List of Free ATMs For Wealthsimple / EQ Bank Customers (40+ Countries Globally)

January 20th, 2025 | Posted in Tools

This page lists free ATMs around the world where Wealthsimple and EQ Bank customers can make international currency withdrawals without paying any fees. Using your Wealthsimple or EQ card at one of the ATMs listed below allows you to avoid buying foreign currency at a marked-up exchange rate (typically +2.5%), and to avoid transaction fees (typically $3 to $5 Canadian dollars) each time you withdraw money.

As someone who loves to travel frugally (read: an inclination towards hole-in-the-wall restaurants vs. five-star experiences), I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit searching online for the best ways to withdraw foreign currency without paying exorbitant exchange rate mark-ups and ATM transaction fees. I’ve compiled this database based on my own travel experiences in over 10 countries, travel reports from friends, and also based on dozens of posts on Reddit, Red Flag Deals, blogs, etc.

Some of my most cherished travel memories started by stumbling into tiny local restaurants where only hard cash is accepted. Slurping a piping hot bowl of noodles while trying to avoid elbowing the customer beside me — ordering at random from a signboard written in an indecipherable script — searching for culinary bliss in places that don’t appear on Google Maps.

There are 78 banks in 44 countries covered here. I’ll continue to add / update this list as I come across new sources. If you’d like to contribute to this database, please drop a comment below. Let’s save money at the ATM so that we can drink more espresso and eat more pho!

List of free ATMs for Wealthsimple / EQ Bank customers [back to top]

[This list was last updated on February 20, 2025]

 
If you’ve travelled abroad recently, it would be appreciated if you could confirm this content, indicate any errors, or add new countries with free ATMs to this list. I will keep this list up to date with the latest info that I’m able to crowd-source or find online.

You can confirm / deny / add new data in the comment section below, or by emailing me at themeasureofaplan@gmail.com

Below, I’ll cover some best practices and general tips for withdrawing money when travelling internationally.

General tips for withdrawing money while travelling abroad [back to top]

There are three steps to follow to withdraw foreign currency without paying any fees:

1. Go to the right bank (see table above)
2. Use the right card (either Wealthsimple or EQ card)
3. Click the right buttons on the ATM (see guide below)

Always withdraw in “local” currency (not Canadian dollars)

When using an ATM abroad, if the machine offers to charge you in Canadian Dollars (CAD), make sure you decline that option. Always choose to be charged in the local currency of the country you’re in (i.e., Yen in Japan, Euros in Europe).

This means that Mastercard will handle the conversion into Canadian dollars, and Wealthsimple / EQ Bank won’t charge any mark-up fees on top of that. The conversion rate offered by the ATM provider will be a horrible rate, often with a ~4 to 10% mark-up applied on top of the actual rate that Mastercard would have charged.

For example, the image below shows your options when withdrawing Japanese Yen at 7-Eleven. If you select to be charged in “local” currency (Japanese Yen), the entire transaction will be free for Wealthsimple / EQ Bank customers.

However, if you select Canadian dollars, a 4% mark-up would be charged on the exchange rate. In other words, on a withdrawal of $500 Canadian Dollars, selecting the wrong option would cost you $20!

In some countries, you’ll see an option for “Dynamic Currency Conversion” (DCC) or “immediate currency conversion”. Always decline this option if it’s presented. Similar to the example above, this option will charge you in Canadian Dollars, but at a significantly inflated rate. Always pay in the local currency of the country you’re in (i.e., pay in Yen in Japan, pay in Euros in France / Germany / Italy).
 

Look for official bank branches — avoid outdoor foreign exchange machines / ATMs

When finding a place to withdraw money in a foreign country, always try to do this at an official bank branch (preferably an indoor branch with clear signage belonging to the bank). Use the list above to find a bank that offers free ATMs in the country you’re travelling in, then search for that bank on Google Maps to find a branch location near you.

Avoid standalone ATMs / privately-branded foreign exchange machines that are located in touristic areas, or machines that are clearly marketed towards foreign tourists. These machines are often located at the airport or in tourist hotspots (near museums, monuments, temples, or other major points of interest) and often charge high transaction fees and/or marked-up foreign exchange rates.

