You pull out your debit card in a convenience store in Ho Chi Minh City, and the ATM screen flashes a notice: "This transaction will incur a fee of 50,000 VND." You accept it, because you need cash. Three days later you check your bank statement and find a second charge you never saw on any screen, your own bank's out-of-network fee, stacked quietly on top. That is not a glitch. It is two separate companies charging you for two separate things, and almost nobody explains the difference before you land.
The short answer: ATM withdrawals abroad typically trigger two distinct charges from two distinct parties. The operator fee (sometimes called an ATM surcharge) is charged by whoever owns the physical machine, usually disclosed on screen before you confirm the withdrawal. The issuing bank fee is charged separately by your own bank back home, for the act of using a machine outside its network, and it almost never appears on the ATM screen itself. Add a foreign transaction fee on top, often 1-3% of the withdrawal amount, and a single cash withdrawal can rack up three separate charges before you have spent a single baht, dong, or peso.
What are the two separate fees charged on an international ATM withdrawal?
An international ATM withdrawal routes through two different businesses, and each one bills you independently. The first is the operator fee, charged by the company that owns and stocks the physical machine, whether that is a bank branch, a 7-Eleven kiosk, or an independent ATM deployer. This fee is usually disclosed on the machine's screen before you confirm the transaction. In the US the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) requires that disclosure, and the EU's Payment Services Directive and Cross-Border Payments Regulation set similar transparency rules for ATMs in Europe.
The second is the issuing bank fee, charged by your own bank or credit union for the simple fact that you used a machine outside its network. Your bank has no obligation to display this fee on the ATM screen, because it is not the entity operating the machine. It shows up days later as a line item on your statement, often with a generic label like "non-network ATM fee" or "foreign ATM usage fee."
Think of it like renting a car with your own insurance. The rental company charges you for the car (the operator fee, shown on the counter receipt). Your insurance company separately bills you a deductible if anything happens (the issuing fee, billed later, invisible at the counter). Two different businesses, two different invoices, one transaction.
Why does my own bank charge a fee if I never used one of their machines?
Your bank charges this fee precisely because you didn't use one of its machines. When you withdraw from an ATM your bank doesn't own, your bank has to settle that transaction through a card network (Visa, Mastercard, or a regional interbank system), and it treats that as a cost of doing business that it passes to you. Bankrate's 2025 Checking Account and ATM Fee Study found the average fee a US bank charges its own customer for an out-of-network withdrawal runs around $1.64, and that figure sits on top of whatever the machine's operator charges.
This is a separate question from the atm surcharge fee charged by the operator, which exists because the operator has to cover the cost of running the machine and handling the cash inside it [huffpost.com]. Industry coverage of record-high ATM fees in late 2025 points to inflation and declining ATM usage volume as two factors pushing surcharges upward, since fewer transactions mean each one has to cover more of the machine's fixed costs [the-sun.com][m.economictimes.com].
How do ATM fees actually stack up across Vietnam and the Philippines?
Each country's ATM fee structure differs in mechanism even though the two-fee pattern holds everywhere. ATM fees in Vietnam follow an operator-plus-issuer structure, and withdrawal limits per transaction are often lower than in other countries, meaning you pay the fixed operator fee more times if you need more cash.
ATM fees in the Philippines are set by the bank that owns the machine. Foreign cards are routed through Visa or Mastercard rather than the local BancNet network, and the big banks typically charge a foreign card withdrawal fee (BDO lists 250 PHP for cards issued overseas) in addition to your own bank's separate issuing fee back home.
| Country | Operator fee (local, on-screen) | Issuing fee (home bank, off-screen) | Typical limiting factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | Charged per withdrawal | Separate charge from your bank | Lower per-transaction withdrawal caps |
| Philippines | Charged by the ATM's bank for foreign cards, typically 200 to 250 PHP | Separate charge from your bank | Routed through Visa/Mastercard for foreign cards |
What is dynamic currency conversion and why does it make this worse?
Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is a feature some ATMs and card terminals offer that converts your withdrawal into your home currency on the spot, and it is a third cost layered on top of the two-fee stack described above. The machine will ask "would you like this transaction in US Dollars or local currency?" and choosing your home currency feels convenient. It isn't. The conversion rate DCC applies is set by the terminal operator, not by Visa or Mastercard's standard network rate, and it is reliably worse for you. Always decline DCC. Always choose to be charged in the local currency and let your card network handle the conversion.
How do international money transfer fees compare to repeated ATM withdrawals?
Stepping back from the per-withdrawal mechanics, the broader question for anyone traveling for weeks rather than days is how ATM costs compare to other ways of moving money across borders. International money transfer fees, whether through a bank wire or a money transfer app, are usually a flat charge or percentage applied once. Repeated ATM withdrawals, by contrast, apply the operator fee and issuing fee every single time you need cash, which means a two-week trip with five withdrawals can mean five operator fees and five issuing fees, each calculated independently.
This is the gap Moreta Pay was built to close for purchases specifically. Instead of withdrawing cash and paying both fees repeatedly, you top up the Moreta wallet from your home bank or card, then pay directly through the country's local QR network, the same one the vendor at the market stall already uses. For QR payment in Vietnam, it's the same VietQR code displayed at the noodle stall. You see the merchant name, the amount, and the exact exchange rate before you confirm, and the only charge on the payment is Moreta's 1.5% fee, shown before you confirm, with no operator fee or out-of-network ATM fee stacked on top. Cash is still worth carrying for rural stalls, temple donations, or small motorbike taxi fares that don't take QR, so keep a modest reserve, but for the bulk of daily spending, QR payment sidesteps the ATM fee stack entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ATM operator fee the same as my bank's foreign transaction fee?
No. The operator fee is charged by the machine's owner and shown on screen. The foreign transaction fee is a separate percentage charged by your card issuer for any purchase or withdrawal made in a foreign currency, and it is distinct from the issuing bank's out-of-network ATM fee.
Can I avoid the issuing bank fee by using a specific ATM brand abroad?
Sometimes. Some banks belong to alliances or partnerships with banks abroad that waive the out-of-network fee, and partner machines may skip their own surcharge too, but at most other ATMs the local operator's fee still applies.
Does declining dynamic currency conversion save me money?
Yes, consistently. Choosing to be billed in local currency lets your card network apply its standard exchange rate, which is reliably more favorable than the rate set by the ATM operator under DCC.
Why don't ATMs disclose my bank's fee on screen?
Because the ATM screen is controlled by the machine's operator, not your bank. In the US, Regulation E requires the operator to disclose its own fee, but there is no mechanism for your home bank to disclose its separate charge at that terminal, at home or abroad.
Do QR payment networks charge similar stacked fees?
No. There is no ATM operator fee or out-of-network fee, because no cash comes out of a third-party machine. With Moreta you pay one 1.5% fee on each payment, shown on screen before you confirm, and some top-up methods such as cards carry their own fee, listed on the Fees page.
Is it cheaper to withdraw a large amount once instead of smaller amounts multiple times?
Usually yes, since both the operator fee and issuing fee are typically flat per-transaction charges, withdrawing a larger amount less often reduces the number of times you pay each fee.
About Moreta
Moreta Global Inc. is a Delaware corporation and FinCEN-registered Money Services Business, backed by Y Combinator. The company built its wallet specifically so international travelers can pay through local QR networks (VietQR, QR Ph, DuitNow, KHQR, Pix, and others) instead of relying on cash withdrawn through foreign ATMs. Funds move from your home bank or card, convert automatically at the point of payment, and settle instantly in local currency with the exchange rate shown before you confirm. Security features include identity verification, 24/7 fraud monitoring, and real-time account alerts.
If you're tired of discovering a second ATM fee on your statement days after a trip, see how local QR payment compares at Moreta Pay.
References
- Tips For Avoiding ATM Fees | HuffPost Contributor (huffpost.com)
- 4 banking surcharges catching Americans off-guard as ATM fees reach historic highs (the-sun.com)
- how to avoid bank fees: ATM fees hit record highs, and these 4 sneaky bank surcharges are draining Americans' wallets fast - The Economic Times (m.economictimes.com)
