ATM Problem Germany

Pay for everything with a credit card.
If you think you will need some cash hopefully your credit card has cash advances. Or you can buy cash with credit card at a currency exchange.
It goes without saying that this is expensive to do. But hey at least you have the option in a pinch.

Hi Dave. I use a credit union ATM card (magnetic strip) and it works fine in most machines in Europe. Any chance you or the credit union are making incorrect assumptions about why it's not working? Have you tried it in several different machines / networks? On my card, I have set either savings or checking as my 'primary' acct for ATM use. When I use an ATM in Europe, money is taken from that primary account; I'm guessing the ATM machine doesn't know or care what type of acct it is. Any chance your card has a primary acct setting that you aren't aware of? If so, you could ask the credit union to change the primary acct setting on your card; or transfer money into your 'primary' ATM acct. Good luck.

You need to find a financial institution that issues a EMV chip and PIN debit card reconized by Master Card and/or Visa. The chip cards will (should) also have a magnetic strip. EMV stands for Europay, Master Card and Visa.

A debit card transaction typical is an electronic check and draws from your checking account. Savings accounts are intended for a limited number of trasactions in a given month.

I can only add that among the multiple recommendations regarding Debit/ATM cards (Visa/MC logo or relevant networks, PIN, etc) is that you have funds in your checking account.

If this is not possible with your Credit Union, then you are likely stuck. Curious though...did your credit union tell you your card would work in Europe?

I agree with Bob above - someone (maybe several parties) may just be confused, because what you're written doesn't really make any sense (at least not to me).

Will be here a few weeks. My ATM doesn't work because it is not a Debit Card(has magnetic strip).

This sounds very mixed up. What makes you think your "ATM" (card) "is not a debit card"? I have a bunch of ATM cards issued by credit unions, every one of them has a magnetic strip, every one of them is a debit card. I believe that virtually every debit card issued by US financial institutions have magnetic strips. So that (presence of a magnetic strip) is a red herring (nonsense that only serves to confuse the real issue).

When I go to use it the German ATMs dont offer the ability to access checking or savings...they automatically go to checking.

Are you sure about that? I would suggest you get a "second opinion" (or "fresh eyes") from someone else (whom you trust, obviously) to take another look with you watching. And yes, certainly try another bank's ATM.

My Credit Union will only accept transactions from the Savings Account.

That sounds crazy. Have you spoken with someone at your credit union? If so, ask to speak with someone else.

Even if that is the case, it should be a trivial task to simply transfer some money from your checking account to savings account. Takes (literally) a second, and can be done online.

What you say seems very unlikely. Before you panic and start pulling cash advances from a credit card (which will be very, very expensive) I suggest you step back, and take a sober look at exactly what is happening. I really suspect there's some misunderstanding here.

When I go to use it[,] the German ATMs don't offer the ability to access checking or savings...they automatically go to checking.

I think that that is the normal situation everywhere, not just in Germany.

My Credit Union will only accept transactions from the Savings Account.

I think that that is what is unusual. ATM card are normally connected to checking accounts.

Your situation is indeed unfortunate. Germany is a largely cash society. Germans don't like to take credit cards. This situation has recently been ameliorated by the EU's decision to limit the credit card interchange fee (the cut the banks take) for EU cards to 3/10th percent (vs about 4% for US banks), but it does not apply to US credit cards. Now German businesses might be reluctant to take American credit cards. Those that will are often the overpriced businesses (international chain hotels, e.g.) that have enough profit built in to cover the credit card fees.

Thanks all, what I am getting from all of your responses is:
1) Debit Card would have been better to than ATM card
2) Credit Union may be able to change primary account to checking ( so far they said no)
3) German bank may be able to help with pointing the transaction towards the Checking Account (with them on my shoulder at the ATM, so far, no)
4) Stay away from taking advance on Credit Card

I notified the Credit Union that I was going to Germany/France...I wish they had provided heads up.... I have traveled to Iran, Cuba, Tibet, India, China....I expect to do some pushups there...Seems crazy that I would have these headaches when traveling to Germany.... thanks for your tips!