See the image below for examples of what to look for and what to avoid.

When in doubt, think and act like a local!
 

Never use a credit card to withdraw money from an ATM

Using your credit card to withdraw money at an ATM is a costly mistake. Your card will typically be charged an upfront withdrawal transaction fee ($3 to $5 Canadian dollars), and the credit card provider typically treats the withdrawal as a “cash advance”.

A cash advance means that you are borrowing money from the bank, and the bank will charge you interest on any amount withdrawn. The interest starts to accrue immediately, meaning that for each day you don’t pay back the loan, your total amount owed will be higher. This is different from how a credit card usually works wherein you are given a “grace period” when no interest is charged on your purchased until the end of your statement cycle.

Long story short, never use a credit card to withdraw money from an ATM. Using a debit card or prepaid card (like the Wealthsimple / EQ Bank cards discussed in this post) is always the better choice.

101-basics guide to Wealthsimple / EQ Bank [back to top]

For Canadians who don’t yet have accounts with Wealthsimple / EQ Bank — here’s a quick guide to these companies. Wealthsimple and EQ Bank are “challenger” banks have disrupted Canada’s “Big 5” banks by offering well designed online-first user experiences and fee-free banking and financial products.

It is free to open an account with Wealthsimple / EQ, there are no monthly fees for checking and savings accounts, and there are no account minimums that need to be maintained to keep your account open. In other words, you can use these accounts entirely for free without paying a penny.

Both Wealthsimple and EQ Bank offer a “prepaid” spending card that is effectively a hybrid between a debit card and a credit card. Similar to a debit card, the customer needs to load money into their account before it can be spent (you cannot borrow money using these cards). However, these cards are issued through the Mastercard network, and therefore can be used to purchase in-store / online wherever Mastercard is accepted.

Wealthsimple / EQ cards both offer cashback on purchases, and also charge zero fees for purchases made in foreign currency. This is a stark contrast to most debit and credit cards which charge a 2.5% mark-up fee on any purchases made in foreign currency.

For these reasons, I bring both the Wealthsimple cash card and EQ Bank card in my wallet whenever I travel (it’s recommended to bring multiple cards in case one gets lost or blocked).

If you don’t already have an account with Wealthsimple or EQ Bank, you can review the latest list of benefits and sign-up using the links below (disclaimer: these are my referral links, meaning that we’ll both receive a cash bonus if you sign up using these links):

• Wealthsimple: sign up to receive a $25 bonus
• EQ Bank: sign up to receive a $20 bonus

As a reminder, for both accounts it is free to sign up, there are no fees to use the accounts, and there are no account minimums.

Parting Thoughts and Notes [back to top]

I’ve personally travelled to several countries in Asia in recent years and can personally vouch for the list of free ATMs in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Taiwan — I’ve used my Wealthsimple / EQ Bank cards in all of those countries and have benefitted from free ATM withdrawals.

However, there are many countries on this list that I’ve yet to travel to (particularly in South America / Europe), and I’m relying on outside sources and several threads from places like Reddit, Red Flag Deals, blogs, and other online searches.

If you’ve travelled abroad recently, it would be appreciated if you could confirm the accuracy of this list, indicate any errors, or add new countries with free ATMs to the database. I will keep this list up to date with new info that I’m able to find online or crowd-source.

You can confirm / deny / add new data in the comment section below, or by emailing me at themeasureofaplan@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list — let’s make this the best place for Canadians to find free ATMs so that we can travel widely and eat/drink to our heart’s content.

 
 
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If you liked this post, you may be interested in some of my other tools and data essays:

• Free spreadsheets and tools for budgeting, investment portfolio tracking, and more
• Tracking Canadian Housing Market Affordability (1999 to 2024)
• The Wealth of Nations: income, cost of living, and purchasing power for 110 countries
• Investment returns by asset class (1985 up to today)
• US stock market returns — a history from the 1870s up to today

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Header image credit: Pete Ryan