Debt Cards

For those of you who have been to Europe recently------If you have a debt card without a chip, did it work in a foreign ATM machine to get local currency?

No problem last October

For those of you who have been to Europe recently------If you have a debt card without a chip, did it work in a foreign ATM machine to get local currency?

I was advised by BOFA to change my pin to a number that did not begin with a zero...I did and it worked fine.

Be sure to notify your bank or whoever provides your debit card of your foreign travel plans.

You should also do that for any credit cards you may use while out of the US.

Just came back (last Friday) from a 2 month trip to Europe which we mostly spend driving around France (and into Germany). As usual, our US issued magnetic strip Debit/ATM cards worked perfectly fine at every ATM we utilized. Just keep in mind that there are daily withdrawal limits imposed by both your own bank and also the European ATM system. In some cases you will not be able to withdraw more then 200 Euros in some networks so best to plan ahead or have multiple ATM cards (drawn on different accounts). And yes, as has been said, you should notify your bank (prior to your trip) of your itinerary and have that info noted on your account (for security reasons). It is also wise to have a 4 digit Pin and know your Pin in numbers (no letters on most European ATMs). It seems to be hit or miss as to whether a 6 digit PIN will work in some of the ATMs.

Hank

Just came back (last Friday) from a 2 month trip to Europe which we mostly spend driving around France (and into Germany). As usual, our US issued magnetic strip Debit/ATM cards worked perfectly fine at every ATM we utilized. Just keep in mind that there are daily withdrawal limits imposed by both your own bank and also the European ATM system. In some cases you will not be able to withdraw more then 200 Euros in some networks so best to plan ahead or have multiple ATM cards (drawn on different accounts). And yes, as has been said, you should notify your bank (prior to your trip) of your itinerary and have that info noted on your account (for security reasons). It is also wise to have a 4 digit Pin and know your Pin in numbers (no letters on most European ATMs). It seems to be hit or miss as to whether a 6 digit PIN will work in some of the ATMs.

 

Hank

I understand from posts on CC that the first number of your pin should not be a zero for ATMs in Europe.

Also check with your bank, some major banks have alliances with major Euro banks to provide no fee ATM withdrawals.