I don't pretend to know what is going on here, but I share this fact just in case you have only tried the ATMs of one bank:

The only time I've been unable to obtain local currency using my (ordinary) ATM card occurred in Germany in 2015. I don't remember what sort of message was displayed, but it seemed odd, so I walked inside the bank and asked what might be the problem. The bank employee indicated that the bank's ATMs didn't much care for foreign ATM cards (or maybe it was just US cards). She suggested I would probably have no difficulty using some other banks' ATMs (she was right). I think she specifically suggested ATMs at post offices, but this all happened almost 4 years ago, and I may be wrong on that score. I never got around to trying a post office ATM.

So if you haven't tried ATMs belonging to multiple banks, that should be your next step. It would be prudent to do that when the banks are open, just in case the ATM takes offense at your card and doesn't spit it right back out.

Thanks for the tip...I will try

I have not had any problems using my credit union ATM card, where I only have a "savings" account. One thing it does have, a Visa logo. That means transactions go through the Visa payment system. It does have a 0.9% transaction fee. If your card does not have a Visa or Mastercard logo, it may not connect to international payment systems.

4) Stay away from taking advance on Credit Card

I would not say that at all. You are stuck without cash and seem to have no other way to get cash. For most cards, the cost to get a cash advance is $10 or 5% of the transaction, whichever is more, then Interest at ~24% begins to accrue immediately, rather than after 30 days. Sounds expensive, but if you pay off your credit cards every month and have a zero balance, then a $200 cash advance will cost you $10 plus if you wait a month to pay for it, you will pay another $4 in interest. That is $14 or 7% cost. For comparison, to get euros in the US (as many on here do for a couple hundred euros pocket money) it will cost you about the same (5% if you are lucky, closer to 8% typical). Exchanging USD for euros there will be more, and if you did have a debit card that charges foreign transaction fees (typical is a $5 fee plus 3%) that would be 5.5% for that $200 transaction. You do however need a PIN for your credit card to get cash at an ATM.

Added: If you have no PIN, and go the route of using a Credit Card at a currency exchange, that will likely have added cost. The added cost will be that they may charge you for conversion, either a fee or in the rate, then your credit card likely will consider the transaction a cash advance, and also charge you the fees. Far from ideal, but again, it may be worth it to have some cash.

Just to add for OP or future readers...

I agree with acraven's suggestion to try other banks / machines - the problem may be as simple as that.

Also, with regard to the suggestion "'If your card does not have a Visa or Mastercard logo, it may not connect to international payment systems". No, this is not correct. My credit union ATM card doesn't have a Visa or MC logo and works fine in most ATMs in Europe. My card has Plus, Interlink, and Star logos; not sure which network it is using, or maybe varies by machine. Most ATMs have a label on the outside indicating which networks they participate in, so you will know even before trying whether your card is likely to work.

Enjoy your travels!

Keep in mind in Germany that there are establishments, (Pensionen, small hotels, taverns, souvenir shops, restaurants, etc,) even those located in tourist frequented areas where only cash is accepted. Some restaurants will specifically say so in the menu as to payment options.

Bottom line: have cash on you, otherwise you could experience what I saw happen to this New York mother-daughter pair when they wanted to pay at an eatery in Berlin's Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse with a credit card, only to be told to go to an ATM in the station.

In Germany I pay almost always in cash since that's the way it is done, but those times using a credit card, I've never had a problem

3) German bank may be able to help with pointing the transaction towards the Checking Account (with them on my shoulder at the ATM, so far, no)

I doubt that. It is a US peculiarity to have one card able to access two accounts, it is not done that way in Germany (or any other country in Europe that I know of). It is not a requirement to re-program their ATM's just to cope with the strange banking system in one foreign country.

You definitely will need cash. Any small transaction (less than about €10 or €20) will likely need to be in cash. Some smaller cafés and restaurants are cash only, and street stalls, for example ice cream and Bratwurst (sausages).

