ATM prompts to obtain a cash withdrawal in Italy

Just the scam known as Dynamic Currency Conversion. It's everywhere.

The atm has the option to make payments,etc., because Italians use them for their everyday life, to pay bills, etc. Cash withdrawal is just one option. When making a withdrawal be sure to select the option of without conversion else you will be charged a higher exchange rate than that of your bank.

I was at an ATM in Vienna that had those prompts -- asked a bank employee and he directed me to the one machine that gave out cash. Most of the other people in the bank were making their usual transfers and payments.

I've very occasionally seen the "cash advance" language, too. At least one time was in Italy. I always cancel the transaction and move to another ATM because I'm just not sure what is going on. It could just be a really unfortunate translation. I don't see how using an ATM card could result in a cash advance, but I am taking no chances.

It would be a very bad idea to have a credit card PIN that duplicates your ATM PIN. I have been known to unthinkingly stick a credit card in an ATM. The transaction can't be processed since the PIN doesn't match; I don't even know what the credit card PIN is.

I don't know why I've never thought to take a photo of one of those screens referring to a "cash advance".

If I had taken my normal bank ATM card, it has the Master Card logo on it, and the transaction could have been a cash advance with those extra fees. We have a separate small account with our bank that we use when we travel that has a blank ATM card - no tie to Master Card, etc, and it doesn’t even have our name imprinted on the card. That’s the card I used, so there was no possibility of a true cash advance.

We’ve seen the Dynamic Conversion option on previous trips, and I had one hotel ask me if I wanted that option on this trip when I paid with my cc - no thanks!

Laura B, glad to hear I wasn’t crazy when trying to use those specific ATM’s as they didn’t have an option to obtain cash.

This is where the advice about using ATMs inside bank branches works a bit against you, as that tends to be where the multiple service machines are, with the more limited ones being more common outside.

European banks have multiple different machines in their lobbies or ATM vestibules for other banking functions than getting cash. That is what you ran into. As others mentioned, it is common because Europeans do a lot of bill payment and etc. at their bank. There should be signs on the machines describing which ones do what. But of course if you don't understand the local language, doesn't really help. I ran into a similar situation in Switzerland but was able to tell the difference in the machines after a couple encounters.

I am unclear about your statement that your MasterCard logoed ATM card would be a cash advance if you used it. Could you enlighten us? Debit/ATM cards do not do cash advances, only credit cards do no matter what logo is on it. And you would get charged for a cash advance at home using the card if you would similarly in Europe. Yes, there can be fees your bank charges, foreign conversion and foreign ATM use, but these are not cash advance fees. Glad you were able to get an ATM card that worked, but your normal card should have worked just as well as it does at home.

I've noticed that some banks present more than one ATM machine, and there's a large-print sign above each that describes different capabilities - like paying loans or buying stamps. Those signs are in Italian, but they're pretty understandable. It's not unlike American banks where some machines can take deposits, while some can only issue cash. (I agree, American banks are standardizing on machines that can do it all, so they only have one model to stock and repair.)

What is the Dynamic Currency Conversion?

bilezmom, see Rick's free advice, top left blue menu:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/card-fees#dcc

Some atms we have used have withdrawals as well as the payment options. And some are a bit confusing.