ATM problems in Munich

The main thing is to have a 4 digit security code--all numbers.

I've never had any problems getting ATM funds in Munich. My credit union ATM card didn't come with charges like my Wells Fargo ATM--$5 and 3%.

Just to clarify...I assume your credit card you had switched over was a traditional credit card (My ATT Mastercard now has a chip), and your traditional Visa was a card tied to your checking/bank account that you use as both a debit card and point of use credit card?

First, even though you had the Chip enabled card, it was likely a Chip and Signature card as opposed to a true chip and pin. If/When you used the card with a chip in an ATM and withdrew cash, it was as a cash advance on the credit card, a feature whether you have the chip or not, and the reason your rates were so high.

As for the debit card, I have not had many issues, just an occassional maxxing of my daily card limit (I only use my bank debit/visa card for cash withdrawals, not as a charge card when in Europe) and once when the bank shut it off, though I had told them my travel dates and locations. I guess there were also just unexplained instances of it not working, but usually a different machine or town would not be an issue. The other thing is that it may have been a network or bank affiliation issue, but your home bank would need to be on an odd network for that to be the case. Finally, there are reports that some smaller banks/credit unions are parts of transaction groups that do not allow use in some countries, but it is usually Spain, Italy, and a few other countries, not Germany.

David - Correct. I did have my 4 digit security code and have never had a problem in any other country on this trip or other trips (France, Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands).

Paul - Correct about the high fees. That is why I had planned to only use my check card for cash withdrawals. It was just odd as I had not heard of anyone else having this problem. My husband had problems with his Visa as well. Had we not had the chip and pin card as well, we would have been completely without access to cash as we arrived late at night. This happened to us five different times in Germany, primarily in Munich and Bavaria, but did not happen in any other country we visited including the Netherlands where I had expected to have the most difficulty. Hopefully it was just a fluke but as we had never had problems before, I wanted to share to see if anyone else had run into this.

Were you sticking a credit card into an ATM ?

"Were you sticking a credit card into an ATM ?"

@Ed

As I read this, they had a strip ATM card that would not work in ATMs in Munich so they had to use their chip credit card to get cash (as an advance) from ATMs.

I spent 17 days in Bavaria last Sept/Oct, including 4 days in Munich, and used my strip card in ATMs without a problem. Are ATMs in Munich now requiring chip cards, or is this person's problem due to something else?

BTW, I've heard of people loading their credit card with a positive balance. You can't avoid the cash advance fee, but you can avoid paying high interest from day one.

Lee, got it. Thanks

And there had to have been something else going on.

Also, it's my understanding that a cash advance draws interest from date of borrowing regardless of balance until the end if the billing cycle when the tally is made -- and unless the balance is positive (including all new charges) the interest continues.

Lee is spot on. I've traveled throughout Europe, Asia and North America and never had this problem before. We did notice that many of the ATMs in Munich had decals on them highlighting the chip. Don't know if that is new and is why they wouldn't take the swipe cards...

Just goes to show the benefit of being prepared and having access to cash in at least a couple of different ways and through different banks!

For the first time ever, I encountered a bankomat that required a chip. This was in Helsinki. We walked into a bank as the bankomat was inside. The card was rejected and several people asked if the card had a chip and stated a chip was required. We went to the information desk in the bank and they confirmed that the machine in the branch required a chip. This is the only time that I've ever experienced this. We then went to a different bank and the card worked fine; however, this ATM had two different slots ... one for cards with mag strips and one for cards with chips. I also found this unusual.

However, are you sure that the problem was due to lack of a chip? It could have been a problem with your bank not authorizing the foreign transaction.

I did encounter a couple of ATMs this past July that would only take the true chip & pin cards. As far as I could tell they were not part of a bank but rather were stand alone machines. I stood in line for one while 4 other people used it and then when I went to use it it did take the mag strip card and allowed me to enter a PIN but then rejected the transaction. I asked someone who had used it and they thought it was because my card wasn't c&p. I don't exactly remember where I encountered these but it was in Germany, could have been in either Munich or Frankfurt. Otherwise my card worked everywhere else and it did work at the Deutsche Bank on Marienplatz in Munich.

@ jaimerup

Re: the ATM problems in Munich. It so happens I was in Munich this past May at Munich Hbf to transfer to Frankfurt Hbf,, used the ATM there with my US traditional Mastercard credit card, ie, no chip and pin, and had no problems, this time or in the past, always went through.

If I'm in a place where it's necessary to have a chip and pin, eg, in a Paris train station, I'll go to the counter where the traditional US magnetic stripe credit card is accepted, or in Holland, I'll pay in cash. In those countries getting a chip and pin card can still be avoided.

No problem with non-chip ATM card just last month in the machines at Kreissparkasse Sendlinger Tor branch in Munich.

Jaimerup,

I know things like that can be a pia especially when youre in a rush.

I was in munich several weeks ago and didnt have an issue pulling $$$ out, but i will say they were cash advances since my credit card is a credit card not a debit card. I was aware of the charges up front but you do what you need to do.

Also if an ATM didnt like my card i would use a different one.

Just an for your info, i found that a couple countries ATM actually let me access either my savings or checking (both with $$$ in them) to make withdrawls. Its going to be interesting to see my statements of any charges/fees associsted with those withdrawls

Happy trails

A note on negative balances on credit cards. Some banks won't let you do this anymore because there was a fraud scheme associated with negative balances. You should ask your bank.

I've had trouble occasionally at an ATM. Normally I don't spend a lot of time analyzing why (e.g. machine's transaction limit), I just go to another machine. There are so many, I've always been able to get cash. The one exception is around seaports. Unlike airports and train stations, they don't seem to have a ready supply of ATM's

The scheme Lee mentioned was talked about here some time back, when someone said that they deliberately overpaid their bill (creating a credit balance) so that they could then draw out the money without incurring interest. Someone also posted that they tried that and - after they had left on their trip - the credit card company issued them a check for the overage. They, of course, didn't know about the refund until they returned home after having thought they were drawing out "free" money when they were really taking cash advances at immediate interest.

"I don't spend a lot of time analyzing why (e.g. machine's transaction limit), I just go to another machine."

The only time I have ever had "trouble" at an ATM, I had just arrived at FRA with three ATM cards. When I tried to use the first one, it said "call your bank". Same thing with the second card, but the third one worked. It had nothing to do with the ATM, but my banks. One had lowered my daily maximum since my last trip from $500 to $300 without telling me. The other bank used a "day" at 4 AM to 4 AM. I had withdrawn some money in Denver early afternoon the day before, and it was only 2 AM in Denver (same day according to them). It was not the machine, it was my banks. Every machine would have refused me.