My Credit Union will only accept transactions from the Savings Account.

During the almost two decades that I have been traveling in Germany, I have had both savings and checking accounts in three different banks plus in a credit union, and I have used debit cards from all the institutions. I only time I remember being asked which account I wanted the ATM card taken from was when I had multiple checking accounts with the same bank. And today, when I use my ATM card from my bank where I have both a checking and a savings account, it never asks me which one I want to use. It just comes out of my checking account.

Do you actually have a checking account with that credit union? If you have both accounts, did they give you the option of picking the account to link with the card? I think it is normal to link a debit or ATM card with a checking account. Debit cards are often referred to as "check cards".

All my Canadian ATM/debit cards -- two names for the same thing -- still have magnetic strips even though chip cards are nearly universal here (it's the 21st Century, after all). And all are drawn on chequing accounts, by default. The following advice is probably too late, but the bank teller at a local office may not by fully informed on the international banking procedures. Next time try head office. for travel info.

Mag stripe or chip should not matter. The major networks, Visa and MasterCard (along with their sub networks specifically for debit) all have guaranteed magstripe cards will continue to work in ATMs world wide until at least the end of 2020.

The ATMs request (or should request) money from the "default funding account" meaning it doesn't matter to the machine which account the money comes form. True you do not have the ability to select specifically which account the money is taken from, checking or savings, and having savings as the default is rare but that should not be the concern. Many savings accounts have limits on how many withdrawals can be done per month (US Federal law). Are you sure this is not the issue?

Does your ATM card show either the Visa or MasterCard logo? I noticed you stated you have used this card in other countries without issues. Unfortunately, support for ordinary ATM cards is fading in favor of Visa or MasterCard debit cards.

Does your credit union offer an ATM Finder app or some web site providing that info? This would allow you to search for a nearby ATM that would allow your card to work. Not every ATM in the world accepts every ATM card anymore.

Yes to ATM withdrawals from the checking account only. This has also been my experience all over Europe. I use a debit card, magnetic strip. Since I learned that I can access only my checking account for withdrawals with my credit union ATM, I now always transfer what I think might be enough money from my savings account into my checking account before I leave the US. I learned I need to do this the hard way during my first trip to Europe.

I used my ATM-only card (no chip) in Europe for years to get cash from ATMs. Not a debit card. It's true that European ATMs do not give you the choice of checking vs. savings accounts. In my case, I had ONLY a savings account associated with the card, not a checking account. So there was no checking account for it to default to. Everything came out of savings.

That said, my credit union last year discontinued this card and now only supports a debit card, which must be tied to a checking account. I think they did this in anticipation of ATMs requiring chips soon. Still haven't followed up to get a new account and a new card. (It's not my primary account.) Too bad, this card used to be completely free from all ATM transactions, including currency conversion. Now I'll have to pay Visa's 1% fee but that shouldn't add up to much.

Thanks for your notes.... Ended up getting a Debit card Express mailed to Germany by Schwab(a real hassle, but thanks Chuck!). Was disappointed in my Credit Union's ability to help... They acted like expecting an ATM machine in Germany to cough up money was an exceptional request. I am speculating that Visa/MC pressured them to stop doing free withdrawals.

Visa and MasterCard don't care what or even if a credit union charges in fees to their customers. The 1% foreign transaction fee that they pass on to the bank is passed in bulk and it is up to the bank to actually divide out and charge that fee to their customers that did foreign transactions. Capital One 360 accounts don't pass that along, other "no fee" accounts might do the same. Card issuers choosing not to pass along the fee make up for it in other ways, mainly the interchange fee they get paid by Visa MC for every transaction.

There are fees charged to a credit union to allow their cards to be used internationally. These fees are charged even if no one actually uses their cards internationally. It is possible your credit union has so few customers using their cards internationally they have decided to quit allowing the use. Unfortunately, this decision may not have percolated to the people who should know this to let their customers know.