Visa magnetic strip debit card accepted in European smart card atms

All ATM machines accept magnetic strip cards. I've never come across an ATM that just does chip cards.

You don't want to use your credit cards in an ATM - the money you withdraw will be treated as a "cash advance" with hefty fees. Instead, use a Visa or Mastercard- branded debit card. All European ATM's will accept your non-chip American cards. You do not need to buy euros stateside before your trip.

Do you have a Visa DEBIT card to use in the European ATMs? A debit card tied into your checking account is the only way to go. Using a credit card makes your withdraws "Cash Advances" that are really fee heavy. I was in Europe in May and June of this year and had no problems using my debit card with a magnetic strip. I do not know when BofH or FH will be issuing embedded chip cards but I doubt is it is any time soon. I go to Europe every summer and have never taken any Europe currency from here (Honolulu) = the fees here to get any are way too expensive. Send me a private message if you need any more help. aloha charlie

JER, Marshall didn't say you would lose money with a debit card loss and unauthorized use only that your money would be tied up. Depending on your financial institution they may have 10 days after you notify them to investigate. During this time you do not have access to your money. then they may only be willing to send a replacement card to your home adress. An ATM card is safer.

Anyone remember simple ATM cards? That's the only kind I use. Yes, banks may promise all the protection in the world for your debit-card, but if you ever lose one and thieves are able to access your cash - it's YOUR cash that will be tied up. Use a credit card in Europe, and a true ATM card for accessing cash from your bank. If you lose a credit card, it's the credit card company that takes on the risk, not you. And losing an ATM card is much less risky than losing a debit card - with an ATM card, the only way to access your cash is with a PIN code. With a debit card, the card can be used "credit-card" style, with only a signature required, which can drain your account before the bank catches it.

Once it was true that debit cards carried much more risk in the case of fraudulent use than credit cards. But, in the US, debit card fraudulent or unauthorized use liability to the consumer is limited to $50[INVALID]as long as you report the loss of the card within 2 business days of when you discover the loss. So, if your card is lost or stolen, you need to contact the issuer right away. Same thing is true once you discover that, even though the physical card is in your position, that it was apparently cloned or hacked and used by a bad guy. (In that case, you have 2 business days from when you discovered the transaction, not 2 days from when it occurred.)...................................................There still are two disadvantages of debit cards compared to credit cards: a merchant can put a "hold" on the card for much more than the likely charge if you present the card prior to completion of the sale or service (paying for gas or a hotel, for example). It can take several days to clear the hold and debit the proper amount only, which means that if you don't have a lot of extra cash in your account, you can rack up overdraft fees due to holds. The other disadvantage is that you cannot refuse to pay and contest charges if there is a problem: you've already paid upfront, unlike a credit card where you haven't yet paid. Keep in mind that consumer protections vary from country to country. This advice is US based, Canadians and Europeans may have entirely different regulations and rights.

"The ATM card I use mainly for cash withdrawals is also a debit card. A PIN is required for both ATM withdrawals and POS transactions." >>>> Sounds like Canadian debit cards are safer, if they require a PIN for POS. I've used my American Visa-branded debit card for numerous POS transactions in Europe and have never been asked for nor had to input a PIN. So I think Marshall's statement about the risk of debit cards probably does hold true for most Americans, even if not for Canadians.

Marshall, "with an ATM card, the only way to access your cash is with a PIN code. With a debit card, the card can be used "credit-card" style, with only a signature required, which can drain your account before the bank catches it". That's not true in all cases. The ATM card I use mainly for cash withdrawals is also a debit card. A PIN is required for both ATM withdrawals and POS transactions. At this time, that particular card works well for ATM withdrawals anywhere, but only seems to work for POS transactions in Canada. That may change when the Credit Union updates the card to a "chip & PIN" version? I just spoke with them about 5 minutes ago, and the "chip & PIN" debit cards are in the mail! Cheers!

Thank u all - I am going to my banktoday with some of your responses and ask all the questions I generated from reading your responses. thank u all.