ATM trouble in Italy

Have you tried to withdraw more money than your bank allows per day? Have you tried multiple, unrelated ATMs and various withdrawal amounts? You have to rule out every potential issue to get at the crux of the problem.

That has happened to me and I've seen it happen to others when you try to take out an amount beyond the limit set by your bank.
When the card declined it did not leave a record online that I tried to take out money

You may be withdrawing more than the Italian bank allows. I had that happen. I lowered the amount of withdrawal to 200 or 250 Euros and that worked for me while my bank’s limit was much higher.

It took me a couple of days to get used to the difference between ATM and bancomat. Try going to the cash machine at a bank (bancomat). The process is simpler - like you remember it from 3 years ago. The ATMs get complicated. They charge a fee (not all banks do) plus they will tell you what the conversion rate is AFTER they take their 12%! You can decline the conversion, which you might think is cancelling the transaction but it isn't. If you decline the conversion, you get the full amount you asked for.

Robert, you are making a distinction that I am not aware of the difference. ATM is the American phrase for a cash dispensing terminal in the same manner as a bancomat. For me a bancomat at a bank and ATM would be the same. Are you calling the privately owned money exchange terminals an ATM? We used several ATMs/bancomats last year with no problem. Are you saying that there different types of cash dispensers?

In Mich.. place, I would try to withdraw a hundred euro. That is well under anyone's limit. If that doesn't work then there is a problem, probably with the card. The mag strip could be corrupt. I might go into the bank to see if someone could read the card. Customer services are limited if not a bank depositor but maybe someone could take pity.

Go to any ATM or Bancomat that is actually at a bank (like Deutsche Bank) and you won’t have any problems. Go to one that’s in a grocery store, etc and you will. At least that’s been my experience.

So you have not used this card in Europe before because it is a new one with a chip. Have you used this one in the US to get cash anywhere? Did that work?

Are you able to use it to purchase things where you are in Italy?

As other have noted, try asking for a low amount of cash and see what happens. The ATM/Bancomat has its own cash limits and you may be asking for more than it will give out per transaction.

If it is the bank's withdrawal threshold that's the problem, rather than the one set by your own bank, then Deutsche Bank can be the solution in that regard, too; they usually allow generous withdrawals.

I have tried lowering the amount to 100 euros and still no luck. Used my card in US before I left so it worked then. Thanks for all of your answers. If all else fails, I will go to a bank on Monday and see if they can help me.

Is it a Visa or MasterCard . Your card should have a Plus, Cirrus, or Maestro interbank symbol on it for it to work.

Where are you located in Italy right now? Once in Rome, we had an issue at a BNL branch right near Trajan's Column. The first ATM would not complete the transaction for some reason. Moved to the next machine at the same location, transaction went through with no problem.

Geesh mich, Sorry to hear that.

Did you go to Italy with some starter money? Some people get 200-300€. It seems this would be a perfect example.

I hope you get things ironed out. Can you use your ATM card as a "credit." Or is it strictly an "ATM" card. You would be charged the daily exchange rate of course, but no other fees for the transaction purchases at merchants and restaurants.

Oh, are you aware of the "DCC?" If that pops up anywhere, decline that. Otherwise you will be charged a much higher exchange rate.

Good luck.

This happened to mean a few trips ago. It turned out to be because my bank was offline due to some maintenance at their end. Because of the time difference, I was attempting to use the ATM in Italy in the morning, while the bank (on the east coast of the US) was doing their maintenance overnight. After that, I was more careful about checking my bank's website for any notices of down times. Hopefully the OP has worked all of this out.

Hopefully the OP has worked all of this out.

Yes, hopefully! I hope she/he brought some Euros or a credit card to get by for now.

Of course, do not use an actual credit card to withdraw money.

And so true about the banks and their maintenance. Travelers need to note and keep aware of the time difference.

Hi,

Does your bank know you are there? That could be the reason you can't withdraw. They suspect fraud.

Another possibility that happened to us is our card did have fraudulent activity while we were traveling in Germany (card number was used in states, completely random coincidence we were told). They tried to notify us but phone we had at the time didn't work overseas.

The previous comments have provided a good synopsis of the issues that may be causing your problems.....

• Daily withdrawal limits - there are two limits, one set by your bank and the other imposed by whomever owns the ATM that you're trying to use in Italy. If you've tried lowering the amount of the withdrawal with no success, that's likely not the problem.
• If your bank hasn't seen any activity for withdrawals, it's likely that the Italian ATM is rejecting the transaction before it even gets to your bank. I've had that happen with credit card transactions in Europe, and in one case it was the merchant's bank that had a problem with the amount of the transaction. Once that was sorted, the transaction went through immediately.
• ATM's can sometimes be off-line for maintenance or data backup, but that doesn't seem to the problem in your case. I've tried to get cash in the afternoon (Europe time) and had problems. I tried an hour later and it worked fine.

I've had the same type of ATM problem on one of my trips to Europe. For some reason, my card wouldn't work at all even though I had no problems with it on previous trips. I eventually got a call from my bank at 03:00 and they asked if I was having issues with my card. I said "yes" and they said they'd look into the problem. In the meantime I used my "backup" card with no problems. I found out later that it was some kind of "coding error" in their data system that caused the problem. This is exactly why I always carry at least one backup ATM card.

If you can get the card to work, be sure to watch for the Direct Currency Conversion (DCC) scam. If the ATM asks whether you want the transaction processed in your home currency or the local currency (Euro), always choose the local currency.

Good luck!

