13

Which ATMs in Chile offer cash withdrawals without charging a fee? I am using a Visa Debit card.

My bank will not charge me fees for withdrawals, but I am concerned that the ATM's bank might.

5
  • If you're able to find ATMs that don't have a surcharge, please keep in mind that your bank probably will charge a "foreign transaction fee", which can add up fast. This is a separate charge than an atm fee and you should inquire with your bank first. When I went to Peru, I had ATM fees and Foreign Transaction fees :(
    – NotJay
    Aug 12, 2015 at 15:41
  • 2
    I read OP's message as saying that his bank doesn't charge at all for withdrawals.
    – MastaBaba
    Aug 12, 2015 at 17:35
  • 2
    Yes I have no charges for withdrawals, except what the ATM's bank would charge.
    – James
    Aug 13, 2015 at 0:51
  • I paid 6,000 pesos today at a Banco de Chile in Providencia
    – Jonathan S
    Jun 20, 2017 at 23:31
  • I also used Banco Internacional today at Moneda with my Dutch debit card. I neither had to pay an extra fee.
    – Nick
    Jul 21, 2017 at 19:58

7 Answers 7

9

I'm currently in Chile and have withdrawn money on several occasions. So far, once I've aborted my withdrawal because the machine told me it was going to charge for my withdrawal. This, while, later, an ATM from the same bank did not charge.

I've tried with 3 or 4 different banks.

This suggests to me that ATM withdrawal fees depend not on the bank, but on the ATM.

Note, though, that my girlfriend, who does have a card from a bank in a different country to mine, does get charged (and told she will), by ATMs that don't charge me.

4
  • Thanks for your help. I've been to a few banks, BCI for one, I can't remember the others, but everyone wants to charge me around 3500 pesos to withdraw. This was a lot higher than I expected. I've tried six or so ATMs so far. Do you have any suggestions?
    – James
    Aug 28, 2015 at 13:50
  • Not really, no. Last week I used Bank of Chile. They did not want to charge me. I think it comes down to specific agreements between your bank and Chilean banks. Keep in mind that ATMs in 'premium' locations (like, inside a mall or a shop) are more likely to charge for withdrawals. Also, I've seen Chileans occasionally get cashbacks when paying with cards. You could try your luck with that, too.
    – MastaBaba
    Aug 28, 2015 at 15:30
  • To be specific, the charge at the ATM is controlled by the ATM network operator, not the banks. However, even if the ATM network operator doesn't charge your card, your bank may have an international withdraw fee (these can be fixed or a percentage of the withdrawal) and then there will be the currency exchange rate margin as well. Nov 18, 2015 at 5:02
  • Note: Any money the bank wants to charge for (earn on) this can easily be calculated into the exchange rate. You have no way of knowing beforehand which is the cheaper option.
    – user40521
    Dec 2, 2016 at 12:04
16

My recent experiences trying out different ATMS (around Rancagua) are the following:

  • Banco BICE: 2500clp (though these seem to be few and far between)
  • Scotiabank: 3500clp
  • Banco Estado: 4000clp (they didn't charge anything extra a few months ago, but now I've tried several and they all want 4000) :-(
  • BBVA: 4100clp
  • BCI: 4738clp
  • CorpBanca / Itaú: 3000 5000clp
  • Banco de Chile / Banco CrediChile: 3500 5000clp
  • Santander / Banefe: 5000clp
  • Banco Falabella: told me it couldn't give me any money with my card apparently

Granted, some of these were done with a Wells Fargo card (which also charges 5usd, whee), and some were done after finally opening a Charles Schwab account. I can try to update with others banks as I find them. Let me know of any requests.

2
  • Scotia charges Wells Fargo but it doesn't charge some other foreign cards (like Payoneer's Mastercard), so worth a try.
    – Ivan Mir
    Nov 25, 2017 at 2:59
  • Now in 2018 Banco de Chile charged 6500 CLP for my Visa withdrawals and Banco Estado 4000 CLP.
    – Jonik
    May 17, 2018 at 2:00
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I use an ATM card from an American Credit Union that does not charge foreign exchange transaction fees. I've only found one bank in Chile that doesn't charge an ATM fee. It's Banco Security, Apoquindo 3150, Las Condes, Región Metropolitana. The location is near the El Golf Metro Stop. This ATM is only open from 9am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. There's also a Banco Security in Santiago Centro*, but the ATM has only been available occasionally when I visited. The Las Condes location always has a working-ATM during business hours.

* It's 1st (left) entrance to Paseo San Augustin on Moneda street: enter image description here

4

I confirm that Banco Security is still free of fees. You can find an ATM at Agustinas 621, Santiago (station Santa Lucia - line 1). The ATM is inside the agency so you can withdraw safely. I used a Visa credit card. I hope it will help !

Camille

3

I use a French ATM Visa Debit card and, like Brian, I was able to withdraw money without the ATM charges today from a Banco Security ATM (what a great feeling!). If you are near Santiago City Centre, there is a Banco Security with an ATM at the corner of Moneda and Estado streets (there's a Banco Security across from La Moneda, but it does not have an ATM). I've been told there's also a third Banco Security in city centre, but I have not had time to find it.

Long story short, corroborating what Brian has said, a Banco Security ATM is what you need.

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  • 1
    Additional finding: The aforementioned banco security ATM can be accessed even when the bank is closed. That is as long as the adjacent shopping gallery is open. I went on Saturday afternoon, it was fine. Today because it was a Columbus day, I wasn't able to access it.
    – mjm
    Oct 11, 2016 at 1:57
2

This forum provides some up-to-date (2nd half 2016) information:

  • Banco Estado does charge the 4000CLP fee but unlike other banks does not limit you to 200,000CLP. You can widthdraw more than that e.g. 400,000 for only a 1% hit.
  • Banco Security still does not have a fee. (source)
  • BICE does not have a fee.
  • As above, Banco Internacional does not have a fee.
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  • As of 2018, Banco Estado still charges 4000 CLP. (Banco de Chile was 6500 CLP.) I found this question too late to try the ones possibly without fee--cards are so widely accepted that I didn't need that much cash. :)
    – Jonik
    May 17, 2018 at 1:58
1

I've been using Banco Security's ATM in Centro (Agustinas-Moneda) for the last three years, but two days ago I found that they now charge 5000 CLP fee. I didn't try Banco Security in Las Condes, but I doubt it's different.

1
  • More information on the subject. Banco de Chile allows you to withdraw up to 200.000 CLP with 6.000 CLP commission. The information that they allow to withdraw more than 200k with the same commission is not correct. But there is a good news: Banco Internacional doesn't charge anything; I used their ATM on Moneda 818 a few days ago. They say Scotiabank's ATMs don't have a fee, but I haven't checked that.
    – Pavel
    Jul 6, 2017 at 16:08

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