5

I will be travelling to Prague soon. I have found out two major money withdrawal options around Praha hl. n., which are Česká spořitelna, and Komerční banka as can be seen here.

However, I am not sure which one would be better. I am keen withdrawing money from ATM, as many have said that is the best forex option. That is also confirmed by my bank (Deutsche Bank).

I would also like to know what will the approx forex charges (not forex rate) applicable if I withdraw CZK from ATM. My base currency is EUR.

Any help regarding this will be great. Also feel free to mention if you think there are better money withdrawal options around Praha hl. n.

|improve this question
  • 6
    Charges are likely to depend on your bank (ask them) and the bank from which you withdraw (they should be mentioned on the ATM). Hence I am not sure we on Travel can answer this. – JoErNanO♦ Mar 27 '17 at 8:27
  • 3
    The ATM you choose is absolutely irrelevant. Only your own bank's rules matter. – JonathanReez♦ Mar 27 '17 at 10:07
  • Depending on how much money you need it could be cheaper to just exchange money before your trip to Prague at your local bank. For bigger sums/longer stays carrying around large sums of money can be uncomfortable, of course. – Ian Mar 27 '17 at 12:50
  • You really want to ask your bank for the exact fees.. Those have to be somewhere on their homepage (at least in the EU) but can be a big challenge to find, so asking them is easier and Mir likely to be accurate. You want to know four things: Fees when withdrawing money with your debit card (1) or credit card (2), as well as paying a transaction with your debit (3) and credit card (4). Generally (4) is the cheapest when buying smaller things and (1) is the best when withdrawing reasonably large amounts, but it can all vary by bank. – Voo Mar 28 '17 at 16:00
  • Also very important: Never use the "withdraw money in local currency" option, that's a tourist trap - the exchange rate they offer is generally horrendous and much worse than the fees your bank would demand. – Voo Mar 28 '17 at 16:01
8

I had gone to Prague in the month of August 2016. I withdrew around 2200 CZK which was around 80 Euros. When I checked my Deutche Bank statement, I saw I was charged around 83 in total. So around 3 Euros extra.

I was on a transit at Prague on my way to Krakow last month. My friends and I withdrew 1000 CZK which was around 36 Euros, and our DB statement showed a total amount of 40 Euros approx.

So, around 3-5 Euros in both cases (in Euros). We chose ATMs in both the cases because that is what we were advised. There are plenty of ATMs at the bus stop/train stop/and around. Also, choose to withdraw in CZK equivalent and not Euros, you can save a few bucks there. For example, we chose to withdraw 2200 CZK instead of choosing 80 Euros. The latter would have given us a few CZK less. I hope you can understand.

Have a nice trip to Prague.

|improve this answer
4

There's at least one ATM directly in the lobby of Praha hl.n. train station. It's approximately at the lot 4 or 5 in the lower floor at this chart.

Basically, as you descend by escalator from the arrivals/departures lobby to the main lobby, keep right and you should hit it.

It's not a bank-affiliated ATM, so no idea what the fees are.

|improve this answer
3

The best option I found was to use a Forex card to withdraw cash at the atm. ATM's can be found towards the left of both the main staircases leading out of the station.

Directly withdrawing using a Deutsche bank card incurs fees + a horrible conversion rate. Swiping a card at an money exchange shop incurrs 7-12% charge form the exchange shop(Negotiable on the spot) and additionally a conversion charge by your bank. On top of this, banks always have a worse currency conversion rate than the current market rate.

Also , if you can carry Euros in cash, you will incur the lowest conversion charges. Dont exchange them anywhere in the main station or near the major tourist places(Charles bridge, Old town etc). I found good rates in shops on the main road going south as you exit the station.

|improve this answer
  • Weird, what conditions does your DB card have for withdrawals? My bank wants 1.82€ + 0,75% of the withdrawn amount, while using the interbank exchange rates for money conversion. That's generally a much better deal than any money exchange shops offer (for 100€ this amounts to 2.5% fees). Trollster's experience with a DB card (~3%) is pretty much in the same ballpark. I assume you might have accidentally picked the "withdraw money in local currency" option which is exceedingly awful, but if you avoid that this is generally the cheapest and easiest way to withdraw money. – Voo Mar 27 '17 at 21:36
  • I dont remember exactly what option I choose, but yes, this may have been the case. It also may be because of the type of account I have with Deutsche bank. Its a student account for foregin students. – Tejas Kale Mar 28 '17 at 15:54
  • If you know where to go, there is an excellent exchange office in the Old Town in Kaprova st. It is not a typical rip-off kiosk, it looks like a bank and one mustbgo inside. There is a minimal amount they require to be exchanged. – Vladimir F May 24 '17 at 6:47
3

I am posting this, just to share my experience.

The forex charges are applied by your bank, and in my case it is 5.99 EUR each time I withdrw money from ATM, and around 1.50 EUR each time I pay using my card. Thus, withdrawing a large sum, depending on your need, might be beneficial for you.

I withdrew money from Česká spořitelna ATM at Praha Main Train Station.

One point to be noted, as also pointed by @trollster, is that I got 2 options while withdrawing the money:

  1. Withdraw without conversion (to your base currency)
  2. Withdraw with conversion (to your base currency)

I saw that for the later, the exchange rate is pretty bad, so I went with the former one, assuming it won't be worse than this. With this choice, I got approximately 27.02 CZK/EUR exchange rate from the withdrawal (which might be unrelated with the choice of ATM you have), which is also the official rate at this moment.

Apart from this, I also exchanged some EURs, I was carrying, from a place near Národní třída, named something like (Ex?)Change 0% Commission. I got an exchange rate of 26.20 CZK/EUR there without any additional charges, and was able to exchange small amount of euros such 20-25.

Summing up, it is best to know about the forex charges of your bank beforehand and then withdraw money from ATM, when withdrawing large sum.

|improve this answer
2

I travelled to Prague back in 2011. What struck me instantly were the numerous little exchange offices all around town. I never went into one of them. Just chose an ATM in a decent street and withdrew money. My base currency is EURO as well. Now 6 years later it must be the same, if not even better. Good luck.

For the rest, on getting a good rate, I go with the answer of trollster.

|improve this answer
  • 2
    Welcome to the site. You might find it helpful to have a look at the tour to see how things work here. We're not a general discussion forum and we're really looking for answers to the question at the top of the page. I find the question rather vague but, whatever it is, I don't think you answer it. The asker seems to want to use an ATM and is asking about fees so little exchange offices don't seem to be relevant and saying that you just chose a decent-looking ATM just repeats what the asker is already intending to do. – David Richerby Mar 27 '17 at 14:48

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.