Bankomat/ATM question

If you mean Visa Plus (blue and white logo), most ATM machines accept them but not all. If memory serves me, ATMs linked to post offices accept Visa plus.

I never saw an accel logo in Italy.

Mastercard/Cirrus and Visa/Plus should work fine at Italian ATMs.

Maybe others here on the Forum would know about Accel.

ACCEL is a regional network for the US. You will most likely not find it anywhere else (maybe on a US military base depending on who drives the ATMs).

As long as your cards have either a Visa or MasterCard logo on the front, you should have no issues using it anywhere as long as you inform your bank where you will be and when you will be there before you leave. Also, it is a good idea to use only those ATMs that are attached to or inside a bank.

If you will be depending on cash from an ATM cash machine, it's a good idea to have a back-up ATM account and card. I was behind a couple at an airport ATM cash machine who had their card retained by the cash machine, If you don't have a secondary account with ATM cash privileges, the back up is to carry some US cash but cash FX is an expensive option.

I trust that you did the foreign travel notification with your cash card account. Fraud is a big concern in that the financial institutions are the ones at risk.

Make sure you never use an ATM out on the street; you are more at risk for theft, people trying to "help" you, etc.
Always use an ATM inside a bank, when the bank is open.
That way if your card is "eaten", you have more chance of getting help from the bank employees.

I've never been accosted using an ATM on the street. While possible, it's not a major concern especially if you are traveling with someone that can stand next to you. While one needs to be situationally aware, Italy is not a den of thieves. And ATMs eating a card are extremely rare. I've never had it happen in some 25 years of using an ATM card all over the US and Europe.

Ignore the networks noted on your card. If it has VISA or MasterCard on it, it will work in Europe. On rare occasions an ATM will not work. I've never known why and when tried at a different machine of a different bank, all works well.

Thanks for the help. My ATM card is connected with my local bank and has PLUS and ACCEL logos on the back. Does not say VISA (it's not a VISA debit), but they told me I could use it at any ATM that had one of those logos, so hopefully I'll be OK.

Laurie - Plus is a VISA network so it should work. I'd have a backup plan handy just to be safe. A second bank account. Or even using your credit card to get cash (you'll need a cash advance PIN). Yes the latter includes cash advance fees, but it does work in an emergency.

Or even using your credit card to get cash (you'll need a cash advance PIN). Yes the latter includes cash advance fees, but it does work in an emergency.

Credit cards for cash would be a desperation situation of you do not normally carry credit card balances. I believe that obtaining cash from a credit card would trigger immediate finance charges on the cash requested AND any outstanding balance.

Regarding Cash advance on a credit card, while it is certainly not preferred, you need to understand the cost.

The most common deal is that you are charged $10 or 5% of the withdrawal immediately (whichever is more). You then do incur interest charges from the time of withdrawal (as opposed to credit card purchases where you get a 30 day grace period.) usually at a rate of 24% APR.

All that sounds terrible, but compare...

For a $200 withdrawal, assuming no fees by the ATM you are using and Interbank Exchange rates....

If I use my Credit Union ATM Card or My Charles Schwab Checking Card (both the best possible deal)... my cost would be the $200 at current exchange rate plus about 1% ($202 at exchange rate)

For Cash Advance, I would incur the $200, plus the ~10% fee ($210 immediately) Interest is dependent on time, if I go on line the same day or the next and pay off the balance, then I pay a $0.50 minimum fee so my cost is $210.50 at exchange rate. If I decide to wait until my next statement and incur the full 30 day rate at 24%, the interest would amount to about $4, so your cost would be $214.00 at exchange rate. (A Caveat in that if you carry a large balance, any payments would be applied to your credit balance first, then your cash advance, but then in that case you are probably paying 20% plus on the credit balance)

Is that good? Not if you have better options, but consider other common actions taken by travelers...

If you bank with several major banks, they charge you $5 to use an out of network bank, plus a 3% Foreign Transaction fee(FTF). On $200, that works out to $200+ $5 + $6 or $211, more than if you use cash advance and pay off immediately, and only $3 less to use their money for a month.

