I need to take out quite a bit of cash during my trip. Anyone know cheapest ATMs & daily withdrawal limits for foreign cards at Sri Lanka ATMs?
Limit wise, Sri Lankan ATMs allow between 25 000 to 200 000 LKR per transaction and up to 200 000 per day. Fees depend a lot on the bank - Commercial Bank and HSBC tend to waive or have lower ATM fees for foreign cards. I kept withdrawals to twice a day so I stayed safely under local and bank limits. Hatton National Bank I found most expensive at like 800 per withdrawal.
I used Wise and Revolut cards at Bank of Ceylon and Commercial Bank ATMs in Colombo airport and didn’t get charged the 300-600 LKR typical ATM fee elsewhere. They also let me withdraw full 80 000 to 100 000 in one go. That saved me money compared with standalone ATMs in malls which charged 800-1000 LKR per withdrawal. Amana Bank did not have any fees. and HSBC and Standard Chartered also did not charge any atm fees and allows full 200,000 LKR per withdrawal.
From what I found, the per-transaction limit is usually between 40 000 and 60 000 LKR at banks like HNB or People’s Bank, and you can do multiple transactions until you hit the daily max of 200 000 LKR. Hatton charges like 800 per withdrawal, Sampath 500 and Seylan Bank charges 1000. I tried a Union Bank and it hit me with 750 LKR per withdrawal.
Foreign cards usually have a daily withdrawal limit of around 100 000 to 200 000 LKR depending on the bank and your home bank’s cap. I could only withdraw 100 000 LKR per day from my Revolut card at Commercial Bank, but using a second card bumps it up to about 200 000 LKR total. Commercial Bank ATMs are the most reliable and fee-free for foreign cards.
Withdrew £500 from a Chase Current account at NSB ATM in Sri Lanka - no conversion fees or ATM charges.
Was able to do two separate withdrawals (200K and 100K) at Bank of Ceylon in Sri Lanka using my Visa Debit card. Worked smoothly, and English instructions were available.
Bank of Ceylon in Sri Lanka has 4 indoor ATMs. I used my Visa Debit card twice (200K + 100K), which proves the daily limit is higher than 200K. Everything worked well, and the place felt safe.
Bank of Ceylon ATM in Sri Lanka worked great with no extra fees. It was in a safe area and everything went smoothly.