ATMs in Italy can be quirky. Not all are connected to the typical clearinghouse services like Cirrus, etc. even if they are attached to a bank. Stay away from Euronet and TravelX or any one at a grocery store. One thing I did learn, when it presents a Visa logo, I was worried that it was somehow going to process it as a cash advance like a credit card (and hence hidden fees). My ATM card can also be used as a Visa card. I did not experience any hidden fees in this scenario, despite the Visa logo on the screen it went through as a standard cash withdrawal. Keep trying different banks and keep it under $300.

Before I head to Europe (or anywhere international), I:

• Contact my Bank and alert them to where and when I am traveling.
• If I plan on paying for hotels with cash, or any large cash transactions, I get a temporary increase in my daily limit
• I contact any credit card companies I intend to bring as well - its very easy to do - almost all have a link for international travel - takes 2 minutes
  • I like to use my own cell phone, so I buy a temp package for data and text messages

Once in Country, I try to use bank ATMs. I have last been to Rome in 2014, and going in October. My brother just returned and said there has been a proliferation of other ATMs charging the big fees.. so be careful, and make sure you read everything before you use the ATMs. Since i have traveled to Europe many times for work, and vacations, I always have Euros home to bring - not a lot, but nice to have a little in hand prior to travel I never cash in my "leftover" Euros after a trip, figuring I will be returning.

I hope it all works out!!

Glenn

I've been out of this loop for a few days - hey, I'm in Rome! There does seem to be now two systems for retrieving money from your bank. Most of us, who have been travelling to Italy for several years, are used to the bancomat system. You put your card in, it verifies you, gives you money and sometimes charges a small fee. Now, and I didn't see these last year when I was here, there are also ATMs that are not attached physically to a bank. They charge a fee (I've seen 3,50 - 3,95 euro) and tell you that they are converting dollars to euro at about 12% per transaction. This is WAY over the official exchange rate. At the end of the process it does allow you to refuse the conversion. Don't quote me but I tried this once and my card was returned without money. Another time (I needed cash), I said 'no' and it gave me the full amount I had requested (and added on a 3,50 euro service fee). I checked with my bank, the conversion rate was more inline with the official rate of the day. So, here's another good example of "just say no."

This happened to us last May in Italy. Every cash machine at a bank refused the transaction and told us to notify our bank. After tons of calls and speaking with many different representatives, we finally got in touch with a rep from our local bank branch. He told us there was a security hold on our funds. Mind you, I had contacted the bank twice at different times before we left informing them of our travel plans and the dates. What happened was that the information I provided never was passed on to the security desk! When the security desk saw activity on our account in Italy, they froze our funds! Fortunately we are those people who bring euros with us JUST IN CASE!! By the time we had the whole mess ironed out, we had run out of our euros. You can imagine how fast we beat a path to our local bank when we returned!

Robert we’re in Italy too right now and after 1.5 weeks of successfully withdrawing € we tried a BNP machine in Eaterly in Rome tonight. When the exchange rate for US dollars came to $466 for 400€ we declined (only option). It spit out our card and we were not given a chance to proceed in euros only. Our previous withdrawals had been about $440 for 400€.

Later tonight we saw an Italian PosteBank ATM and we got our usual exchange rate range. You have to be aware of changing ATM situations and wording.

Good advice! My nightmare is having my bank mess up my travel notifications. After 16 years of this trip, the security desk now says: 'you again? how long? have a gelato for me'. Gotta love USAA.

If the ATM actually tells you the exchange rate then it is almost surely doing its own exchange rate, for its own benefit, and not your network's.

Larry is correct. I have never had an ATM tell me the exchange rate in dollars. Just asks how many euro and spits it out. The exchange should be determined by the network == Plus or Cirrus.

I had similar incidents in Spain. I eventually figured out that the ATM withdrawal automatically defaulted to a checking account rather than a savings account. I had no checking account at my bank, just savings. I was so used to being able to make a selection between Savings or Checking at other ATMs and didn't expect it to automatically default to checking. Once I figured this out after several attempts to withdraw money, it worked just fine.

hey hey
@girasole
i feel the same way and do buy about 100E before i leave the states. took one time to learn to have when i landed. airport ATM out of order and other had a line soooo long. was worth my few bucks it cost at my bank, not be frazzle dazzle and stressed.
to each their own about get or don't get, it works for me
aloha

And just to reiterate: "bancomat" is the Italian word for an ATM, regardless of whether it is in, attached to, or nowhere near a bank branch.

Several points needing reiteration..

Bancomats and ATMS are the same thing, there is no distinction at that level between the two, same with cash machine, currency dispenser, or any other name you can come up with.

If an ATM tells you what the transaction will be in your home currency, then you are encountering DCC. You can run into this at an ATM, a Bancomat, an Autoteller, a bank owned ATM in a Bank, anyplace. A simple ATM transaction cares not what the cost is in a foreign currency, it only knows you requested 200 euro, dispenses 200 euro, and informs the network that you withdrew that amount.

Nearly always you can decline DCC, sounds like some machines will say sorry, take your card back, but I have always received my euros at the proper rate when I check my account after declining DCC.

More to the point of the OP, calling your bank is a good first step if you have problems; but you really need to dig deeper than the first individual that picks up the phone. I know while my credit union can answer many questions, the fraud protection is actually handled by a completely separate company that provides card services to the bank. You need to get back to that company, either directly, or through your bank. The typical customer service person knows the canned answers and simple checks they can do on your account, and may not see attempts to use an ATM or the actions of fraud containment.

While I like to think that informing your bank/credit cards of travel works; the reality is that the triggers of fraud protection are completely separate. They may not check a "note" in your account before shutting it down. Many institutions now prefer to have your phone number and contact you in the event of a question, or that is the way my cards have went, I have not let them know my travel plans in years. Also carry contact numbers with you.