Getting money in Italy

The least costly way to get money anywhere is from an ATM. Best exchange rate and, depending on your bank and the ATM, lowest additional fees.

Most US based banks allow around US$300 per day on a basic account, but only your bank can tell you exactly. You can ask your bank to increase that while you travel and they might. Each ATM also has a per transaction limit which is not posted normally. If you request whatever amount and you know you are not over your daily limit and get nothing from the ATM, ask for less and see what happens.

You should verify what the fees are for doing foreign transactions using your ATM/Debit card. The fees can add significantly to the cost of your withdrawals especially if you have to do several to get the total amount needed for your tours.

You may want to look into buying Euros from your bank before you leave if you really need a lot immediately on arrival. There will be cost involved, either a fee or most likely a very bad exchange rate. You can then get whatever you need and carry it with you.

Hi Michele,

ATM's in Italy are called "Bancomats." Some are inside and some are outside for easy street access. If you are going solo, be very mindful of who is hanging around you. Best to go into a bank during the day (in case anything goes awry with your bank card) You will have a level of "protection" because you are in the bank.

The daily allowance is set by the bank. Depending on the bank and account, some people can take out as much as $500/day or as little as $250/day. Call or go to your bank and ask if they can increase your daily allowance.

As mentioned -- about getting Euros ahead of time. If your bank charges a withdrawal fee plus %, that can add up to a lot of course; affecting your balance. If you have a bank that can sell you a few hundred Euros with a small, one-time fee, that could be something to look into.

Keep in mind the exchange rate which will affect how much Euro you will get.

Do Not press "yes" to the DCC question on any transaction.

Invest in a money belt or neck wallet to keep the large amount "safe" until your destination tour. Use a cross-body bag so you don't need to take it off anywhere you go.

You will have two limits on the amount of withdrawal. First, is your bank's withdrawal limit within a 24 hr period. Generally midnight to midnight or 2am to 2am in the bank's time zone. Depending on how the time zone breaks where you are at, you may be able to make two withdraws in the same afternoon. Also, you may be able to get your bank to increase your limit. Ask !! The second withdrawal is max amount for any single transaction at the ATM you are using. Often, especially on the weekends and in high tourist areas, the individual ATM limit could be 250 euros. That is designed to prevent the ATM from being drained of cash by a large number of high withdrawals. If you need more, you will have to hit another ATM or try a second withdraw for the current ATM.

I try to manage my cash so that I don't have to make a withdraw over the weekend. Generally if you hit an ATM at a bank during the weekend, you will not encounter a limit on withdraw other than you own card issuer.

Please read "Cash and Currency Tips" article listed on the right hand side of the Travel Forum home page. You also might want to use the "Search" function on this web site as this type of question gets asked several times a week and you might get lots of valuable information.

We arrived in Rome for our two week vacation with ZERO Euros in our pockets. While waiting for our luggage I used the ATM right next to baggage claim to get money. Easy as pie.
Did the same the rest of the trip. Try it. You'll like it.

What Mark says. The maximum w/d per DAY is set by your home financial institution. The $300 USD daily limit (for Americans) is a common maximum, but each bank sets its own maximum. That said, when you call with your foreign travel notification talk to a real person and request a higher daily maximum. I have had my temporary travel daily limit set to $700 USD. Note that with a $300 USD maximum, a 300 EUR withdraw would exceed your daily limit.

As as noted by others, the machine limit can be a lower than be lower than your bank's daily limit. On my first and last trip to Italy, my daily limit was increased to $500 USD, more than 300 EUR at the time, but the VCE airport ATM refused my 300 EUR request. I changed my cash request to 200 EUR and the machine complied.

Girasole, what is the DCC question at an ATM?

DCC is Dynamic Currency Conversion, a rapidly-spreading practice of converting the euro amount of your withdrawal to your home currency right at the ATM. The phrasing varies, but you may be asked whether you want to "lock in" the amount at $XXX rather than being charged an unknown amount later. Don't fall for it. The displayed dollar amount will be based on a very poor exchange rate that might cost you an extra 7% or even more. If you stick with having the withdrawal recorded in the local currency, a very good exchange rate will be used--less than 1% different from the official rate used by banks.

You may be offered a similar option when you pay for things by credit card. You always want financial transactions recorded in the local currency.

This year in Portugal I had to decline the DCC and then reconfirm it.

I've learned not to need the ATM on Sunday mornings. The wee hours between Sat/Sun are when most banks "go dark" for a few hours for their weekly maintenance. And that's Sunday morning in Europe.

Our rule of thumb is to only use ATMs when the bank is open, which is generally on weekdays. If the machine eats our card we can go inside and retrieve it.

We have a Charles Schwab checking account because it does not charge a transaction fee and will repay you if one is charged. There are no monthly balance requirements or fees.

Someone above mentioned wearing a money belt and that is a MOST cogent suggestion. Also, leave your wallet at home and place your valuables in the money belt. The pickpockets in Italy are maestros of the dark art.

Buon Viaggio,

Our rule of thumb is to only use ATMs when the bank is open, . . .

This is a very good point. I had my card eaten by a bank's machine in a small town in Germany on a Sunday evening. No cash, had to wait until next day for bank to open, and that + travel time cost me half a day.

Note that some banks' procedures are that the branch staff have no access to ATMs, which are managed by a central office.

.....If the machine eats our card we can go inside and retrieve it. ...... That is a possibility but that is not always true. Many times a bank will have a separate agency that that services their ATMs and the bank personal may not access to the machine because of security protocols. You can ask but if they turn you down don't make a federal case out of it.

We have found that ATMs will do 500 euro in a single transaction. Our bank, Citibank in Australia, has a daily limit of AUD 1000.

We have found that ATMs will do 500 euro in a single transaction.

But we've run into others that only allowed 250 - 300, even if our own bank's maximum was higher (I temporarily set mine at 500 when we travel). We never know what a machine will allow until we try a larger amount, are rejected, and try again with smaller amounts to see if that's the problem.

If you can, get an account with an institution that doesn't charge ATM fees, so you don't have to worry about having to withdraw multiple small amounts. It also means you don't have to carry a lot of cash around for several days.

Invest in a money belt or neck wallet to keep the large amount "safe" until your destination tour.

Or, go old school (and cheaper) and just attach a drawstring bag or pocket to the inside of your clothes. Cut out the pocket from a trashed pair of pants or a shirt, if you don't have someone who can sew a simple pouch. There's nothing magic about a money belt or neck wallet other than it's worn next to your body.