Wachovia Debit Card / ATM Foreign Transaction Fees

Below are the fees assessed for using a Wachovia Debit Card at an ATM machine in a foreign country to withdraw currency. These fees only apply when using the debit card at an ATM machine in the debit card company’s network. Fees can be higher when using an out-of-network ATM machine. Please see this post for clarification between ATM foreign fees and ATM foreign transaction fees.

Wachovia Foreign Transaction Fee: 2%

Wachovia ATM Fee: $2

Special Circumstances: Fee is waived for some accounts. Wachovia charges and International Assessment Fee (ISA) on all foreign transactions regardless of whether currency is exchanged.

There are three questions to ask when determining ATM and debit card foreign transaction fees for a particular card: Does the bank charge a flat fee per transaction, do they charge a percentage of the withdrawal and do they add a fee for converting the currency. Finally, if the debit card carries the Visa or MasterCard logo, it is important to verify with your bank that the foreign transaction fee is the same when using the debit card as a credit card to make a purchase.

For the purposes of this directory we include the foreign currency transaction fee assessed when using the card at an ATM and the ATM fee charged by the bank issuing the debit card. We encourage readers to update listings with supplemental information as necessary. Readers should be well advised that the actual fees charged may be higher than the fees listed because of circumstances described above. With this in mind, it is always a good idea to call the bank before a trip to verify fee structures.

Update Listing (18)

Last updated by TravelFinances.com

July 2, 2007

18 Updates to " Wachovia Debit Card / ATM Foreign Transaction Fees "

on 15 Feb 2009 at 7:19 pm Posted by: Randy Keith Travis

I have been with wachovia for about 11 years and am getting ready to change banks. I travel alot to Honduras and Mexico. This month Wachovia charged me 5 dollars international atm fee plus 2 % of my withdrawal. We are talking at least 10 dollars a wack.. This is outrageous…
on 28 Feb 2009 at 7:13 am Posted by: Wally

The new $5.00 per International ATM transaction started in February 2009. Wachovia is going to lose a lot of customers over this increase in fees. A person would think that during a banking meltdown, these troubled banks might actually be looking to retain a solid customer base.

Wachovia Client- 22 years, as they took over my original bank.
on 15 Mar 2009 at 9:24 am Posted by: Matt

I just found the $5 fee as well after traveling for a month in the Gulf. $35 in fees plus the 2%, plus the foreign atm fees.
Does anybody know the best bank to switch to?
on 23 Mar 2009 at 9:02 am Posted by: Josh

As of Dec 1, 2008, there is a $5 fee for foreign withdrawals.

As of April 1, 2009, the effective rate is 3%, not 2%
on 30 Mar 2009 at 5:10 pm Posted by: Cindy

Capital one at 0%
on 05 Apr 2009 at 3:57 pm Posted by: ywamer

Man I hate Wachovia. Just as much as I used to hate Bank of America when I dumped them for raising their ATM fees to $5 about 3 years ago.

I guess it’s time to visit my local Wachovia and let them go.
on 13 Jun 2009 at 9:13 am Posted by: Kent

My wife and I are switching to USAA for international travel. I got back from 3 weeks of traveling with students and found the $5/ATM withdrawal also. The Wachovia website won’t let you see their documents for fees on Intern’l ATM transactions. If you go to the website and search “ATM international fees” and click the links, it posts a message saying you are not authorized to see them.
on 13 Jul 2009 at 11:00 am Posted by: Adriana

Thanks to you guys, I just found out about the $5 fee and the 3%. And since I spend most of the year out of the US I’m guessing this might not work for me. Isn’t Wachovia supposed to notify people before doing this changes? Because I wasn’t…
on 31 Aug 2009 at 10:16 am Posted by: Peter Bryce

i have a wachovia account but no credit card since i am a foreigner outside the usa. can i solicite an ATM card from wachovia to withdraw money outside the US?
on 29 Sep 2009 at 4:13 pm Posted by: Mark

yes the fee is ridiculous Im writing to wachovia to have any and all fees reversed or I will close my account I recently opened a self checking account but have had a joint account open for almost 10 years now with them just never used it. I travel to Canada a lot ( 10+ times a year)I figured id be better off having 2 check cards a 53rd bank with mastercard logo and Wachovia with a visa logo. but this new fee from wachovia has me changing my mind. with 53 rd for any purchase I pay 53rd 2% and master card and additional 3% which isnt bad, ATM withdraws are only .50 cents on top of the total by 53rd no mastercard fee. so wachovia if your watching “take note!”.
on 20 Nov 2009 at 4:30 pm Posted by: Bruce Grosse

I found out today that I was charged $1.19 when I ordered flea medication for my dog online using my debit card. It came from Australia and was shown on my statement as an Intl fee.
on 25 Nov 2009 at 5:34 am Posted by: Mr International Traveler

UNBELIEVABLE…. been traveling to asia for about 12 years, and have had Wachovia for over 15. Got back and looked at my statement and see $5, $5, $5, $5, and huge withdrawal fees. Took out $645 and there was a $20 service fee! $65 in ATM fees and lots of service fees…. totally unacceptable. These banks got all this bailout cash from the frickin gov’t (which most people were AGAINST I might add, but they passed it anyway by scaring everyone into oblivion) and THIS is how they react? By raising fees??? I’m so not interested in being loyal anymore.
on 04 Feb 2010 at 9:37 pm Posted by: steve graham

I purchased 6 airline tickets on Aer Lingus web site. Wachovia charged me a $211.00 international tranastion fee! Taking my money out of Wachovia!
on 05 Mar 2010 at 8:37 pm Posted by: Robert Biziuk

Hi,I purchase airlines ticket,s for my wife,daughter and baby son through a travel agency in florida ,flight from Fort Mayers to germany and transaction was in US currency now Wachovia is charging me on top of that 3% ,74 dollar international transaction fee,Wachovia is pushing on travel agent that he bought the tickets in Berlin. I always buy tickets through this travel agency and never had this charges with other credit cards.I am very upset so I am changing my accounts to Sun Trust Bank.Good bye Wachovia no business with you anymore!!
on 06 Apr 2010 at 1:42 pm Posted by: Ms. Venelle M. Steadman

Please send a Atm Card from my Checking Account. My Account Number is 1053081193597.
on 06 May 2010 at 11:55 am Posted by: owdawg

Consider yourself lucky they charged me 3% on top of a $15 transaction fee. Hey they got to pay back that 0% interest bailout money somehow. I literally got charged $100 in the course of two weeks. I just cant for the life of me understand how a company which loans out your money needs even more money for keeping your money with them especially if you have a sizeable amount in your account. I for one know exactly what I am doing with my money when I get back and you should do the same. Wachovia is absolutely the worst company for overseas travel.
on 07 May 2010 at 7:30 am Posted by: Pat Shannon

I travel on business overseas, and over the last ten years, I have seen the ATM fees go from $1.50 on a $200 withdrawal to $14! I am now looking to change all my Wachovia accounts to another bank – Wachovia is no longer the same since Wells Fargo took over.
on 24 May 2010 at 2:09 pm Posted by: Johan

Wachovia also charges 3% on any paypal purchases, regardless of where the vendor is. I am changing banks because of this. I sometimes get wacked with $50 ISA fees, rediculous.

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