ATM Access

I will be in Oz in January thru March 06 and do not want to travel with
a lot of cash on my person. At home I use ATMs all the time to get
cash only when I need it. I was wondering if the ATMs in Oz supported
Interac, Plus or Cirrus which are common here in Canada to allow use of
ATMs from any bank without having to find an ATM for my 'home bank'. I
will be travelling from Melbourne to Cairns then to Tazmania before
heading back to Oz for a tour that goes to Aires Rock, Alice Springs
and then up to Darwin before heading back south and over to NZ for a
tour of both South and North island. I assume that the ATM service in
NZ will be the same as it is for Oz, or is this wishful thinking on my
part. Thanks in advance for your info.

Jiggs

cirrus and maestro are available at most Aus atm,

--
like fu_ a porcupine
1000 pri_ks against one
_
wrote in message
oups.com...
I will be in Oz in January thru March 06 and do not want to travel with
a lot of cash on my person. At home I use ATMs all the time to get
cash only when I need it. I was wondering if the ATMs in Oz supported
Interac, Plus or Cirrus which are common here in Canada to allow use of
ATMs from any bank without having to find an ATM for my 'home bank'. I
will be travelling from Melbourne to Cairns then to Tazmania before
heading back to Oz for a tour that goes to Aires Rock, Alice Springs
and then up to Darwin before heading back south and over to NZ for a
tour of both South and North island. I assume that the ATM service in
NZ will be the same as it is for Oz, or is this wishful thinking on my
part. Thanks in advance for your info.

Jiggs

wrote in message
oups.com...
I will be in Oz in January thru March 06 and do not want to travel with
a lot of cash on my person. At home I use ATMs all the time to get
cash only when I need it. I was wondering if the ATMs in Oz supported
Interac, Plus or Cirrus which are common here in Canada to allow use of
ATMs from any bank without having to find an ATM for my 'home bank'. I
will be travelling from Melbourne to Cairns then to Tazmania before
heading back to Oz for a tour that goes to Aires Rock, Alice Springs
and then up to Darwin before heading back south and over to NZ for a
tour of both South and North island. I assume that the ATM service in
NZ will be the same as it is for Oz, or is this wishful thinking on my
part. Thanks in advance for your info.

Jiggs

I have a visa card and also mastercard. Both issued here (New Zealand) Both
function as eft/pos, atm and credit cards. I have used both in atm's in
various parts of the world without any bother at all. I don't know much
about interac or plus, but cirrus is widely available in NZ and Oz. But have
a look at your 'home bank's' web site. Bound to be info there about partner
banks and where your card can be used. Generally these days most work at
most places as far as I can tell, but watch fees though. I have an
Australian account with Westpac bank where money is paid in to me monthly. I
can withdraw NZ currency in NZ and as long as I use Westpac atm or any
showing cirrus, there are no fees. Alternatively I can transfer from my Aust
Westpac to NZ Westpac on line and withdraw it from my NZ account, but
everytime I do that there is a $20 currency transfer charge, or $30 if I do
if I do it over the counter at a bank branch - so make sure when you check
the web site, look at charges for cheapest way.

Most Australian ATMs are affiliated with Plus, Maestro, Cirrus, Star and at
least 20 or so other international networks.

NZ likewise - but you should be aware that NZ is a different country - and
some things are different from Australia there.




wrote in message
oups.com...
I will be in Oz in January thru March 06 and do not want to travel with
a lot of cash on my person. At home I use ATMs all the time to get
cash only when I need it. I was wondering if the ATMs in Oz supported
Interac, Plus or Cirrus which are common here in Canada to allow use of
ATMs from any bank without having to find an ATM for my 'home bank'. I
will be travelling from Melbourne to Cairns then to Tazmania before
heading back to Oz for a tour that goes to Aires Rock, Alice Springs
and then up to Darwin before heading back south and over to NZ for a
tour of both South and North island. I assume that the ATM service in
NZ will be the same as it is for Oz, or is this wishful thinking on my
part. Thanks in advance for your info.

