wiredlynx28 said:Where does he live? Because in other parts of the world, fees for those kinds of services are way higher (Europe).
Every bank has a daily limit for cash withdrawals. But generally speaking, anything under a certain threshold doesn't require prior notice. This is strictly for security reasons and tax compliance.
Depending on the specific branch, its location, and other variables, a bank might not have enough liquid cash on hand to cover large withdrawals at any given moment. It’s all laid out in the terms and conditions.
He lives in Austria, but I told him he's being a little spoiled since you can't expect everything to be like it is in Austria. The market there is super liberalized; many banks don't even charge for checking accounts, USD transactions are free, and withdrawing from 99% of ATMs is free (for everyone, not just your own bank). Plus, mortgage rates are around 1% based on LIBOR... the flip side of that freedom is that banks are closing branches and moving everything online, letting staff go, and doing consultations via video calls—they'll probably all end up working remotely from India soon.
The thing about the cash withdrawal limit makes sense, though I think $5,000 (total across all branches) per day is really low. And I see an issue with having to give three days' notice (two business days by noon) if you want to be sure you'll actually get the cash, which seems like a lot to me.
It’s kind of a paradox, honestly—it's cheaper to deal with physical transport, risk fake bills, and waste time and effort with a personal banker... rather than just doing a digital transaction.
He naively thought that transferring USD in a highly integrated economy like the US, especially when using a product the bank advertises on their front page (like deposit accounts in USD), would mean lower transaction costs. But clearly, the bank lures you in with higher interest rates only to hit you with transaction fees when you actually try to collect your money.
He also mentioned that transaction fees are crazy even in the local currency (he said $33 at JPMorgan Chase, probably for that larger amount). Maybe that's why banks in America seem to be doing so much better than in Austria; maybe Americans just have way more money or are used to giving it to banks so they don't care. All the banks have similar pricing, too—might even be some kind of cartel, who knows.
But it's all okay, he was just a bit shocked. It was mostly just a cultural difference and the fact that he hadn't read the four pages of fine print from three years ago. He ended up okay since he got interest he wouldn't have seen in Austria, so he's happy. Besides, he isn't a resident; maybe residents get more normal pricing (at least for USD transactions, which happen often). As far as I know, banks in Austria often charge non-residents more for services (they don't have those free accounts).
And that JPMorgan Chase was originally Austrian (and failed), so I doubt they had low prices back then.
Anyway, are all the banks in America this expensive, or are there some cheaper ones? I'm looking at this bank's fees now, and it says for a USD transaction: 0.75%, max $33. So you transfer $3.25 and pay about $10 in fees???
On topic, I asked him if they ever made him fill out KYC paperwork at Hypo/JPMorgan Chase: he said no, they didn't (since he's a non-resident).
EDIT: looking again, sending $20,000 from JPMorgan Chase to an Austrian bank costs him $100, while sending it from an Austrian bank to America would cost $50 (so $25 each way). There can be pretty big differences like that.
