Madagascar ATM Fees - 3 Banks With No Withdrawal Charges
June 15, 2023 | Tagged: Madagascar, ATM Fees
Free ATMs in Madagascar:
- MCB Madagascar
- BNI Madagascar
- Accès Banque
1. MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank) Madagascar:
I am glad to report that I successfully used a UK-issued 'WISE' VISA debit card at the MCB Madagascar ATM at the Antananarivo Ivato International Airport and incurred no withdrawal fees. I also used the MCB ATM in Tamatave and Antsirabe.
Using the free Wi-Fi at the airport, I switched on the GPS and opened my banking app to minimise the risk of a security breach.
Unsure if there was a limit on how much I could withdraw, I tapped in 400,000, selected 'credit card' and was happy to hear the magical sound of money being counted.
I had a wad of 10,000 notes and bizarrely, one 20,000 note. This is what 400,000 Ariary looks like ( £70s worth) with a few other notes collected the next day:
I wrote a separate post detailing all you need to know about how to get cash at the Ivato International Airport.
Unsure if there was a limit on how much I could withdraw, I tapped in 400,000, selected 'credit card' and was happy to hear the magical sound of money being counted.
I had a wad of 10,000 notes and bizarrely, one 20,000 note. This is what 400,000 Ariary looks like ( £70s worth) with a few other notes collected the next day:
I wrote a separate post detailing all you need to know about how to get cash at the Ivato International Airport.
2. BNI (Banque Nationale d’Investissement) Madagascar:
Normally when I have found an ATM that offers free withdrawals, I don't bother to go around searching for another one but for the purpose of this blog, I wanted to find another ATM that also had no withdrawal fees. But also I wanted to know of another bank for the sake of having a Plan B and am happy to report that I successfully used the BNI Madagascar ATM in Antananarivo with a UK-issued ''WISE' VISA debit card and incurred no withdrawal fees.
The BNI bank has way more branches in Madagascar than the MCB bank but the BNI atm withdrawal limit is very often only 200,000Ar.
The BNI bank has way more branches in Madagascar than the MCB bank but the BNI atm withdrawal limit is very often only 200,000Ar.
3. Accès Banque:
I also successfully used the Accès Banque in Antananarivo with a UK-issued 'WISE' VISA debit card and incurred no withdrawal fees.
Security is strict here regarding photos at the bank, hence no chance to get a photo of the Accès Banque ATM.
Later in the travels, I found there are only limited number of towns with Accès Banque ATMs.
Security is strict here regarding photos at the bank, hence no chance to get a photo of the Accès Banque ATM.
Later in the travels, I found there are only limited number of towns with Accès Banque ATMs.
Issues that could arise when using the ATMs in Madagascar
1. The maximum number of banknotes that any ATM can give you in one transaction is just 40. So with the biggest denomination in Madagascar being the 20,000 Malagasy Ariary, this means that the maximum amount of cash you can get in one go is just 800,000, which at 2023 rates is 180 USD.
Luckily Madagascar can be cheap so 800,000 will last you a while.
But that's assuming the ATM is stocked with 20,000s. It can be that they only loaded it with 10,000s. I went to one bank and was told the maximum dispensed was only 400,000. And the BNI many times had a 200,000Ar withdrawal limit.
2. The word on the ground is, that ATMs can run out of cash, so be prepared. Big long queues in Toamasina and 3 times the ATMs were waiting to be refilled!!
3. MasterCard and Visa cards. Not all ATMs accept both cards. The MCB, BNI and AccèssBanque accept both. The Bank of Africa accepts only VISA. The BMOI bank says it takes VISA but at 2 separate branches, my transaction was declined.
The savvy traveller should always have a selection of cards at their disposal for such times when there is just 1 ATM in town or when the ATM swallows your card.
Foot Note: As that savvy traveller, you should always be prepared and have a supply of USD and Euros with you for any destination for when things go wrong.
Madagascar is very much a cash country. In the 6 weeks I spent there, not one hotel accepted payment by card. And the only time I tried to pay with the card at a Super U supermarket, their system was down.
Luckily Madagascar can be cheap so 800,000 will last you a while.
But that's assuming the ATM is stocked with 20,000s. It can be that they only loaded it with 10,000s. I went to one bank and was told the maximum dispensed was only 400,000. And the BNI many times had a 200,000Ar withdrawal limit.
2. The word on the ground is, that ATMs can run out of cash, so be prepared. Big long queues in Toamasina and 3 times the ATMs were waiting to be refilled!!
3. MasterCard and Visa cards. Not all ATMs accept both cards. The MCB, BNI and AccèssBanque accept both. The Bank of Africa accepts only VISA. The BMOI bank says it takes VISA but at 2 separate branches, my transaction was declined.
The savvy traveller should always have a selection of cards at their disposal for such times when there is just 1 ATM in town or when the ATM swallows your card.
Foot Note: As that savvy traveller, you should always be prepared and have a supply of USD and Euros with you for any destination for when things go wrong.
Madagascar is very much a cash country. In the 6 weeks I spent there, not one hotel accepted payment by card. And the only time I tried to pay with the card at a Super U supermarket, their system was down.
