Last updated on 12 September 2026
There is one screen at a foreign ATM that costs more than a year of account fees. It politely asks whether you would like to be charged in your home currency and offers you a guaranteed exchange rate. Accept it and you typically pay 5 to 8 percent too much. The correct answer is the same everywhere, at every machine, in every country: decline.
The screen in question
Which currency would you like to be charged in?
We offer you a guaranteed exchange rate.
guaranteed rate
your bank’s rate
Always choose “without conversion”. The machine’s “guaranteed rate” typically sits 5 to 8 percent below the Visa or Mastercard rate. Illustrative figures, as of September 2026.
Why the “guaranteed rate” is the expensive one
The practice is called Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC. It is not a scam but a legitimate business model: the ATM operator converts the amount into your home currency itself and is free to set the rate. The gap to the real market rate is its profit.
Decline, and something different happens: the amount is billed in local currency, and your own bank converts it at the Visa or Mastercard rate. That rate sits very close to the interbank rate and is almost always better.
The word “guaranteed” is the sales pitch, not the benefit. What is guaranteed is that the rate will not change. What is not guaranteed is that it is any good.
One more point that is rarely spelled out: DCC and the operator fee are two separate things. A machine can charge no fee at all and still make money on the conversion. That is precisely the pattern at ATMs in tourist areas.
How to recognise the screen
The wording changes from machine to machine; the question never does. This table covers essentially everything you will meet:
| What the screen says | What to press |
|---|---|
| “With conversion” / “Without conversion” | Without conversion |
| “Accept conversion” / “Decline conversion” | Decline |
| “Continue with EUR” / “Continue with THB” | the local currency, here THB |
| “Guaranteed exchange rate: 1 EUR = …” with Yes/No | No |
| “I accept the conversion rate” / “I decline” | I decline |
| “Convert to your home currency?” | No |
| “Charge my card in EUR” / “… in local currency” | local currency |
| “Cancel conversion” (common in Brazil) | Cancel conversion |
The underlying rule fits in one sentence: wherever your home-currency amount appears, that is the wrong button. Always pick the side showing the currency of the country you are standing in.
The design usually works against you. Acceptance is the large, coloured, pre-selected button; the decline sits small beside it, sometimes buried under “More options”. Take the two seconds to read before you tap.
The second question: Checking, Savings or Credit
In the United States and Canada, nearly every machine asks which account to draw from. For most foreign cards there is only one right answer.
Select account type
Please choose the account you wish to withdraw from.
- Checking ✓ Foreign debit and credit cards: always this one
- Savings Savings account, usually declined for foreign cards
- Credit Credit card cash advance: expensive, interest from day one
“Checking” is the right answer, even with a credit card. “Credit” triggers a cash advance, which many issuers charge a separate fee for and start charging interest on immediately.
The reason is a quirk of the North American system: a card there can be linked to several accounts, so the machine has to ask. Most foreign cards have no such split but are treated as a current account. That is why “Checking” works and the other options either fail or cost extra.
If a withdrawal is declined after you picked “Savings”, the card is almost never the problem. Try the same withdrawal again with “Checking”.
The third question: the fee confirmation
Before any cash appears, machines in most countries must display what they charge. This screen is your last free exit.
The operator of this ATM charges a fee.
Cancelling costs nothing. The card comes back and nothing is posted. Egypt is the clearest example: at a machine belonging to an actual bank, that same withdrawal would have been free.
Many travellers hesitate here, worried that cancelling costs money or that the machine will keep the card. Neither is true. As long as no cash has been dispensed, the transaction leaves no trace.
The right order at the machine
- Pick the machine. One belonging to a bank, ideally at a branch. Free-standing units in hotel lobbies, on beachfronts and next to landmarks are the most expensive anywhere in the world.
- Pick the language. English is almost always available and usually clearer than a rough translation into your own language.
- Enter the amount. Where the fee is a flat rate, take more in one go. Where it is a percentage, it makes no difference.
- Choose the account type if asked: Checking.
- Check the fee. Too high? Cancel.
- Decline the conversion. The step this article is about.
- Take card, cash and receipt — in that order.
When the machine gives you no choice
Some machines only dispense cash once you accept the conversion, or offer no choice at all. In Türkiye this is documented for Ziraat ATMs, and individual operators elsewhere behave the same way.
