Getting Euros in Belgium

I am headed to Brussels, Ghent, and Hasselt in 3 days and was wondering what the best place to widthdraw or exchange currency for Euros. I have an HSBC account -- but there do not seem to be many HSBC locations in Belgium - Does anyone know if they have any partner banks which offer lower exchange rates/fees?

Also, can I widthdraw Euros from an ATM at Newark Liberty Airport -- as this would be the most convenient.

Thanks!

Mike

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Hi Mike,

I too have an HSBC account and draw money out frequently in Belgium. You don%26#39;t need to use an HSBC bank specifically. As long as your card has Maestro/Cirrus on it you will be able to use most ATMs. Sometimes the Fortis bank doesn%26#39;t like my card but I%26#39;ve never had a problem with any others.

Hope this helps.

Piglet:-)

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If you mean newark as in NJ, then I really doubt you can get Euro out of an ATM.

As far as I know ATM machines are not equipped to carry 2 different currencies.

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As it happens, ATMs in Peru dole out both soles and U.S. dollars! But, the dollar is widely accepted throughout that country, apparently even locals have to have dollars for some purchases. As far as I know, euros are not commonly accepted anywhere in the U.S. Therefore I would be most surprised if ATMs situated in the U.S. were stocked with anything but U.S. dollars.

As for HSBC partner banks - I can never understand why people don%26#39;t ask this sort of question of their own bank! How are we supposed to know? HSBC has no %26quot;retail%26quot; outlets in Belgium at all. But even if anyone (once) knew about local partners of a specific foreign bank, the recent financial crash has led to a number of changes, with several local banks being split into national (Dutch/Belgian, French/Belgian) components, who knows what this may have done to any arrangements they may have had with other banks?

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Definitely call your bank or check the web site to see about partner banks. Otherwise, just about any ATMs will do, you will probably just have to pay a non-partner withdrawal fee, but you can get cash no problem.