Best way to access cash\pay in Italy?

If you search this site some you will see many detail discussions on your questions. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted. And ATMs are nearly everywhere. Some, not all, ATMs limit your withdraw to 250 E. Since it is a good idea to have two debit cards linked to two different accounts anyway, it will be easy to get 400E at one time by using both cards. Convert dollars in the US prior to leaving will be at least twice as expensive if not more.

Danny,

As Frank mentioned, Visa and MasterCard especially are widely accepted in Italy (and other parts of Europe). American Express is not as popular, so you may not be able to find too many merchants that accept those. The "chip cards" are now widespread in Europe, and you may find that some automated ticket machines will not accept the older "magnetic stripe" credit cards. The same is true with the newer "chip" Debit Cards, although AFAIK all ATM's will accept the magnetic stripe cards (hopefully that's still the case or I'm going to be in trouble on my next trip as my Bank still hasn't issued me with a "chip" Debit Card!).

Of course, Cash is always a good option. Regarding ATM's in the five towns of the Cinque Terre, you shouldn't have any problems with that. Even Riomaggiore (the smallest of the villages) has at least two ATM's (or Bancomats as they're called) in the small plaza across from the rail station. Note that for travel in Europe, your funds MUST be in a chequing account and accessed by a four-number PIN.

I often pay for train tickets using cash or credit card, most meals with cash and whatever groceries I might purchase with cash. That's the way I prefer to handle the money issues. For Hotel charges I normally prefer credit card but if the establishment doesn't accept cards or offers a discount for cash, I'm fine with that too.

You might want to review your daily withdrawal limits with your Bank, and BE SURE to tell them you'll be travelling overseas or they might "flag" your card(s). Again as Frank mentioned, it's a good idea to travel with at least two Debit Cards and at least one Credit Card, in case there are "issues" with one of them.

Happy travels!

Danny
Check with your bank as to what charges there will be for withdrawl (most are$5.00)as well as Visa charges a % over and above the exchange rate for that date. Figuring all this out,I tend to travel with substantial cash in my belt to save time in looking for ATM's and also to avoid these horrendous fees. As mentioned by the previous poster ATM's are convenient as well. I am finding that a lot of hotel's will allow you to book with a Visa but want cash. I guess they are trying to save money as well by not paying the user fee.

Danny,
Note that the 250 euro limit that Frank mentioned is per transaction and if your home bank has given you a limit high enough you can perform multiple transactions. I regularly withdraw 500 euro, about half the time I do it in one transaction and the other half it takes two transactions.

Danny - you'll love Italy! Here's more info on ATM's here: ATM's in Italy

"Note that for travel in Europe, your funds MUST be in a chequing account and accessed by a four-number PIN."

Interesting. What about funds in a CapitolOne Money Market account? Do you specify checking or savings when withdrawing funds at an ATM? Does it make a difference if you are withdrawing the funds in the U.S. or in Italy?

Yesterday I tried for the first time to withdraw funds from my CapOne MM account using my local U.S. bank's ATM. It recognized the card but refused the transaction when I asked for cash from checking. I didn't try savings for fear of having the ATM eat my card.

When I called CapOne the customer service rep said to ALWAYS specify SAVINGS when withdrawing cash from an ATM.

Can anyone else who has a debit card that is associated with a CapitolOne Money Market account and who has used it in Italy (I know there are a bunch of you out there!) weigh in on this?

Thanks!

George,

I'm not familiar with "Money Market Accounts" so can't offer any advice on the specifics of ATM access in Europe with those. I wonder if the Capital One rep. you spoke with was referring to ATM's here or in Europe when he said to always use "savings" accounts? Hopefully someone here will have some answers?

I do know from past experience in Europe with more "conventional" savings and chequing accounts with Banks and Credit Unions, that I've only been able to access my chequing accounts. There were no other choices on the ATM's! As I recall, Rick provides similar advice in his books regarding ATM access, and the financial institutions I deal with also said to use only chequing accounts to access funds in Europe.

I suspect the reason for this is that the financial institutions here and in Europe only have limited computer data links between them, so it was necessary to limit ATM withdrawals to one type of account?

Good luck!

I have used my CapOne Money Market ATM card without any problems.

We used CapOne MM debit cards last year in Italy, and I do remember sometimes being asked an odd question right after putting in the card, but I don't remember it being "Checking or Savings?" (The question was in Italian.) We chose one of the two options and it let us have money, so no problem there. And it was great not to be charged any fees.

"I have used my CapOne Money Market ATM card without any problems."

Yes, but the question is, when you withdrew funds from ATMs in Italy using your CapOne Money Market ATM card did you ask to withdraw from a checking account or from a savings account?

Thanks!