If you have a credit card that charges a 3% FTF, that purchase will cost you $206 (assuming you make payment within a month)

If you get cash here, the best you can get is about 5% cost, that would be $210, likely it would be closer to $214.

Cash there at a good exchange place, probably less, but maybe about $208

If you succumb to Travelex at the airport for exchange...maybe closer to $220.

In the end, the message is understand all your costs. ATMs are generally best, but not always. Cash Advance is usually not a great deal, but depending on your options..it may not be that bad. You might want also to consider that many banks limit you to ~$300 per day on an ATM account, some Cash Advance options are $1000 plus, if you need cash for an Apartment for a week, then the dynamics change again based on what options are available for that amount.

Are there a lot of BNL D'Italia banks in Italy? We're also leaving for Italy soon. I have been trying to find out where I can use my ATM cards and what fees will be charged for each ATM withdrawal. My bank (BOA) says that if I use ATMs that are part of the "Global ATM Alliance", my bank will not charge me any fees other than a 3% conversion fee and the local bank (in the alliance) won't charge me anything. BOA's webpage says that BNL D'Italia is the bank in Italy that is part of this alliance. Are these banks easy to find? Are there a lot of branches throughout the country or just a few in the major cities?

I ordered some euros from BOA online and picked them up at the bank, the exchange rate was $1.07 for each euro at that time. They charged an additional $0.06 per euro (no additional service charge). This is twice as much as it would be by using the Global Alliance ATM. If I have to hunt for them all over the place then I'd rather pay the extra 3% and spend my time hunting for my next good meal and not have to worry about the bank being open, the card being ate by the machine, or anything else.

You can get a list of PLUS ATMs in the cities you're visiting by going to visa.com/atmlocator and enter the city and country . For example, the following will provide info about ATMs in Venice, Italy:

http://www.visa.com/atmlocator/index.jsp?country=US#(page:results,params:(query:'Venezia, Veneto, Italy, Venezia, ITA'))

I would also be interested in knowing for sure what Italian banks charge foreign visitors to withdraw euros from their ATM machines. I've read a lot of comments stating that Italian Banks do not charge ATM fees. But it is kind of hard to believe that they are providing this service to all the visitors for free. For example, I've called my credit union four times and got five different answers about the fees charged by them and the local banks in Italy. Don't believe what they say unless you see it in writing. It would be great if some of the folks on this forum who know the facts could let those of us going for the first time know.

BobD;

Fees break down into the following categories:
- What your bank charges for servicing and exchange
- What the primary financial networks charge for servicing and exchange
- What the Point of Use ATM charges for fees or exchange.

In your BoA example, they charge a $5 out of network fee which is waived if you use some obscure partner bank, plus since you are overseas, the charge you a 3% fee, not a currency exchange fee, but just because the transaction is "foreign".

The financial network fees are unavoidable, they charge a small flat fee plus a percentage for currency exchange, but all that total up to less than 1%.

In general, my experience, and many here on this forum will tell you that the ATMs in Europe charge no fee for use. I have run into a few ATMs, privately owned, that might charge, but that fee is disclosed up front, decline, go find another. I have also run into ATMs that offer to process the transaction in my home currency (US Dollars) but then offer a poor exchange rate...always decline, do the transaction in local currency (euros)

In the end, my cards with no fees from my card cost me ~1%, BofA about 5.5% on $200

Honestly, I only care that my debit ATM card will work in a bank machine. If we're spending many thousands of dollars on a European vacation, I'm not going to sweat whether it costs $2 or $20 to get the cash we need.

On our first trip in 2015, we used my Visa debit card twice in Paris to get euros. It was no more stressful than getting 50 bucks from the ATM down the hill from our house.

I have been accosted twice at outdoor ATM's in recent years, which is why I now only use ones inside a bank.
Both times in Italy; and once was about an hour after two teenage girls tried to grab my friends bag from her , she was carrying it across her body with her hand on it.
Last time we were in Venice, we talked to an American fellow whose card had just been "eaten" at an outdoor bank machine. The bank was just closing, and the employees inside would not help him.
It does happen.