The Lemon Fool

I am off to Switzerland next week for 1 week of walking on a half board basis with a holiday company.

I have a HSBC global account which l can load with Swiss Francs before departure.

I have been informed that there are ATMs in Heathrow airport which one can take out Euros & Swiss Francs. I had seen similar ATMs (with Euros and Swiss Francs advertised on the panel)in Gatwick airport in last month.

Does anyone have any experience with taking out Euros/Swiss Francs from such ATMs in UK airports and what are the charges?

I have asked the HBSC staff about it but my impression is that they are not too sure.

Thanks

I can’t give you any direct experience of withdrawing Swiss Francs from a UK airport ATM, but I suspect it would be easier to withdraw Swiss Francs from an ATM at the Swiss arrival airport. After all isn’t that one of the intended benefits of your HSBC Global account ?

I do not know about foreign currencies being available from cash machines. But Travelex seem to have a monopoly over the ATMs at Heathrow and they charge fees to withdraw cash, so I always avoid them.

Of course you can get FX at one of the FX booths, but the rate will be horrible. Since I usually take the Heathrow Express from Paddington I like to use the rather sketchy looking change places on Praed Street.

Does anyone know if ATMs in Switzerland have charges for withdrawing cash from a prepaid debit card?

Thanks