The answer is simple: cancel and find another machine. A machine that takes the choice away from you is rarely generous in other respects, and in any city the next bank ATM is minutes away.
Also common and equally unwelcome: machines that never display the fee. This is documented for Air Bank in the Czech Republic and for several banks in Vietnam and Tunisia. There, printing the receipt and checking your account afterwards is the only control you have.
What applies in which country
The conversion question is identical everywhere. The fees are not. We have broken the machines down bank by bank for these destinations:
| Country | How the fee works | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | ฿250 with Visa, ฿350 with Mastercard, everywhere | Every bank |
| Morocco | 35 dirham flat; the withdrawal limit decides your cost | Every bank |
| Dubai / UAE | several banks charge nothing at all | Every bank |
| South Africa | R50 standard, R75 at Absa; location matters more | Every bank |
| Brazil | Bradesco free, plus an unavoidable government tax | Every bank |
| Tunisia | low fees, the lowest limits, closed currency | Every bank |
| Türkiye | Halkbank and PTT free, others 8 to 12 percent | Every bank |
| USA | $3 to $7 flat, plus the Checking question | Every bank |
| Egypt | bank ATMs free, free-standing units up to 200 pounds | Every bank |
| Kosovo | 5 euro at every bank, none free | Every bank |
| Japan | free at 7-Eleven with Mastercard, not with Visa | Every machine |
| Mexico | 21 to 197 pesos, almost a tenfold spread | Every bank |
| Vietnam | VP Bank free, some percentage-based, airports dearer | Every bank |
| Bali | BCA and Danamon free, low limits | Every bank |
As of 12 September 2026. Each linked article lists the fee, the withdrawal limit and the bank-specific conversion notes.
One thing that has nothing to do with the machine
Two things need a data connection at the ATM, and you only notice when they are missing. Many banks now require approval through a push notification in their app for withdrawals abroad: with no signal, the card is declined no matter which button you press. And whether the fee was actually posted as displayed is something you can only see in your account.
That is what a travel eSIM is for, installed at home before departure and connecting by itself on landing. POVNOMAD plans start at €1.00, and validity begins only when the eSIM first connects at your destination.
Frequently asked questions
Should I withdraw with or without conversion?
Always without conversion. The “guaranteed exchange rate” offered by the machine typically sits 5 to 8 percent below the Visa or Mastercard rate. If you decline, the amount is billed in local currency and your own bank converts it at the far better card rate. This applies in every country and at every machine.
What does “guaranteed exchange rate” mean at an ATM?
It means the ATM operator is doing the currency conversion itself and setting the rate. The practice is called Dynamic Currency Conversion. What is guaranteed is only that the rate will not change, not that it is competitive. The gap to the market rate is the operator’s profit, and it usually runs 5 to 8 percent.
Which currency should I choose at a foreign ATM?
The currency of the country you are standing in: baht in Thailand, dirham in Morocco and the UAE, rand in South Africa, real in Brazil. The rule of thumb is simple — wherever your home-currency amount is displayed, that is the wrong button.
What do Checking, Savings and Credit mean at an ATM?
It is a question about the account type, and it mainly appears in the United States and Canada. For foreign debit and credit cards, Checking is always the right choice. “Savings” is usually declined for foreign cards, and “Credit” triggers a credit card cash advance that carries an extra fee and interest from day one.
What if the ATM forces the conversion on me?
Cancel and use a different machine. Some ATMs only dispense cash once you accept, which is documented for Ziraat machines in Türkiye. A machine that removes the choice is rarely cheap in other ways, and cancelling costs you nothing.
Does cancelling a transaction at an ATM cost money?
No. As long as no cash has been dispensed, nothing is posted and the card is returned. The screen showing the fee exists precisely as a final exit: if the charge is too high, cancel there and find another machine.
How do I use an ATM in English abroad?
The sequence is the same everywhere: choose “Withdrawal” or “Cash withdrawal”, pick “Checking” if asked about the account, enter the amount, check the displayed fee, and when the currency question appears choose “Without conversion” or “Decline”. English is usually the clearest menu language available.
Why is the conversion expensive even when the ATM charges no fee?
Because they are two separate costs. The operator fee is disclosed on screen; the conversion markup is hidden inside the exchange rate. A machine can therefore advertise itself as free and still earn 5 to 8 percent on the conversion. That is the standard pattern at machines in tourist areas.
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