Travel Money: Where to Get Foreign Currency

Quick answer: from an ATM abroad, with the right debit card. Schwab, Fidelity and Capital One 360 charge nothing of their own there, and Schwab and Fidelity pay back the ATM owner’s fee. Chase and Bank of America charge 3% and $5 a withdrawal: $20 on $500. Ordering from your bank costs its delivery fee and its rate’s spread.

How to use it

Pick your debit card, type the cash you need in dollars and choose the local currency. The answer is what an ATM abroad costs with that card, with the sentence from your bank’s own fee page and a link to it, and what the cash comes to at the European Central Bank’s reference rate. Under it, every other debit card on the same cash, and what ordering the cash from Bank of America or Wells Fargo before you go costs. Open “Ordering from your bank?” or “At an airport counter?” and type what you would get for your dollars: the tool works out the rate’s spread over the ECB’s. A card not on the list? Choose “Another debit card” and type its fees.

Every debit card at an ATM abroad

From each bank’s own fee page or schedule, read on October 16, 2026. “On $500” is one withdrawal of $500 in a foreign currency, before the fee the ATM’s owner may add; “+” means the page does not print every fee on ATM cash.

Chase prints its percentage as Foreign Exchange Rate Adjustment: You make card purchases, non-ATM cash transactions or ATM withdrawals in a currency other than U.S. dollars 3% of withdrawal amount after conversion to U.S. dollars. Wells Fargo prints its 3% only for purchases: A fee will be charged for each debit card purchase in a foreign currency that a network converts into a U.S. dollar amount. Fee 3% of U.S. dollar amount so the tool leaves its percentage on ATM cash as not printed. Schwab writes Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Debit Card wherever it is accepted.

Ordering before you go

Bank of America and Wells Fargo sell foreign currency to their own customers. Bank of America: If placing an order via Online or Mobile Banking, your total order must be a minimum of USD$100. and There is no fee for standard shipping on all orders of USD$1,000 or more. There is a USD$7.50 delivery fee for orders less than USD$1,000. Wells Fargo: For online orders, the minimum amount is $200, and orders over $3,000 USD must be picked up at a branch. Its delivery fee is not printed: The shipping and handling fee may vary based on the USD amount of foreign currency cash that you order. Neither bank prints its rate. Bank of America says it earns The bank receives compensation from the purchase and sale of foreign currency banknotes in the form of the difference (also known as the spread) between the price we pay to obtain the foreign currency and the price at which we sell the foreign currency. Type what the order screen gives you, and the tool shows that spread in dollars.

Worked examples

• $500 in euros with a Chase debit card. Chase debit at an ATM abroad: $20 on $500 (444.33 EUR), plus any fee the ATM’s owner adds. Chase adds 3% ($15) and $5.
• $1,000 in yen with a Schwab debit card. Schwab debit at an ATM abroad: $0 on $1,000 (158,020 JPY); Schwab pays back the ATM owner’s fee.
• Mexico, $900 in three withdrawals, on a Bank of America debit card. BofA debit at an ATM abroad: $42 on $900 (16,545.27 MXN), plus any fee the ATM’s owner adds: one withdrawal instead of three saves $10.
• London, $300 on a Wells Fargo debit card. Wells Fargo debit at an ATM abroad: $5 in withdrawal fees on $300 (224.97 GBP), plus any fee the ATM’s owner adds (its page prints no percentage for ATM cash).
• $800 in euros ordered from Bank of America, the screen offering 680 EUR. $34.80 in spread, 4.55% over the ECB’s rate, plus $7.50 delivery because the order is under $1,000, at the reference rate of October 16, 2026.
• An airport counter hands over 395 EUR for $500. $55.51 lost, 12.49% over the ECB’s rate, at the reference rate of October 16, 2026.

Common mistakes

• Saying yes when the ATM offers to charge you in dollars. Schwab leaves that out of its rebate: ATM fee rebates do not include any fees imposed by merchants or ATM operators for POS transactions, or fees for stamp purchases, balance inquiries, non-local ATM currency withdrawal fees (referred to as dynamic currency conversion fees)
• Forgetting the ATM’s own fee. Chase: Surcharge Fees from the ATM owner/network still apply.
• Taking cash in many small withdrawals. Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo charge $5 for each one at another bank’s ATM abroad.
• Ordering just under $1,000 from Bank of America and paying $7.50 for delivery, or ordering under its $100 minimum online.
• Ordering too late. Wells Fargo: You can order foreign currency cash online, using the mobile app, or in person at a Wells Fargo branch and have currency delivered within 2-7 business days.
• Taking a debit card that charges 3% on cash when Capital One’s says There are no fees to open, keep or use your Capital One 360 no-fee checking account, or for foreign transactions.

More for the trip

For the money side of the trip, read how to travel on a budget without sacrificing the experience, which covers ATMs abroad, and the international travel tips nobody told you. Going to Mexico City, where vendors run on cash? Read the complete Mexico City travel guide. Further out, Southeast Asia for first-timers, and for Canada, what is cheaper in Canada than the USA. Then check what your card charges on purchases with Does My Card Charge a Foreign Transaction Fee?, plan the money with the Trip Budget Calculator and Tipping by Country, and see how much cash you can fly with.