ATM card/ Debit Card

The most common networks for ATMs is the Mastercard and Visa associated networks - Cirrus and Plus. You need one or the other or both.

Hi Donna, it is important to get cash from ATMs (Bancomat) using your debit card, not a credit card. When you use a debit card card, you are getting at your own money, with little or no transaction fee. If you use a credit card, you are borrowing the bank's money, and the overall fees can be a lot higher, including interest charged. When you contact your card issuers about your travel plans, ask them what the transaction fees are, and if they advise you to use ATMs of certain networks or local banks. If you have time before you travel, you might want to seek out new debit and credit cards that have no transaction fees. About networks, one of my banks told me to use ATMs that were part of the Star network, the other said to use either BNL or Deutschbank. I did what many people on this forum advise, and took two debit cards (in case there was some problem with one) plus a credit card with no foreign transaction fee, for purchases. By the way, it has been discussed on this forum that Italy has upgraded automated purchase machines faster than the US has, and most US credit cards will not be accepted by many automated machines in Italy, such as train ticket machines, soda vending machines, etc. No problem when dealing with people in stores or at ticket counters, or purchasing over the internet, just buying from machines.

Thanks Larry and Frank. I questioned the Cirrus logo because my bank card (Citibank) doesn't have that or the Star logo on the card. I think my old debit card had the logo but this one didn't.

Will that be a problem?

By the way my bank card has a MasterCard logo. My daughters has the Visa logo. Both have no Cirrus or Star logos on them.

I may have answered my own question. I just went to Citibanks website and is does state that they are a part of the Cirrus network.

Again, sorry to sound crazy about this. I'm the type that leaves nothing to chance!

Donna

Donna, my newest bank cards no longer have a cirrus or plus logo on them either. If it's a MC or VISA debit card it should work with no problem. When you use the ATMs they will usually show the VISA and MC logos as usable cards.

Thanks Nancy. My daughter thinks I'm crazy ( probably am a bit) because I obsess over little things.
These boards are such a help though.

Thanks again,
Donna

Donna, it wouldn't be a little thing if you got to Italy and your card didn't work! Yes, Visa and MasterCard debit cards are fine, mine is MC from a very small, regional bank in Ohio and I never have a problem with it. Note that the Bancomat may have a lower daily withdrawal limit than your bank allows, but you can do multiple transactions if you need to use your bank's daily limit.

Branded Mastercard and Visa cards are automatically a part of the appropriate network. The Star network is primarily a North American network. We also carry two debit cards tied to two different accounts just as back up should one not work. In 15 years of being dependent on a debit card have never had one fail - knock on wood - BUT still carry a back up.

Be it in the US or abroad I never ever look at the network logos affixed to ATM machines. I just know my card will work 99% of the time, if it doesn't I just use the ATM across the street and I'm back in business. The banking networks are so integrated these day, there are few gaps in coverage for any card.

To be sure I have this correct...I have a debit card with the word visa on it. There is no Cirrus logo or any other logo on it. It is linked to a checking account. My bank is a bank mostly in MA. I should have no problem using it at an ATM machine to withdraw cash correct? However, it may not work to buy train tickets at a machine correct? For that I would need to use my credit card correct? And how would I get another debit card open an account at another bank? Sorry,I never gave this a thought. we leave in two months for our first visit.

If you and your daughter are on the same account, you are likely to have 2 differently numbered ATM/debit cards. Check with your bank to be sure, but my husband and I have Visa ATM/debit cards at a local credit union in Tucson. It has a very low daily limit on cash withdrawals and absolutely refuses to raise it for our trips. Only recently did they tell me that the limit was per card, not per account. So he could withdraw the limit and I could and we'd have double the money. Of course, if she has a separate account, that's even better so long as she is willing to share the expense. Or you could add her to your account and get her a DC just for the trip.

Our MC ATM/debit cards at a different credit union in Seattle are on separate accounts. As it happens that CU's daily cash withdrawal limit is almost 4 times (!) as much and the local one. Go figure. We do not have credit cards at the local credit union, but we each have separate Visa credit cards for the other one. Needless to say, it gets most of our business.

Just make sure that you both notify your bank that you will be making purchases in Italy using your CC and getting money in Italy at ATMs using your DC. You also need to know what your daily withdrawal limit will be and translate that into Euros. Hopefully your bank's limit is reasonable or they will raise it for your trip.

And don't hesitate to bump your questions up to a supervisor if you feel you are getting the runaround. There is no guarantee that they will be any more knowledgeable about overseas travel, but it's worth a try.

There are 3 of us travelling. My daughter who has a Chase account with her own debit card. My Mom and I both have accounts at Citibank. Different debit cards for different accounts BUT I am on her account and they are linked. If she can't use her card while we are there or it gets lost/stolen, I can easily move the money to my account and use my debit card and vise versa. I will be leaving my sister (who isn't coming) with deposit slips for all of our accounts just in case we run into a problem and need money deposited in one of our accounts.

I wanted pin numbers for our credit cards just in case it was the only way we could get cash.

If I wanted to get a second debit card (in case mine got eaten by a machine) will the bank do that? I've never thought to ask for a second card, only a replacement card.

You would have to ask your bank. I carry two debit cards, but they are from two different institutions. It isn't impossible for your card to get eaten by an ATM but it is very unlikely. Most of the ATMs I have encountered are the ones where you insert and remove your card quickly, not where it goes in and stays until the transaction is over. If your card was to be lost or stolen, a second card with the same numbers would be useless since you would be canceling that account immediately.

We use a local credit union as our bank here in SE Pennsylvania and have opened a separate account NOT linked to our checking and savings (we think of it as our vacation account). We alert the bank to our travels and have never had a problem with the ATM's in Italy. We also get low transaction fees (international fee) and then the conversion from E to $ is also very good. We also tend to max out on our daily allocation of euros and just have to go to the ATM every few days. I know this sounds funny, but don't think of your travel money as 500 dollars, think of it as 300 Euros. The second time we went to Italy, we put aside money and we almost ran into trouble because we didn't do the conversion in our allowance. We also stayed at a few convents that were cash only!

To complicate things even more, most ticket machines require a chip-and-pin card (both, not either/or), and most US CCs and DCs don't have that. Many machines take cash and will give change (look for euro bill and coins on the front of the machine).

Folks, the ATMs in Italy work. and you do get cash out of them when you use your debit card. It is amazing I know. I have trepidations every year before that first withdrawal, but those fears soon disappear. If you encounter an ATM (Bancomat) machine that does not give you cash, move on to another one, before freaking out.

We ran into issues this past May with our ATM card from a major bank that gets mentioned a lot in this forum for its lack of fees for international transactions and for its favorable currency exchange rates. Upon arrival in Rome we made two consecutive withdrawals of 250 euro each from the same ATM. A couple of days later we did the same at an ATM in Florence. After that the card would not work in any ATM we tried. After a couple more days of trying with no luck, we arrived in Venice and we called the bank. They found nothing wrong on their end. They said a number of their customers had been calling them with the same issue. They attributed it to our being in high fraud areas in high season and local banks being extra cautious. After that we spread out our withdrawals over multiple ATMs at BNL and Deutsche Bank and we had no more issues.