# ATM or exchange booth: where to get cash abroad

Last updated: November 13, 2026

Neither is always cheaper. An ATM withdrawal abroad can carry up to three charges: your bank's fee, the ATM owner's fee and a currency conversion markup if you accept it. An exchange booth usually has one charge, and it is hidden in the rate. The reliable rules are to avoid the airport, withdraw larger amounts less often and decline the ATM's offer to convert.

## What an ATM withdrawal costs

Australia's competition regulator, which studied these services in 2019, describes two separate fees: "The card issuer can charge the cardholder fees for withdrawing cash (debit card) or making a cash advance (credit card) at an overseas ATM. These fees may be charged as a flat fee or a percentage of the transaction amount. Consumers may also be charged a fee by the overseas ATM operator" ([ACCC final report, 2019](https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Foreign%20currency%20conversion%20services%20inquiry%20-%20final%20report_0.PDF)).

| Charge | Who takes it | How to see it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Foreign transaction or withdrawal fee | Your own bank | In your card's fee schedule, before the trip |
| ATM access fee | The bank that owns the ATM | On the ATM screen, before you confirm |
| Conversion markup (DCC) | The bank that owns the ATM | Only if you accept "conversion" or your home currency |

In the cards the ACCC looked at, international transaction fees ranged "from 0 to 3 per cent of the transaction amount, with most having a fee of 3 per cent". That is an Australian sample from 2019. Your card may differ, and some cards charge nothing.

The third charge is optional. ATMs abroad often offer to charge your card in your home currency. Decline it and take the local currency. The reasons are in the guide to [dynamic currency conversion](/guides/dynamic-currency-conversion/).

## ATM fees for foreign cards in Thailand

Thai banks charge a flat access fee on withdrawals with foreign cards, on top of whatever your own bank charges. Two banks publish the amount in their fee schedules:

| Bank | Visa, UnionPay | Mastercard | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) | 250 baht | 350 baht | [Fee notice effective 11 March 2026](https://www.krungsri.com/getmedia/081aac13-5648-4da3-898e-9085f2a7ec0d/fee-withdrawal-via-atm-for-international-card-11032026-th) (in Thai) |
| Kasikornbank | 250 baht | 350 baht | [Fee schedule effective 22 September 2026](https://www.kasikornbank.com/en/rate/fee/ChargesDoc/ServicingFees_en.pdf) |

Kasikornbank's schedule from January 2024 listed 220 baht, so the fee has gone up. Other Thai banks are not in the table because their current amounts could not be confirmed from their own documents. The ATM shows its fee before you confirm the withdrawal.

Because the fee is flat, it weighs more on small withdrawals: 250 baht is 5% of a 5,000 baht withdrawal and 1.25% of 20,000 baht.

## What an exchange booth costs

A booth buys currency at a wholesale rate and sells it to you at a worse one. The difference is its margin, and it is usually larger than any fee on the sign. The ACCC warns: "Be wary of services that advertise 'no fees, no commissions' as this may be to distract from an unfavourable exchange rate."

The ACCC broke down one real quote. On 12 February 2019 a traveler at an Australian airport bought 200 US dollars:

| Part of the price | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Cost of USD 200 at the wholesale rate (0.7072) | AUD 283 |
| Markup in the booth's rate (0.6300) | AUD 35 |
| Fees | AUD 12 |
| Total paid | AUD 330 |

That is AUD 47, about 17%, over the wholesale cost. The ACCC calls the example "illustrative, not definitive".

## Why the airport costs more

The same report found that "prices for foreign cash were substantially higher at the airport" and that foreign cash from the same supplier is more expensive at airports. A traveler buying USD 200 in February 2019 could save AUD 40 by choosing the cheapest supplier in the city over the most expensive one at the airport.

The gap between a booth's buying and selling rates shows the margin from both sides. In another ACCC example, a traveler changed AUD 100 to British pounds at Sydney Airport and got GBP 39.90. Selling those pounds straight back to the same booth would have returned AUD 54.96, a loss of AUD 45.04 before any fees.

## How to compare the two

1. Find the current exchange rate. A converter app or a search engine shows it.
2. For the booth, divide what you hand over by what you get back, and compare that with the current rate. The difference is the booth's margin.
3. For the ATM, add the access fee shown on the screen to your own bank's fee, and spread them over the amount you withdraw.
4. Compare the two percentages.

A booth in a city with several competitors nearby can beat an ATM with a flat fee, especially for small amounts. An airport booth rarely does.

Card payments avoid most of this. In the ACCC's price data, credit and debit cards "were generally cheaper" than foreign cash and travel cards for purchases abroad. Cash is for the places that do not take cards.

Juvo lets you enter the booth's rate as a custom rate, so you see what a price costs at the rate you actually got. Its Real cost tool compares an ATM withdrawal with an exchange booth for the amount you need.

Juvo for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6756121931