ATM Withdrawal

I'm not sure how much cash you need to have on hand but we faced a similar situation where we needed 400Eu for cooking classes for my wife and myself. We took the option of buying some Euros in advance from our local bank. Yes, it cost us about $45 in fees but when the overall trip was $8,000+, it was a nit and our comfort level was much better. In reality, we could have pulled enough cash by the second day but it would have been really close if one of our cards didn't work. In actuality, you should take two different ATM cards to two different accounts if you want to be assured of immediate cash for the first couple of days. Work with one card first to see if that works and the second card if necessary. If the first card works, keep the second card on hand for emergencies. If possible, make sure your first card has the lowest fee possible.

Thank you so much for this valuable information.

We had no problem withdrawing 350 euros at a time, and we each withdrew that amount daily (2 debit cards, same account) when we had a big outlay for lodging coming up. (One ATM let us take 500 out at one time, I think at FCO. The others limited us to 350 per withdrawal.) Stash the money in your money belt and then in your safe, if you have one in your room. If you have to pay more than 600 or 700 euros your first day there, give your landlord as much as you are able to and ask for one more day to withdraw the rest. They understand there are limits.

Ernest, ATMs (bancomats) are the easiest and cheapest way to get euro. Check with your bank to verify your limit is high enough to cover the amount you want, if not, ask them to raise the limit. On joint accounts sometimes the limit is per card not account so two cards could each take out the limit on the same account. Open another account to increase the amount you can withdraw. It is also a good idea for a backup. Look for the best deal for this new travel account. See http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange You want a low(or Zero) foreign transaction fee and a low or zero charge for out of network fees. Italian banks will not charge you for using their bancomats. On the back of your ATM or debit card you need a Visa - Plus or MasterCard - Cirrus symbol. The Italian bank ATM may have a transaction limit (the amount you can pull out at one time), usually between 250 and 500 euro, but you can perform multiple transactions until you reach your bank's daily limit.
When you get there ask your apartment owner where is the nearest bancomat? The owner will probably walk you to it so you will not be carrying a lot of cash long.

Hi Ernest, To my understanding, here is how the limit work with ATM DEBT card. The total amount you can withdraw from your debt card within one day is determined by the bank in US who issue your debt card. You can call them and find out how much is your daily withdraw limit of your card. My card have a limit of US$1000. ( Ask your bank to see they can increase your limit if possible) That mean that I can withdraw from any ATM in the world to withdraw a total of US$1000 worth of foreign currency in a twenty four hours period depend on went my bank will start counting the 24 hours period. Any ATM mean that the ATM is in the network of you card. Visa or Master. Some ATM in Italy will accept both Visa or Master. As for the how much you can withdraw EACH time from the ATM machine in Italy. It is limited by the bank who operate the ATM. You can find this out from the screen of ATM. Or you can ask the banker if the ATM is outside the bank. The maximum amount can be different in weekday and weekend. Some bank will lower the limit in weekend to conserve the cash in the machine. The limit in most tourist place most likely will be lower so that they can charge you more fee. In CT, one bank I used have a limit of 250E. That mean I can withdraw three time per day to get a total of 750E and still under my daily limit. If the exchange rate is 1.3 US to 1E. You can do this with one ATM and at the same time. You will have to paid the ATM fee three time for the ATM machine in Italy and also any fee your bank charge you in US.
Have a good one.

Rick is correct. Have your bank increase your daily limit for withdrawing money. This will allow you to take out as much as you need per day. They should easily be able to do this for you. When you are in Italy you may need to make two or three transactions to reach your limit because most machines have a 250-300 limit per transaction. They don't limit the number of transactions you can do per day.
Also, check with your bank to see what fees they will impose. It will be your bank that charges the fees and not the Italian banks. Donna

Both Donna and Rick make great points... and we have set our USA accounts up like they suggest. Although we rarely use our US debit cards, we do have $2,000 daily limits - in case we have to pay rent or need emergency cash from our US funds... But, as mentioned, it might take 6 or 7 ATM withdrawals in Italy to pull that entire amount out. This article, ATM's in Italy, echoes their suggestions and may offer a few more that could help you. If you're carrying large amounts of cash, I'd surely suggest a waist-style money belt. I have a few, including the RS version.

I never use debit cards here (in fact, never use ATM's) but decided to have 2 cards in Italy. I opened a "travel account" freewith my bank and put some money in it and had that card. Then I had other card from regular checking account. We put some money in my daughter's account so she could also withdraw with her card to help us cover hotels.
We never needed more than 2 at a time, but the third was for back up in case one didn't work or we lost it.

Not sure why you have chosen not to use ATMs. But that is your personal decision. Most of us we find that a debit card at an ATMs is the cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency. As stated, a single transaction limit may be imposed by the ATM owner and often is. It will vary from country to country and city to city. A total daily withdraw limit is set by your card issuer. The two are not related.

to clarify: I don't use ATM's here in US because I don't need to...but it's the way to go in Italy. we used them there. The money belt is awkward, esp. in public, but it's great for security. Don't forget to put money in a plastic bag (and passport, too, if carrying it in the belt) to keep dry when you sweat!

I heard the Charles Schwaab site is a good option for opening an account online and using ATMs without a fee in Europe. I have not used it but am considering doing so . Does anyone have any experience with this company?
Ruth

No history with Schwab, but I opened an online money market account with Capital One - no minimum balance - and got an ATM card. They don't charge fees (the maximum withdrawal is $600/day) and the exchange rates are usually good - close to mid-market rates.

Ruth, I use Schwab card. No ATM fee, no exchange fee, in any non US ATM. If you use it with any US ATM. There will be a ATM fee charge by the ATM owner, but Schwab will credit you back at the end of the month.
The exchange rate is the same for most major banks in the banking industry.