Euronet ATMs being a scam is a very americentric view. The world is not /primarily/ designed to rip off tourist.
Very evident with this map that just appears to be a differently labeled population heat map.
Very evident with this map that just appears to be a differently labeled population heat map.
In my experiences with traveling to a great number of countries and cities... yes, it pretty much is.
Taking any kind of "easiest path" tourism is basically full of rip-offs in every hotel, restaurant, and tour, no matter where you are.
It takes effort to plan a genuinely enjoyable trip full of rich experiences that isn't ripping you off.
Also, it doesn't seem to be a population map at all -- that distribution is quite different:
https://www.mdpi.com/land/land-02-00252/article_deploy/html/...
It might work better in cultures with a more developed eat-out culture like in Asia.
For lunch we'd hike over the hill into little Italy, and there was a decent sandwich shop we'd get lunch at. (Freddy's) Before the hill there was a small asian couple who ran a small shop, they made a good mushroom stew. No idea if they're still in business, though, or what their place was called.
Neither were restaurants … you weren't going to be finding a seat at least inside. There's plenty of seating around SF though, if you know where to look.
¹although Google thinks NB is actually a bit W of where we were.
I'd figure Google Maps, being less explicitly targeted to tourists, would be likely to include reviews and pricing data relative to a local mentality, which might not be so willing to spend tourist prices.
It's easier, I suppose, if you're doing a walking/public transit oriented trip and are in a city-- if you don't like what you see when you close in, just go 50 metres further down the street.
Unfortunately I have been ripped in SE Asia, and moreso in Central America, where prices were almost never displayed, and I was charged US prices for almost everything.
Even here across southern Europe they always start popping up in areas that usually have other seedy businesses preying on people. Lately they don't even show their brand and colors anymore... only showing foreign languaged "ATM" sign with no bank logo.
Avoid them like the plague.
Also (and maybe this only applies for Bucharest, but good to know regardless), avoid changing currency (USD to local RON, in Romania's case) just as you get off the airplane, the exchange rates inside the airport are rip-offs pure and simple. The currency exchange shops inside Bucharest proper are more than decent, though, no rip-offs there.
I agree the map kinda sucks, because most of the island of Mallorca is a tourist trap at this point. But you can see how the interior's population centers, like Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, have none.
For a better example, as one of the replies to the tweet suggests, check using Google Maps around Barcelona. You can see sixteen of them crowded around Sagrada Familia, for example, and barely any in the mostly-residential neighbourhoods further north.
There's a reason why they got such a bad reputation.
In America and Canada, ALL ATMs are scams with exorbitant fees except for the customers of the bank of that ATM.
The whole "Sorry, we're cash only, but there's an ATM in the back" is ubiquitous.
When I moved to Europe in the mid 2010s I was shocked that I could use my bank card to withdraw cash from any other bank without fees.
IMHO this is superior to the bank refunding you. It doesn’t cost the bank $2+ to allow you to access your own money from a different ATM, it’s just rent seeking.
[1] https://www.alfabank.by/about/articles/main/Euronet_DCC_11_0...
those ATMs give you a choice on how to do currency conversion and my bank will do withdrawals at spot rate! I check forex and futures charts and I get the same rate.
and other than that just a normal ATM fee the same as I would encounter in the states. some banks reimburse those too.
That said, I've noticed that when I withdraw a non-euro currency, my own bank fee has been creeping up and is approaching the conversion rate and fee offered by the ATMs, so maybe I need to change my policy about that in the future.