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Original poster

What do you do about cash when you go to France?

28 replies

Surfermum · 27/04/2009 11:51

I've always done travellers cheques and taken some euros, but I was look at the moneysaving expert forum and he was talking about credit cards and debit cards and what the best/cheapest way to do it was - and I got completely confused .

What do you do?

We're going to a Siblu campsite.

OP posts:
pginthecloset · 27/04/2009 11:52

just take your debit card and use it in a cash machine

Cammelia · 27/04/2009 11:52

I've only ever taken Euros as cash

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 27/04/2009 11:56

I resent how much I get charged for cashpoint withdrawals in France (they are treated as a cash advance so aren't free) so try to take a good wodge of cash. But then I fret about losing it.

Original poster
Surfermum · 27/04/2009 12:10

Yes, I was burgled once in Tenerife so am very wary about having lots of cash on me.

How much do they charge for the withdrawal?

OP posts:
Rebeccaj · 27/04/2009 12:12

Use a debit card and cashpoints - you won't be charged. It's only using a credit card that you get charged a fee. Don't carry around a lot of cash, that's asking for trouble!

popmum · 27/04/2009 12:16

take enough euros to last a few days (if you are going on a motorway you may need money for the tolls) and then use debit card to withdraw. Often they have instructions in english

Portofino · 27/04/2009 12:18

Agree with others. Take a bit of cash for the journey, then use a debit card to take out what you need.

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 27/04/2009 12:21

Rebeccaj - my bank always charges for cashpoint withdrawals abroad (it's a percentahe rather than fixed fee). I thought they all did. Maybe I should move banks. Who do you bank with?

cheeseytoastie · 27/04/2009 12:21

in France last year I used a caxton FX currency mastercard. You preload it with money then you can use it to pay for stuff in shops/restaurants where they take mastercard (almost everywhere) or take money out of machines. There was a charge for ATMs but not as bad as my bank (RBS) and it was free to load it. Much easier than travellers cheques too.

mumof2222222222222222boys · 27/04/2009 12:22

You do get charged with debit cards - 2.5% or something - but it is hidden in the transaction. Neverthless that is how we manage, but usually take about ?300 cash with us and only top up if / when necessary.

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 27/04/2009 12:31

That's what I thought, mumof2222222222. Lloyds were, I think, charging me about £1.50 per £50, so about 3%.

Lilymaid · 27/04/2009 12:34

You do get charged for using debit cards unless you take money from the machine of bank that your UK bank has an agreement with.
For example, Barclays has an agreement with BNP Paribas.

Original poster
Surfermum · 27/04/2009 12:34

That sounds just like what we need toastie! Can you get the money back at the end if you don't use it all [fat chance, I'll spend it on wine on the way home emoticon]? Or can you just use it like a mastercard here as well?

OP posts:
aznerak · 27/04/2009 17:51

We opened a Nationwide current account exactly for this reason.

Martin recommends the Nationwide account overseas as it is the only bank that doesn't charge a penny for withdrawals at ATMs. We opened an account, paid in the amount we were prepared to spend on hols and then withdrew it as and when we needed cash

HTH

Rebeccaj · 27/04/2009 18:48

Oops - shows you how much attention I pay...We're with Barclays, so if we use BNP paribas/Deutsche Bank it's free, and they are plentiful so I would recommend then finding out if your account has any similar reciprocal arrangements - I would imagine it would be quite easy to use only those in France/Germany.

I would rather pay a little than carry around loads of cashm tbh.

cheeseytoastie · 27/04/2009 20:24

Emm, we had none left at the end but I think you can pay a small charge to get it back. Better just to spend it at the supermarket before leaving! You can do it all by text when you're away (as long as you don't type in your number wrong like me ) so you can keep tabs on your balance etc. Also, the town we stayed near was quite small so at least we didn't need to worry about finding a particular cash machine.

Leslaki · 27/04/2009 21:15

If you don't want to use the card abroad you can use euro travellers cheques and cash them free at a French Post office. Never had any problem! Also use my Nationwode Flex Account but understand they might be introducing charges abroad now.

Quattrocento · 27/04/2009 21:21

We go to France a lot so we have a french bank account, do one transfer and use that. The trouble with using UK credit and debit cards is that they really do use poor exchange rates and sometimes even charge you for the transactions as well.

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 27/04/2009 22:23

Quattro - How easy is it to open a French account if you're not a resident? Did you do it via a French bank in the UK? I've been wondering for a long time whether it might be feasible for us.

Quattrocento · 27/04/2009 22:57

We had to provide some papers and have a phone conversation with them but it was quite painless. Here's the account we use

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 27/04/2009 23:02

Je vous remercie.

mumof2222222222222222boys · 28/04/2009 13:01

Other thing to mention is that some banks charge a set fee for a foreign transaction . It was the final nail in the coffin for me with Lloyds when I used the debit card for a 1 Euro road toll and got charge an additional pound.

We also have a French account, but only use it for mortgage / bills. It was reasonably easy to open and my bank manager is LOVELY. Personal service still exists over there. Slightly off the point, but when I go in after a year or so and he says, "Bonjour Mme Lotsofboys....a terrible result for France in the rugby...what can I do for you??" It makes me feel happy.

Original poster
Surfermum · 28/04/2009 22:13

Thanks for all the advice .

OP posts:
Ivykaty44 · 29/04/2009 21:51

Nationwide flex account and use the the whole in the wall - the exchange rate using nationwide is very very good, they do not charge for any transactions and although they are going to introduce charges abroad it is not going to be in europe - but the rest of the world

Ivykaty44 · 29/04/2009 21:58

How much do the charges for the bank account add up to?

Do you pay for your debit card and then the monthly amount for having the account?

Do you have to pay when transfering money from uk to france?