Can I use my American Debit Card in India

[nerdtastic]

Hi,

I am leaving USA by the end of this month. I have got a Credit Union Debit Card. I want to withdraw money using it in India from Indian ATM centres. Is it possible?

Another doubt is that my account is divided into savings and checking. Most of the money is in checking. Will there be any problem to withdraw money from checking
as in India I know its all Savings account.

[raghvi]

Hi,

I am leaving USA by the end of this month. I have got a Credit Union Debit Card. I want to withdraw money using it in India from Indian ATM centres. Is it possible?

Another doubt is that my account is divided into savings and checking. Most of the money is in checking. Will there be any problem to withdraw money from checking
as in India I know its all Savings account.

Check with your bank. There certainly would be charges and very limited ATMs if any. But IMHO its not worthwhile to pay 2% charges plus lose a few more % on conversion rates as Banks are not known for giving decent conversion rates. I wouldnt be surprised if for every 10,000 NR you withdraw you end up losing 500 Rs on the charges and conversion.. Also, a lot still happens in cash in India so might be a good idea to use local bank account ATM card which has ATMs available throught out the country such as HDFC/ICICI.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[kabkaba]

If it has a Visa or Mastercard logo, you can certainly use it. But there will 2 to 3% foreign transaction fees and possibly a withdrawal fee for using a different bank's ATM.
You can also get a no foreign transaction fee credit card, but using that to withdraw cash will mean cash advance fees and interest charges.
A better option is to transfer money to an account in India and then withdraw from that account.

[cafeconleche]

There are many ATMs in India, and depending on the card and ATM, it is likely they will be compatible. It depends on your bank whether or not you will be charged a conversion fee. Some banks, especially credit unions, don't, and even refund fees charged by the bank whose ATM you use. An example is Capital One. Also, in India they are NOT all savings accounts. There are current accounts (chequing) too.

[nerdtastic]

Thanks for all the replies. My debit card is VISA.

I asked my Credit Union bank. They told there will be a 1% transaction fee. But they aren't sure if the checking and savings division of my bank account
will lead to some confusions in withdrawing money from Indian ATMs. As I told before, all of my money (except for a few dollars) is in Checkings Section and
not Savings.