Being a longer than 10 years loyal wells fargo customer, I decided to do a currency exchange there, believing I would get a pretty good rate. Well… here is what I got.
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| Currency | USD | WF Foreign Amount | Real Amount | Delta | Delta % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMB | 1000 | 5760 | 6232.5 | 472.5 | 7.58 |
| HKD | 1000 | 7340 | 7755.4 | 415.4 | 5.36 |
See the numbers? During the transaction I lost 7.58% in RMB and 5.36% in HKD. If you even the two out, that’s a total 6.47% loss. Yea, so if you give Wells Fargo $1000, in exchange you will lose $64.7, all completed silently.
Now, I do know banks need to make a living as well, but so do I.
It seems like an oversea ATM cash withdrawal costs only $5… [WF faq page]. And they take a 3% charge if you do an international purchase with your debit card. But cash is king so that’s not something I worry much about.
How ironic, preparing ahead of time leads to a greater loss…
Here you go, learn from my mistake, just get your foreign cash from an ATM when you get off the plane. 😉
BrianChan.us 