Does anyone know the best bank in Canada for ATM and currency exchange fees?

Royal Bank of Canada charges $5.00 for all foreign transactions and I think an extra 2% currency exchange fee....

That's pretty hefty.

I was also thinking of preloading my credit card with money and taking it out like a cash advance. Supposedly it's only $2.50 per transaction and 2% exchange. As long as I don't start charging a negative balance (credit), it's not prone to interest

Is that correct?

I want to move my travel cash into a bank that has a lower fee. Which Canadian banks would you suggest? Are there any international or european banks that I can open up and transfer funds to within two weeks?

Presidents choice is pretty good. I believe they just charged me $3.00 a transaction.....but could have been $3.00 + 3%. The lady I talked to wasn't entirely clear :mad: . And while they may not have the most knowledgable personel (well at least around here...) it IS a completely no fee bank account with relatively high savings account interest rates. I mean how can you go wrong w/ that?

I use Royal Bank as well, but also try Simply Angelics suggestion of President's Choice...also one to to look into is TD/Canada Trust. Those are the banks that I deal with. Sometimes you can't really get away from the hefty fee ya know?? Sucks!