No surcharge ATMs in Calgary, Alberta?
Joleta, in Canada we don’t have separate debit cards for purchases. You use your regular ATM card that you would use in a bank machine, and there is nothing special that you have to do to enable or turn on this service. That said, the shared processing service (analogous to Plus or Cirrus in the US) is called Interac and US banks are unlikely to be members. There may be a reciprocal arrangement with Plus that isn’t advertised, so it may be worthwhile to try anyways.
You’re talking about the surcharge that’s added to your withdrawal? (e.g. If the surcharge $1.50, you withdraw $40, it’s processed as a withdrawal of $41.50 — and then any fees from your bank or the network appear separately) In my experience, these surcharges do not apply to those from out of the country. If you use a card from a US bank in Canada, or a Canadian bank in the US, the surcharge is not added to your withdrawal (even though the machine will probably still give you the warning that is will be added). You’ll have to check with your bank about the bank fee or network fee (these might exist even if they’re not charged when you’re in the US) but those will be the same no matter what ATM you use.
