has a fee if you use an ATM which isn't owned by RBS / NatWest (as the previous poster said).

If you are going to use your euro debit card in the UK, I'd recommend paying for your shopping with your card at the Sainsburys checkout instead of going to an ATM to get cash out. The fee for that transaction will be a lot less (30 cents I think).

100gSoma

CoNfOuNd wrote: »

The bank has a fee if you use an ATM which isn't owned by RBS / NatWest (as the previous poster said).

If you are going to use your euro debit card in the UK, I'd recommend paying for your shopping with your card at the Sainsburys checkout instead of going to an ATM to get cash out. The fee for that transaction will be a lot less (30 cents I think).

your 100% right. Just found this in there fee guide. Foreign ATM transactions cost 3.00euro minimum. Foreign point of sale transactions are much cheaper. here is the information from UB themselves.

Debit Cards – International ATM Transaction^ (excluding withdrawals
within the Eurozone or from an Ulster Bank, First Active, Easy Cash,
Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest cash machine)

2% of transaction value, Min charge €3, Max charge €12 plus 1.5% Foreign Exchange Fee

and for non-ATM card usage at the till

Visa – International
Point of Sale Transaction^ (excluding withdrawals within the Eurozone or from an Ulster Bank, First Active, Easy Cash, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest cash machine).

1% foreign exchange fee (Min charge €0.25 Max charge €6) of the transaction value plus 1% transaction fee charge (Min charge €0.25 Max charge €6) of the transaction value

freelancerTax

i ended up using transfermate.com to transfer the money from ulster bank to my uk bank account (ulster bank would not do this for me online)

i got a better rate than with ulster bank and it was done within a day.
no commision and no charge for your first transaction. awesome

ScouseMouse

9489 06FEB10 , SAINSBURYS , ELLESMERE PT GB , GBP 52.18, RATE 0.8727, CHARGE 0.60, ERTF 0.60

100gSoma

superscouse wrote: »

9489 06FEB10 , SAINSBURYS , ELLESMERE PT GB , GBP 52.18, RATE 0.8727, CHARGE 0.60, ERTF 0.60

I suppose thats not too bad really. 1.20euro charge for 60euro withdrawal. 2% as expected. The equivalent charge with Halifax would be 1.05euro. Not much difference.

lucymoose

Does anyone know what the equivalent banks are for using a ROI Bank of Ireland Cirrus/Laser card for cash withdrawals in the UK?? I've been looking over past statements and I have been charged 3.5% in some cases and zilch in others. I've rang my local branch, and checked the BOI fee guide but they don't shed any light on the situation.

CoNfOuNd

http://www.borderpeople.info/index/feature/personal-banking/q1.htm

Does this help?

Cookie_Monster

paid 35.19 for 30 stg in Belfast on sat, not too bad tbh (on a BOI laser)

derra_121

You will not be charged for using an ulster bank card in the UKif you use an RBS ATM as they are owned by the same people. Im pretty sure Natwest is the same but I am a RBS account holder and I only use Ulster bank ATM when Im home in Ireland. The max I can take out is £300gbp, nut I think this may vary depending on the account you have

BuffyBot

Any Ulster Bank, RBS or Natwest ATM in the UK will allow for fee free withdrawals.

JungleMartin

Quick Summary: Ulster Bank's exchange rate is not 'perfect' and effectively includes a ~1.5% fee

I was reading this thread last week as I was about to head over to England for the weekend. I'm an Ulster Bank IE account holder. (Sorry for bumping a thread that's been dormant for years but it's still relevant and I didn't see a more recent one.)

Ulster Bank IE's website still states that Sterling withdrawals at a RBS, NatWest or Ulster Bank cash machine in the UK are subject to no additional charge and no Exchange Rate Transaction Fee. However, it does state that the exchange rate is determined by Ulster bank (see excerpt below).

I withdrew £50 on Fri 6th Feb and here is the transaction as it appears on my online banking. You can see that CHARGE and ERTF both say zero, and it cost me €68.52.
NATWEST 06FEB, GBP 50.00, RATE 1.370425, CHARGE 0.00, ERTF 0.00 - 68.52

However, note the exchange rate used. According to xe.com, the interbank rate was above 1.33 all day on the 6th but never as high as 1.35. The lower that rate, the less it would have cost me in Euro. So let's use a rate of 1.35, which it got close to but never quite reached. At 1.35, £50.00 would have cost me €67.50. At 1.37, it would have cost me €68.50, which it roughly did. That extra Euro is equivalent to a loading on the exchange rate of approximately 1.5%. I presume the way it works is that I actually got Ulster Bank's 'sell rate' as it was on the day.

Now, I'm not going to lose any sleep over one Euro, but 1.5% is not as good as free and it could certainly add up for anyone doing this regularly. (I do still think this a pretty inexpensive way of obtaining Sterling, and I've not looked to see if there are cheaper ways.)

I thought this real life example would be useful for others, so I decided to update this thread by adding it.

Finally, here is an excerpt of what it currently says on Ulster Bank's website...

ulsterbank.ie/roi/personal/daily-banking/current-accounts/help-guides/debit-cards-abroad.ashx

Debit Card charges outside the Eurozone

The table below outlines Debit Card charges outside the Eurozone.

Transaction Type (Outside the Eurozone)|Charge |ERTF Fee*

Cash withdrawal at a Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest or Ulster Bank cash machine in the UK |No Charge |No Charge ***
Cash withdrawal which is not at a Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest or Ulster Bank cash machine** |2% of transaction amount (min €3, max €12) |1.5% of transaction amount
Purchasing foreign currency or travellers cheques using your debit card** |1% of transaction amount (min €0.25, max €6) |1% of transaction amount (min €0.25, max €6)
Purchases (point of sale transaction) |1% of transaction amount (min €0.25, max €6) |1% of transaction amount (min €0.25, max €6)
* Exchange Rate Transaction Fee
** Local banks may charge a fee
*** Transaction is converted into Euro at a rate determined by Ulster Bank