It’s Easy to Avoid ATM Fees in the Republic of North Macedonia

It’s easy to avoid paying ATM fees in Macedonia. When it comes to making cash withdrawals it’s a very tourist-friendly country.

I lived in Macedonia for a month and never once had an ATM machine try to hit me with any withdrawal fees. Having said that, I didn’t try ATMs from all the banks. I only used three:

• NLB
• Halkbank
• Stopanska Banka AD Skopje

I have no idea if any of the other banks are likely to charge fees but if you use ATMs that belong to NLB, Halkbank, or Stopanska Banka AD Skopje you should be able to avoid paying cash withdrawal fees in Macedonia.

Another good thing I noticed with these banks was their machines don’t use dynamic currency conversion to try and trick people into accepting an unfavourable exchange rate. Macedonia is the first country I’ve been to where the ATMs never presented me this undesirable option.

UPDATE (September 2022): Unfortunately, NLB appears to charging ATM fees now. According to a comment posted by an anonymous site vistor, the feee is 300 MKD per withdrawal.

UPDATE (April 2024): Stopanska Banka appears to be charging fees now as well. It’s 250 MKD per withdrawal. Halkbank has jumped on the same gravy train but, at 150 MKD, its the cheaper of the two. Hopefully there may be alternative options that are still free to use but Banks all over Europe appear to adding or increasing fees. Options that don’t charge are now few and far between.

Update (July 2024): When I wrote this post, NLB, Halkbank, and Stopanska Banka AD Skopje were not charging fees at their ATMs..Feedback from site visitors suggests this is no longer the case.

How to Avoid Foreign Currency Fees from Your Own Bank

If you withdraw money abroad, using your normal debit card your bank will probably charge you foreign currency fees. The same thing is likely if you use a credit card. These card fees can cost more than the ones many ATMs try and hit you  with

Fortunately, there is a way you can avoid foreign currency fees, but you have to open up a special account. It’s called a Wise Multi-Currency Account.

The account is free to open, there are no monthly or yearly fees, and it comes with a debit card.

The trick is to use your Wise card to withdraw cash from your ATMs and to pay for goods and services as well. Doing so can help you to save a fortune in bank fees. I speak from experience. I’m a perpetual traveller and use my Wise card every week.

You can manage the account from your computer or by a using the Wise app. These days, I mostly use the app. When I need to withdraw money, I open the app, specify the amount and then transfer it from my bank. The funds usually arrive within a few minutes.

When I withdraw money from an ATM, there is a fee but it’s much less than I would pay if I used one of the cards issued by my British or European banks. If you rarely go on vacation, this service may not interest you. However, if you travel a lot like I do, the savings add up week after week. You can find out more information about the Wise Multi-Currency Account HERE.