Decision to Pull Out Cash in Moorea
We used to always exchange money when we traveled internationally, but in recent years have stopped doing so due to the fact that almost everyone accepts credit cards these days unless you travel somewhere very rural. It’s really hard to guess how much money you’re going to spend and we don’t like ending up with extra cash in local currency that we feel we have to spend, which is how we ended up in French Polynesia last month without any cash. We spent the majority of our time in Moorea and found, as expected, that all the stores, gas stations, scooter rental, restaurants etc. took credit card as expected. However, every gas station we stopped at required a $20 minimum charge to use credit cards, which seemed quite steep and was rather annoying when it only cost about $8 to fill up our scooter. The first time we purchased a bunch of drinks to make up the difference, but the second time, we decided to try and pull out some cash from an ATM so we didn’t have to spend so much at the gas stations every time we filled up. We also decided it would be handy to have a little cash for potentially catching the bus from the ferry terminal to the airport in Tahiti to avoid an expensive taxi.
Locating an ATM
There are a few ATMs in Moorea associated with various banks, but the reviews were abysmal with lots of folks saying the machines would not accept their debit cards, gave random error messages, or simply didn’t have cash. As such, we weren’t very hopeful but decided to try the ATM at Banque de Tahiti (Bank of Tahiti) in Maharepa, the closest town to our Airbnb. It was Sunday so the bank was closed, but the ATM is located on the outside of the building so no issue. We had no trouble navigating to the bank using Google maps, especially since it’s located right on the main road, and we appreciated that it had a parking lot for our scooter.
Success With US Bank Debit Card
The ATM is located on the front of the building so very obvious and easy to locate. The only debit card we had was a US Bank card and we were pleasantly surprised when it went through on first try. We were given the option to pull out $10 or $20 in local currency (CFP francs), which was another pleasant surprise to be able to pull out such a small quantity. We selected $10 and it spit out the cash. We were on our way within 5 minutes of arrival. I’m sure the machines go down and obviously they don’t accept every bank’s debit card per reviews from others, but we had a good experience so thought we’d share to hopefully answer some questions for others looking to use an ATM in Moorea. If this particular ATM hadn’t worked, our plan was to just keep trying each ATM on the island, with Banque de Polynésie as the next stop as it’s only about a block down the street from Banque de Tahiti.
Tips & Takeaway Points
Cash is not a must on Moorea. You can pay with credit card at gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and stores. Roadside stands and some activities may require cash, but easy to do without. We decided to pull out some cash because all the gas stations required a $20 minimum purchase to pay by card! Gas stations are the only place we came across a purchase minimum for payment by card in Moorea.
Our US Bank debit card worked at Banque de Tahiti, so if you have a US Bank debit card and plan to pull out cash in Moorea, it would be a good one to bring
The ATM at Banque de Tahiti allowed us to pull out cash in $10 and $20 increments
US Bank waived the fee for using the ATM in Moorea (not quite sure why as it looked like we’d be charged 3% of what we pulled out) and Banque de Tahiti only charged us 50 cents (USD), so a really reasonable transaction. If you don’t know your bank’s policy for internationally ATM fees, look it up before pulling out cash in Moorea to make sure it’s worth it.
A lot of the reviews for the ATMs on Moorea stated that whatever debit card was being used was not accepted by the ATM. If you’re wondering if your particular debit card will be accepted, you could always try sending a message to one of the banks with an ATM on Moorea. I don’t know if you’d get a response but it could be worth a try! This is the online contact form for Banque de Tahiti.
If you try an ATM and it gives you an error message, doesn’t accept your card, or doesn’t have cash, head to the next ATM. As far as we could tell, there are four ATMs on Moorea, all associated with banks.
The town of Maharepa is a good place to try your luck with ATMs as three of the four ATMs are located there at Banque de Tahiti, Banque de Polynésie, and Banque Socredo.
Banque de Tahiti located on the main road in Maharepa. Note Banque de Polynésie is just down the street with another ATM, as is Banque de Socredo with a third ATM in the plaza across the street near “Caramel’in” eatery.
Convenient parking lot at Banque de Tahiti. You can see the ATM machine on the wall just to the right of the front doors.
Have you pulled (or tried to pull) cash from an ATM in Moorea? What was your experience and which bank’s debit card were you successful with? We and our readers would love to know. Leave us a comment!