Jiggs

wrote in message
oups.com...
I will be in Oz in January thru March 06 and do not want to travel with
a lot of cash on my person. At home I use ATMs all the time to get
cash only when I need it. I was wondering if the ATMs in Oz supported
Interac, Plus or Cirrus which are common here in Canada to allow use of
ATMs from any bank without having to find an ATM for my 'home bank'. I
will be travelling from Melbourne to Cairns then to Tazmania before
heading back to Oz for a tour that goes to Aires Rock, Alice Springs
and then up to Darwin before heading back south and over to NZ for a
tour of both South and North island. I assume that the ATM service in
NZ will be the same as it is for Oz, or is this wishful thinking on my
part. Thanks in advance for your info.

Jiggs



My UK HSBC debit and Credit card worked in just about every ATM all over
Australia.



--
www.simcard.me.uk/australian_sim_card.htm Australian Sim Cards
www.poms.co.uk/forum/index.php Backpacking Australia Forum.
www.byronbay.co.uk - www.nimbin.co.uk

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 02:43:17 +0000, JohnM
wrote:


ATMs, as other posters have said, will accept withdrawals but there will
be a charge which cumulatively increases the longer you stay and
withdraw money. In my 3 months (I calculated) I could have saved £100.

Change your bank or your credit card.

I travelled using a dozen different currencies over five
months and used ATM's in every country in the EU ands the
US. My bank is not known for it's generosity (NAB and Visa)
- in fact they are a PITA - but the only cost was 1% on top
of an exchange rate almost identical to the best that day on
xe.com.

Of course, you need to put arrangements in place to pay the
card each month on time, or to keep it in credit.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

In article , Alan S
writes
Of course, you need to put arrangements in place to pay the
card each month on time, or to keep it in credit.

Yes, I do. I have a direct debit that pays the cards every month and if
one starts on a long trip he/she'd better arrange one.

There are very few banks/building societies in the UK that don't charge
commission on money withdrawn abroad on a different currency. And not
only that, my VISA charged commission on credit card
transactions, too. Only in Singapore could I actually pay in £ and not
charged commission on the foreign transaction. Over 3 months in Oz/NZ
this year, this was quite substantial. I estimate it was about £100.

Anyway, it's not for me, this is advice for the poster. What I'm saying
is that plastic is not the cheapest way to pay your way on a long trip,
though it may be the most convenient. And certainly, if you *do* use any
cards to withdraw money, take out the max amount.

--
JohnM

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:59:56 +0000, JohnM
wrote:


Anyway, it's not for me, this is advice for the poster. What I'm saying
is that plastic is not the cheapest way to pay your way on a long trip,
though it may be the most convenient. And certainly, if you *do* use any
cards to withdraw money, take out the max amount.

I take your point - but it seems to be relevant only to UK
banks, certainly not to Oz banks.

Did you notice this phrase in the initial post: "here in
Canada".

I found ATM's by far the most economical and efficient way
to go, and five months seemed like a pretty long trip to me.
I usually only withdrew enough for a few day's cash expenses
(about US$200 equivalent), and used cc for most purchases.
Withdrawing more than I needed was both a security hazard
carrying un-needed cash, and could lead to waste if I had
currency left at the time I left the country.

I only had a significant surplus once, in Swiss Francs, and
lost over 15% in fees on those when I cashed them in back
here - in addition to finding that I now have a coin
collection in six different currencies.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:59:56 +0000, JohnM wrote:

There are very few banks/building societies in the UK that don't charge
commission on money withdrawn abroad on a different currency. And not only
that, my VISA charged commission on credit card transactions, too. Only in

Nationwide don't charge for money withdrawals from your current account.
They also don't charge commission on credit card transactions. Most banks
charge 2.75% but as your're getting a commercial exchange rate, it still
beats changing money via any other method.

Jason

--
See http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for UK diving reports including
trips to Plymouth, Weymouth, Falmouth, Exmouth and Scapa Flow

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 23:03:57 +1100, Alan S wrote:

I only had a significant surplus once, in Swiss Francs, and
lost over 15% in fees on those when I cashed them in back
here - in addition to finding that I now have a coin
collection in six different currencies.

Next time you fly Qantas, stick all of that coin in the "Change for
good" envelope and hand it to the trolley-dolly (sorry, I meant to
type flight attendant) - it will go to UNICEF. A small donation does
not mean much, but they will all add up.

=====================

Dave

There are 10 types of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.